Look Here: Two Ace SF Classics, with cover art by Roy Krenkel

26 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

These are the only two “Ace Science Fiction Classic” paperbacks with cover art by Roy Krenkel that I own, so enjoy!

roy-krenkel_pirates-of-venus_ny-ace-1963 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *Pirates of Venus* (New York: Ace, 1963), with cover art by Roy Krenkel.

roy-krenkel_escape-on-venus_ny-ace-1964 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *Escape on Venus* (New York: Ace, 1964), with cover art by Roy Krenkel.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Frank Frazetta · Illustration Art · Look Here · Roy Krenkel

Look Here: Three Ace paperbacks, with cover art by Frazetta

26 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

Frazetta’s Krenkel-influenced Edgar Rice Burroughs covers will be familiar to many, but his Maza of the Moon cover is somewhat less well known, mainly because the book’s author, Otis Adelbert Kline, never achieved any lasting popularity:

frank-frazetta_carson-of-venus_ny-ace-1963 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *Carson of Venus* (New York: Ace, 1963), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_lost-on-venus_ny-ace-1963 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *Lost on Venus* (New York: Ace, 1963), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_maza-of-the-moon_ny-ace-1965 — **ABOVE:** Otis Adelbert Kline, *Maza of the Moon* (New York: Ace, 1965), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

If Otis Adelbert Kline is known for anything, it is not the quality of his writing but the way he promoted his highly derivative adventure stories by surreptitiously circulating a rumour, reported in the fan press but later debunked, of a feud between himself and the pulp-fiction juggernaut he most closely styled himself after, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Next up: more Jones covers!

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: Four Ace SF Specials, with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon

25 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

More scans from the library of you-know-who:

leo-diane-dillon_the-silent-multitude_ny-ace-1969 — **ABOVE:** D. G. Compton, *The Silent Multitude* (New York: Ace, 1969), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

leo-diane-dillon_the-jagged-orbit_ny-ace-1969 — **ABOVE:** John Brunner, *The Jagged Orbit* (New York: Ace, 1969), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

leo-diane-dillon_the-island-under-the-earth_ny-ace-1969 — **ABOVE:** Avram Davidson, *The Island under the Earth* (New York: Ace, 1969), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

leo-diane-dillon_and-chaos-died_ny-ace-1970 — **ABOVE:** Joanna Russ, *And Chaos Died* (New York: Ace, 1970), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

To view all of the scans of covers by Leo and Diane Dillon that I’ve posted so far, click here.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Book/Magazine Covers (Jones) · Drawings and Sketches (Jones) · Illustration Art · Jeffrey "Jeff" Catherine Jones · Look Here

Look Here: “Wolfling”/”Conan” art by Jeffrey Jones

23 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

This past weekend, I finally located (and purchased) a copy of Gordon R. Dickson’s Wolfling, with cover by Jeffrey Jones, so now, at last, I can post this comparison of two very similar images by Jones executed in two different mediums, oil vs. ink:

jeffrey-jones_wolfling_ny-dell-1969 — **ABOVE:** Gorden R. Dickson, *Wolfling* (New York: Dell, 1969), with cover art by Jeffrey Jones.

jeffrey-jones_frontispiece_savage-sword_v1n5_Apr-1975_p2 — **ABOVE:** Jeffrey Jones, frontispiece, *Savage Sword of Conan,* vol. 1, no. 5 (April 1975).

The “Conan” frontispiece was published in Savage Sword of Conan in 1975, but the style and the signature suggest to me that it was created around the time of the 1969 Wolfling cover. Anyone know if the “Conan” frontispiece was published anywhere else prior to its appearance in Savage Sword?

