BRAIN PLUCKER

Posts Tagged ‘Pulp Art’

Metallic Mechanical Cylinder Coming Out of Uranus (Oh, that's bad!)

Did you know there’s not only life on Uranus, but it comes as a cylindrical metallic device that lives in a hole (with a small Oscar the Grouch inside). And it’s just possible that it has a vibrate mode.

Okay, I’m done with the double entendres. These images are from the back covers of Fantastic Adventures magazine from the first nine issues that started in 1939. They’re all by Frank Paul the first of the original SF pulp artists. They’re a bit quaint now, but I’m sure they were viewed with awe-inspired sense of wonder in their day.

This is a fascinating documentary on SF author John Wyndham A.K.A. John Beynon , John Beynon Harris, John B. Harris , Lucas Parkes , Wyndham Parkes , Johnson Harris. He’s most famous for his later novels like Day of the Triffids, The Kraken Wakes, The Chrysilads, and The Midwich Cuckoo. All could be classified as what Brian Aldiss calls Cozy Catastrophes. I’ve only read The Day of the Triffids myself, but found it to be an excellent book. A strange mix of literary and pulp. Literary in it’s cleanness of prose and style. Pulp in it’s “My God, walking plants that are attacking humanity!”.

So he’s best known for his more literary work, but let’s not forget “Tyrant & Slave Girl On Planet Venus” by John Wyndham writing as John Beynon. LOL!

On first glance, you might be wondering what’s so funny. I saw this cover numerous time before I really looked at it closely. After getting past looking at the gorgeously portrayed “Miss Earth”, you notice where the left eye-stalk of the reporter’s eye is looking!

Harold W McCauley, the artist, was a great with the pin-up girl. He wasn’t the greatest science fiction illustrator though. But he was great at painting cheesecake, or GGA (Good Girl Art).

Gee, what could the caption of this picture be? It’s only natural to groan as you read these. I made up the one below the picture, but here are some others:

• I used be a gynecologist but my patients complained of my probing eyes.
• You make it hard to dictate.
• Your Earthmen have things that stick out where?
• Oh we don’t use glasses on our world. It’s like taking shower with a raincoat on. If you know what I mean.

Is that your eye-stalk or are you just happy to SEE me?

Submit your own captions in the comments. Let’s keep it rated PG-13 though, okay?