#Pulp Science Fiction

[kekwcomics]

Basil Wolverton

[misforgotten2]

Cover by Bob Clothier -- 1952

[technician-the]

Astounding Scifi was a leading scifi magazine of the pulp era, and ran until 1960, when it was rebranded as Analog, which is still running today (I think). The title had previously changed several times in the early years of the magazine but always kept the Astounding form and logo design.

I find this series of titles/logos interesting, you can really see the gradual evolution of the design, and a slow shift in general tastes. The first image shows the main versions. Ive also added a gif version, I spent some time lining up the covers, but the big jumps are the title moving around the page, (I left them it because it shows how in some eras the title was always in one place, and in others it was placed based on the drawing. )

Also, Ive isolated some of the story titles, I think the main/logo fonts/styles show up in the story titles before they start using them in the logo, but also there's some really cool design there. the most interesting ones (love that lettering on Lovecraft ^^) come from the 1930s, when I suspect the cover text (except possibly for the main logo) was drawn by hand. In that period the typographic designs are very diverse, but over time this diversity waned, until In 1950's they switched to using a single (dull T_T) font for all the text on the cover.

[thefugitivesaint]

Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005), ''Tops In Science Fiction'', Vol. 1, #2, 1953 Source

[midnighttraindemo]

60s and 70s sci fi novels from my grandfather's collection

publishers are ace books, star books, belmont books, macmillan topliners, and pinnacle books.

[madamshogunassassin]

[askmalal]

“One did not look upon the Immortal Emperor as a mere man.

Here was Alexander, Napoleon, Saladin. Here was Mithra, aye, and the brother of Yeshua too.

Here was a ‘man’ who had strode the Hydaspes, Austerlitz, Adrianople. A man who’d stood multiple sieges of Jerusalem, seen the carnage at Salamis, witnessed the assassination of Caesar, opposed but unable to stop it.

One did not look into the eyes of a man who had seen four thousand years; one could not. One could grovel, one could show respect, one could kneel, one could stand. But one could not merely but endure that glance without tearing one’s eyes away.

One did not look upon the Immortal Emperor as a mere man. And , Sandor suspected, that included most of his sons. “

- “Stars Asunder,” August Richter (1936)

[spacetimesally]

Dr. Fedley's abandoned Rejuvenation Chamber & Health Emporium becomes the makeshift hideout for the Potterson Gang, but as Sally goes in search of the ne'er-do-wells, she finds the healthy-minded hotspot has become a house of horrors in, "Frighten the Devil"

Other Timelines, Other Lifetimes Series…

Other Timelines, Other Lifetimes Series - The Astounding Wonders of Spacetime Sally, envisioned as a 1920s/30s pulp era sci-fi serial, this timeline/lifetime would see Captain Sally Hannigan as the number one ace pilot of Metropolitan Star Command defending and protecting earth’s capitol city, New St. Vivian, a sprawling metropolis and home to earth’s first spaceport.

...

I had ChatGPT-4 recreate the above storyline blurb as an old-timey sci-fi serial radio drama:

Listeners of discernment and aficionados of the astral drama, lend your ears to the unfolding saga of 'Spacetime Sally,' our valiant voyager of the void! In the chilling narrative of this episode, entitled 'Frighten the Devil,' a venue of vanished vitality comes to the fore.

Behold, Dr. Fedley's once-celebrated Rejuvenation Chamber & Health Emporium, a sanctuary for the ailing and the aged, now forsaken and forgotten. Yet within its silent halls lurks a presence most vile—the notorious Potterson Gang, scoundrels of the spacelanes, have claimed this deserted haven as their den of iniquity.

But fear not, for our dauntless Sally, ever the beacon of justice, embarks upon a quest to unearth these malefactors. As she delves deeper into the depths of the emporium, what was once a haven of healing reveals its true nature—a veritable house of horrors!

What unspeakable terrors await our heroine as she confronts the fiends within? Can Sally unveil the mysteries shrouded in the shadows of this ghastly retreat? Join us, dear audience, in 'Frighten the Devil,' where courage confronts the macabre, and the spectral secrets of the emporium await to be laid bare!

Do not miss this harrowing chapter in the adventures of 'Spacetime Sally,' where the eerie and the ethereal intertwine in a tale that will surely chill you to the marrow! Tune in, hold your breath, and prepare to be enthralled by the spectral spectacle!

[darkcollectornerd]

[sassafrasmoonshine]

Paul C. Stahr (American, 1883 - 1953) • Cover for New Worlds science fiction pulp magazine • 1932

[nemospecific]

I’ve picked up The Solarians by Norman Spinrad (1966) again

As you may recall, the main character is grating in a “damned computers! Let a man be a MAN!” way

And the society is annoying for being straw bureaucrats who really ARE slavishly devoted to the advice of their computers

And we’ve finally met the titular Solarians, who are condescending superbeings who, at a guess, turned away from computers 300 years ago to develop psychic powers like telepathy and perfect time/space awareness (who needs a calculator to determine when you’re far enough away from a star to avoid blowing it up when you can just feel it?)

This didn’t feel like it’s going to be the WORST space opera I’ve read, but I think I’m still going to be hoping that there are no survivors at the end.

[kekwcomics]

[misforgotten2]

Cover by William Timmin

1950

[spaceintruderdetector]

Statten, Vargo - Cataclysm (Scion, 1951) : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

[thefugitivesaint]

Frank Kelly Freas (1922-2005), ''Worlds Of If'', Jan, 1954 Source

[christiansorrell]

Today's Book Market Finds

The Slaves of Heaven (1974) by Edmund Cooper

An Alien Heat (1972) by Michael Moorcock

Matrix (1969) by Douglas R. Mason

Ender's Game (1985) by Orson Scott Card (noted shithead)

Time Out of Mind (1973) by Richard Cowper