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Frank Frazetta · Illustration Art · Look Here

Look Here: Five random covers, with art by Frank Frazetta

13 August 201011 August 2016 RC4 Comments

I don’t have a lot of paperbacks with cover art by Frank Frazetta, but here are a few I do have…

Rogue Roman is an early cover painting by Frazetta that someone out there might enjoy seeing in its original format. The painting sans text appears in the Frazetta art book, Icon (Grass Valley, CA: Underwood Books, 1998), page 126. Looks a lot different there, too: the overall tone is much, much warmer. But I can’t decide if Rogue Roman is one of those pieces that was altered at a later date by Frazetta or not. And since there’s no mention of alterations in the discussion that accompanies the painting in Icon, it might just be a case of inaccurate reproduction on the paperback. Wouldn’t be the first time.

frank-frazetta_rogue-roman_ny-fawcett-nd — **ABOVE:** Lance Horner, *Rogue Roman* (New York: Fawcett, n.d.), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_the-book-of-paradox_ny-dell-1975Clic — **ABOVE:** Louise Cooper, *The Book of Paradox* (New York: Dell, 1975), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_the-moon-maid_ny-ace-1978 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *The Moon Maid* (New York: Ace, 1978), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_the-mucker_ny-ace-1974 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *The Mucker* (New York: Ace, 1974), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

frank-frazetta_tanar-of-pellucidar_ny-ace-1982 — **ABOVE:** Edgar Rice Burroughs, *Tanar of Pellucidar* (New York: Ace, 1982), with cover art by Frank Frazetta.

Of course, most Frazetta fans know that what makes the artist’s Moon Maid cover more than just a visually arresting illustration is that the original painting was substantially altered (though not, IMHO, improved) by Frazetta when he got it back from the publisher; which is to say, the painting as you see it here no longer exists.

The male model for The Mucker could easily have been Frazetta himself.

And finally, the central figure in Frazetta’s Tanar of Pellucidar was clearly swiped by Arthur Suydam for the painting that appears on the cover of his The Art of the Barbarian (Special Edition): Conan, Tarzan, Death Dealer. Look it up and you’ll see!

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Robert Foster · Robert McGinnis

Look Here: Two “Ben Gates Mystery” novels, with covers by McGinnis

13 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

One bare foot… hm… perhaps it’s a sign… a symbol of some sort… if only I could think what it means…

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

robert-mcginnis_kill-now-pay-later_ny-dell-1960 — **ABOVE:** Robert Kyle, *Kill Now, Pay Later* (New York: Dell, 1960), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

**ABOVE:** Robert Kyle, *Some Like It Cool* (New York: Dell, 1962), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

Sorry about the iffy scan on the second one. The book is a little bit warped, so the scanner created and caught a bit of glare.

BONUS COVER SCAN (added 14 August 2010):

This evening, as I was absent-mindedly browsing the paperback shelves in our basement, I came across a cover by an uncredited artist that had something about it that made me want to include it here…

[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]

in-pursuit-of-the-english_ny-ballantine-1966 — **ABOVE:** Doris Lessing, *In Pursuit of the English* (New York: Ballantine, 1966), with cover art by Robert Foster (uncredited/attributed).

BONUS LINK:

Flickr > Kyle Katz > Robert Foster Covers

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Robert McGinnis

Look Here: Five vignette-style covers with art by Robert McGinnis

12 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

In my growing collection of vintage books, I have quite a few paperbacks with Robert McGinnis art. I posted a few last time; now, here are five more, in no particular order:

robert-mcginnis_area-of-suspicion_ny-fawcett-nd — **ABOVE:** John D. MacDonald, *Area of Suspicion* (New York: Fawcett, n.d.), with cover art by Robert McGinnis

robert-mcginnis_assignment-white-raja_ny-fawcett-1970 — **ABOVE:** Edward S. Aarons, *Assignment White Rajah* (New York: Fawcett, 1970), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_the-damned_ny-fawcet-nd — **ABOVE:** John D. MacDonald, *The Damned* (New York: Fawcett, n.d.), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_the-dragons-eye_ny-fawcett-1969 — **ABOVE:** Scott C. S. Stone, *The Dragon’s Eye* (New York: Fawcett, 1969), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_the-price-of-murder_ny-fawcett-nd — **ABOVE:** John D. MacDonald, The Price of Murder (New York: Fawcett, n.d.), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

