Look Here: Two SF portrait covers with art by Joseph Lombardero

27 November 201410 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

Neither of the following novels from the collection of yours truly includes a cover credit, and if the art was signed by the artist, the signature has been cropped out by the designer; nonetheless, it seems likely to me that the artist is Joseph Lombardero, whose Sax Rohmer covers were featured here at RCN back in May of this year:

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**ABOVE:** Neal Bell, *Gone to be Snakes Now* (NY: Popular Library, c.1974), with cover art by Joseph Lombardero (attrib.).

**ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *The Worlds of Poul Anderson* (NY: Ace, c.1974), with cover art by Joseph Lombardero (attrib.).

As always, if you think/know that I’ve made an attribution error, I welcome your corrections in the comments.

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

Look Here: A “fantasy classic” with cover art by Jeffrey Jones

24 April 201311 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

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Well, folks, I’m almost to the end of my collection of paperbacks with cover art by Jeffrey Jones. Of course, I’m always on the lookout for books that I don’t have, but since I can’t afford to pay what many online booksellers want for old paperbacks, I generally have to hope that I will stumble upon what I want for cheap at a thrift store, rummage sale, small-town bookstore, or what have you…

Wish me luck!

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Charles Moll · Illustration Art · Look Here

Look Here: Four more F/SF covers with art by Charles Moll

14 December 201213 June 2017 RCLeave a comment

I featured scans of four Malzberg novels with terrific cover art by Moll on 02 December 2012, and this is sort of a follow-up to that post. Although I’m not a huge fan of his work in general, Charles Moll has produced some very strong covers over the years for various fantasy and science fiction novels, along with many weak ones. Combined with the images in my previous post, the following covers, scanned by me from the old paperbacks in my personal library, should give you an good idea of Moll’s weaknesses and strengths as an image maker:

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**ABOVE:** David Mason, *The Return of Kavin* (New York: Lancer, 1972), with cover art by Charles Moll.

**ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories* (Scarborough, ON: Signet, 1973), with cover art by Charles Moll.

**ABOVE:** Norman Spinrad, *No Direction Home* (New York: Pocket Books, 1975), with cover art by Charles Moll.

**ABOVE:** John Jakes, *Brak the Barbarian* (New York: Pocket Books, 1977), with cover art by Charles Moll.

Moll’s sombre, psychologically engaging surrealist cover art for Spinrad’s No Direction Home is the clear winner here. The other covers are nothing special, although Moll’s art for Brak the Barbarian (1977) gets points for featuring a pretty-boy protagonist who does not conform to reader expectations for a Conan-esque barbarian hero who lives “in the savage age of blood and barbarism.” It’s an interesting choice, though the sterile execution leaves much to be desired.

With his painting for the cover of Twilight of the Serpent from the same year (1977), Jeffrey Jones produced an image that goes against the grain of heroic fantasy in a similar way but he really made it work, not merely by means of a superior concept but also by means of his superior grasp of the expressive potential of his chosen medium (here’s a link to the full post).

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

Look Here: Three SF covers with art by Powers, one with art by Schoenherr

13 June 201210 June 2022 RCLeave a comment

Today RCN has got four freshly scanned selections from my personal archive of disintegrating SF paperback pulp for your viewing pleasure:

I don’t know much about John Schoenherr’s career in illustration, but I must say, Schoenherr’s painting for the 1961 Ace edition of Brunner’s Meeting at Infinity is a surreal stunner that even the universally acknowledged king of surreal SF cover art himself, Richard Powers, must have envied when he first laid eyes on it. For a minute or two. Maybe.

To view all of the scans of covers with art by Richard Powers that I’ve posted here at RCN, click here. And don’t forget to click the “Older posts” link when you get to the bottom of the page.

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

Look Here: Nine more SF covers with art by Richard Powers

14 September 201110 June 2022 RCLeave a comment

Once again, RCN presents an assortment of vintage paperback covers scanned from my very own collection of SF “classics”:

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richard-powers_outpost-mars_ny-dell-1952 — **ABOVE:** Cyril Judd, *Outpost Mars* (New York; Dell, 1952; 760), with cover art by Richard Powers. “Cyril Judd” was a pseudonym of Cyril Kornbluth and Judith Merril.

richard-powers_earthlight_ny-ballantine-1955 — **ABOVE:** Arthur C. Clarke, *Earthlight* (New York: Ballantine, 1955; 97), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_the-city-and-the-stars_ny-signet-1957 — **ABOVE:** Arthur C. Clarke, *The City and the Stars* (New York: Signet, 1957; P3429), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_reach-for-tomorrow_ny-ballantine-1963 — **ABOVE:** Arthur C. Clarke, *Reach for Tomorrow* (New York: Ballantine, 1963; U2110), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_odd-john_ny-berkley-1965 — **ABOVE:** Olaf Stapledon, *Odd John* (New York: Berkley, 1965; F1128), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_assignment-in-nowhere_ny-berkley-1968 — **ABOVE:** Keith Laumer, *Assignment in Nowhere* (New York: Berkley, 1968; X1596), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_trader-to-the-stars_ny-berkley-1976 — **ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *Trader to the Stars* (New York: Berkley, 1976; Z3199), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_the-trouble-twisters_ny-berkley-1976 — **ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *The Trouble Twisters* (New York:, Berkley, 1976; Z3245), with cover art by Richard Powers.

richard-powers_homeward-and-beyond_ny-berkley-1976 — **ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *Homeward and Beyond* (New York: Berkley, 1976; D3162), with cover art by Richard Powers.

To view all of the paperbacks with cover art by Richard Powers that I’ve posted so far, click here.

Barron Storey · Bill Sienkiewicz · Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Richard Powers

Look Here: Two SF covers, with art by Richard Powers

6 October 201011 August 2016 RC8 Comments

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richard-powers_brain-wave_ny-ballantine-1960 — **ABOVE:** Poul Anderson, *Brain Wave* (New York: Ballantine, 1960), with cover art by Richard Powers.

powers_brain-wave-wraparound — I don’t own the edition of *Brain Wave* with the wraparound cover, but here’s a little image that’ll give you an idea of how lovely it is.

richard-powers_the-planet-of-the-blind_ny-paperback-library-1969 — **ABOVE:** Paul Corey, *The Planet of the Blind* (New York: Paperback Library, 1969), with cover art by Richard Powers.

When I saw that second cover with the raggedly applied paint, the swooping linear accents, and the colourful little shapes fluttering along the edges of the forms, I immediately was reminded of certain works by Bill Sienkiewicz and by his teacher/mentor, Barron Storey. Like this well-known cover, for instance:

But would either Sienkiewicz or Storey recognize Powers as an influence? I have no idea…

BONUS LINK:

The Powers Compendium — the images are tiny, but there sure are a lot of them! I see that the Compendium site also includes that same little scan of the wraparound Brain Wave cover.

Alfred Bester · Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Paul Lehr · Philip K. Dick

Look Here: Nine Paperback Covers by Paul Lehr

7 April 200911 August 2016 RC2 Comments

From the bookshelves of yours truly, here are nine paperback covers (ten, actually; a bonus image was added at a later date) by Paul Lehr, along with one Lehr-ish cover by another hand: