A few days ago, I was reading the first issue of Sea Stories and happened to glance through some of the covers of that magazine. The December 1925 issue, unattributed in the FictionMags Index, caught my eye. Ah! A signature on the bottom left of that cover. I squinted at it and tried to see… Continue reading John Alan Maxwell, Illustrator of Romance
Category: Art
Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists
Who were the most prolific pulp artists? By which i mean, the artists who painted the highest number of pulp covers under tough conditions. Norman Saunders’ oeuvre consists of 865 covers, meticulously documented here by his son. Has anyone come close, or even surpassed this? Using the Fictionmags Index, I tried to do a count… Continue reading Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists
Art of the Sale: The taxing business of illustration
In 1937, the City of New York tried to bring art into the ambit of the sales tax that had been passed three years earlier. Only to find out artists can be talented in more than one domain. From the La Grande Observer, Oregon, May 05, 1937 Artists Up In Arms Because Of The Sales… Continue reading Art of the Sale: The taxing business of illustration
Negatives, Dragon’s Blood and Acid. How line drawings were reproduced
I’ve always been interested in all aspects of pulp production including how they reproduced line drawings in the pulps. The same process worked for stylistically very different artists like Hannes Bok, Virgil Finlay, Edd Cartier, Nick Eggenhoffer, Arthur Rodman Bowker, Dorothy Flack and John R. Flanagan. Read on and find out how they did it.… Continue reading Negatives, Dragon’s Blood and Acid. How line drawings were reproduced
Original painting of a magazine cover, absolutely free
A bit late for those of us born later than 1936, unfortunately. If you were born before then, give a good excuse for why you don’t have one or share a photo of your original cover painting. Excerpted from the January 1936 issue of Gold Seal Detective, which would have been on the newsstands from… Continue reading Original painting of a magazine cover, absolutely free
How Spicy Can You Make It? The Bare Truth
as revealed by the editor of Spicy Detective in the Author and Journalist, 1935. This is a letter to a contributor who must have transgressed the Spicies unwritten code, outlining guidelines for the stories. The editor of the trade magazine chose to publish it for the benefit of would be authors. Dear : On account… Continue reading How Spicy Can You Make It? The Bare Truth
Feeling down? Cheer up with free illustration art
A collection of illustration art links. In the “But is it pulp?” department: Glenn Bray’s 800-page book of comic book, pulp magazine, and book covers is available for pre-order Eyes on the stars The pulp magazines were printed on cheap paper, their covers were often colored brightly and done amateurishly. But there’s nothing like those… Continue reading Feeling down? Cheer up with free illustration art
Ups and Downs of the Illustrating life
Charlie Dye, famous illustrator and cowboy artist, on how he got into illustration and what he found it to be. “My career in Art has been typical of so many others, that only in detail does it differ. I first studied in Chicago and started in advertising art there in the Windy City. Then I… Continue reading Ups and Downs of the Illustrating life
Allen Anderson – The Gunfighting gal
Allen Anderson painted over a hundred and fifty pulp covers for Ace Magazines and Fiction House. This is one of his best, from Bob Lesser’s collection. The printed cover was almost as good as the painting.
Good Griff! British paperbacks of the 1950s
As i was browsing through EBay, I came across this cover. Couldn’t let it pass without investigation, could I? A couple of days later, I emerged from that rabbit hole with a few images gathered here for your enjoyment. Images might take some time to load as they’re reasonably large. Patience will be rewarded. I… Continue reading Good Griff! British paperbacks of the 1950s