I usually prefer to display paperback covers in order of publication, but these Fawcett paperbacks mostly don’t include the year(s) of publication, only the year the book was copyright.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Robert McGinnis

Look Here: Four “Carter Brown” covers by Robert McGinnis

9 August 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

Scanned from the mouldering vintage-paperback library of yours truly, here are four “Carter Brown” covers by Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame inductee Robert McGinnis (1926 – ), everyman’s favourite pulp-paperback cover artist:

robert-mcginnis_the-wind-up-doll_signet-1964 — **ABOVE:** Carter Brown, *The Wind-up Doll* (Signet, 1964), with cover art art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_had-i-but-groaned_signet-1968 — **ABOVE:** Carter Brown, *Had I But Groaned* (Signet, 1966), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_blonde-on-a-broomstick_signet-1966 — **ABOVE:** Carter Brown, *Blonde on a Broomstick* (Signet, 1968), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

robert-mcginnis_blonde-on-a-the-rocks_signet-1971 — **ABOVE:** Carter Brown, *Blonde on the Rocks* (Signet, 1971), with cover art by Robert McGinnis.

First interesting fact about McGinnis: his preferred medium for his cover paintings wasn’t oil, or watercolour, or gouache; rather, it was, and still is, egg tempera. Second interesting fact: McGinnis seldom drew from life but instead took photographs of models (etc.), projected them onto the painting surface, and traced the resulting images, clarifying the forms where necessary, and elongating and adjusting the limbs and features according to his distinctive sense of proportion and beauty. McGinnis very briefly demonstrates his working methods in a DVD entitled Robert McGinnis: Painting the Last Rose of Summer, which is not a painting video at all but rather a documentary overview of McGinnis’s career as a commercial artist and painter.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Richard Powers

Look Here: Two more terrific covers by Richard Powers

23 July 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

I bought these two paperbacks with covers by Richard Powers on Thursday morning at “Poor Michael’s Bookshop, Art, & Cafe” in Onanole, Manitoba, just south of Riding Mountain National Park, along with several increasingly-hard-to-find paperbacks with Robert McGinnis and Paul Lehr covers that I’ll post another time and a delicious cup of dark-roast coffee, black, no sugar. Actually, I have quite a few paperbacks from the fifties and sixties with McGinnis covers that I’d like to post. It’s just a matter of finding the time to scan them and type the captions…

richard-powers_destiny-doll_berkley-1975 — **ABOVE:** Clifford Simak, *Destiny Doll* (New York: Berkley, 1975), with cover by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_path-into-the-unknown_dell-1968 — **ABOVE:** Judith Merril, ed., *Path into the Unknown* (New York: Dell, 1968), with cover by Richard Powers.

To view all five of the covers by Richard Powers that I’ve posted so far, click here.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Book/Magazine Covers (Jones) · Illustration Art · Jeffrey "Jeff" Catherine Jones · Look Here

Look Here: Four first-rate covers by Jeffrey Jones

23 July 20109 February 2020 RCLeave a comment

I purchased the following Andre Norton paperbacks with covers by Jeffrey Jones on Monday from a small shop in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. I found the shop totally by accident. My wife, our son, and I were en route to Dauphin, Manitoba, but since we were ahead of schedule and had some time to kill before lunch in Yorkton, we decided to drive around a bit and see what stores were open in the downtown area. We went up and down a couple of streets, and then we noticed a shop called “Thrifty Mama’s” that had a display of books in the window. Being a trio of bibliophiles, we couldn’t resist checking it out — and discovered that at least half of the floorspace in “Thrifty Mama’s” is dedicated to used books, mostly paperbacks. Score!

Now, I know I’ve posted the cover of Uncharted Stars before, but the book this time around is in much better condition. In fact, all four are really glossy and tight. And they all sport excellent Jones covers. Enjoy!

BONUS IMAGE (added 04 October 2013):

A more recent acquisition:

Keywords: Postmarked to the Stars, Sea Siege, Uncharted Stars, Sargasso of Space.