Category: Pulp Art

Next Time on Stars End

Guess what? It’s Season 5 Episode 21! VERY soon!

The cover of the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It depicts a rocket ship on a barren moon with a planet in the background against a dark sky.

But first, it’s been a while; we’ve missed you, and we hope you feel the same. I’ve said it before: having a day job is no fun. And that’s the crux of it; we got bogged down with work, and the post-production got away from us.

That’s especially true in my case. Turns out that the parts of my brain that I podcast and/or blog with overlap with the bits of my brain that I use in teaching.

Plus Jon and I are trying our hand at a politics podcast.

The good news is that there’s lots of stuff on its way! Immediately, we’re gearing up for season 3 of the Foundation teevee series! We took a quick look at the trailer, and that will be out pretty soon after S5E21!

There’s a lot more in the can, and we’ll try to clear some of the backlog before we dive into Season Six of Stars End!

So, refresh your memory of chapters 7 through 12 of The Currents of Space, and enjoy the art from the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction by H. R. van Dongen that you can find below! Then join us for our next episode!

The opening page of "The Currents of Space" by Isaac Asimov in the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Art by H. R. van Dongen. The page contains the title author and some opening text. There is a framing image showing a field of stars, an Earthlike planet and the faces of Rik and Valona.
A portrait of Lady Samia of Fife from "The Currents of Space" by Isaac Asimov in the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Art by H. R. van Dongen.
The Squire of Fife from "The Currents of Space" by Isaac Asimov in the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Art by H. R. van Dongen.
The Townman takes a respite in a family home in "The Currents of Space" by Isaac Asimov in the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Art by H. R. van Dongen.
The Townman destroys the evidence in "The Currents of Space" by Isaac Asimov in the November 1952 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. Art by H. R. van Dongen.

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Next Time on Stars End

Coming soon! Season 5 Episode 20!

We’ve seen this before from a pulp SF fiction perspective, (or will again in the actual flow of time) with The Caves of Steel and The Naked Sun. The Good Doctor serializes a novel in Galaxy Science Fiction to convince himself that he can sell material to somebody other than John W. Campbell and then returns home to Astounding for the next novel in the trilogy.

And so we land in Book #007 in the Asimov canon. After wading through the quagmire of “Second Novel Syndrome” in The Stars Like Dust it seems like Isaac is back on solid ground.

The Currents of Space is indeed a return to form and we’ll be discussing chapters 1 through 6 in our next episode. That’s almost the first installment from Astounding Science Fiction, from October 1952; Campbell squeezed in an extra chapter on us.

Both the cover and the interior illustrations for this installment in Astounding were created by H. R. van Dongen whose work we previously enjoyed with The Naked Sun. You can enjoy these while we wrap up post-production on the episode.

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Next Time on Stars End

Season 5 Episode 19 is on its way!

One of the fundamental properties of Horace Gold’s Galaxy Science Fiction, especially at the outset, was ambition. Gold was determined that Galaxy wouldn’t be just another SF magazine, but an excellent one. We’re only on Galaxy’s sixth issue as we reach the final installment of The Stars Like Dust ―, or Tyrann as it’s called in the magazine. Gold’s editorial for the issue concerns a readers’ poll about the magazine’s future and what will come as a result. The Five Star Shelf column will remain unchanged. An issue of self-contained stories will follow the conclusion of a serial. Stories with themes “too adult, too profound or revolutionary in concept” to be published elsewhere will continue. The editorial culminates with Gold’s plan for the magazine’s artwork which he describes thusly.

…we have been experimenting both in art and in technical processes, since we believe that a rebirth in science fiction should not be breeched by art of the forceps school. This month marks another experiment: halftone reproduction of photographs and wash drawings. This could not be done without trying out our technical processes. As we extend control, we will present other improvements that are now being worked on.

John Bunch once again illustrates the issue and it seems the decision to introduce wash drawings happened between his first and second illustration. These drawings give the artwork for this issue a distinctly different feel from the first two installments. Let’s take a look! Here’s the opening image.

The opening two-page spread from the third installment of "The Stars, Like Dust —" as published in Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1951,

And here are the wash drawings. All but one of these span two pages.

Artwork from the third installment of "The Stars, Like Dust —" as published in Galaxy Science Fiction.

If you’re interested in how the artwork in Galaxy developed, take a look at our coverage of The Caves of Steel which appeared in Galaxy two and a half years later.

And when you’re done reading The Stars Like Dust ― join us as we wrap up our conversation about the novel in our next episode!

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Next Time on Stars End

There’s probably an argument to be made that the “Big Three” of Golden Age Science Fiction, rather than Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein, are Astounding, Galaxy, and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. A quick Duck-Duck-Go search confirms this and reminds me that I should really read more A. E. van Vogt.

We’re not there yet, though; we’re at a place where Galaxy Science Fiction had blasted off a mere five months before. It was largely an auspicious beginning, with the inaugural issue containing Richard Matheson’s “Third from the Sun” which was adapted into an excellent episode of The Twilight Zone ten years later. That reminds me, I should really read more Richard Matheson. That first issue also included Asimov’s “The Darwinian Pool Room” which the Good Doctor said was “among the least satisfactory stories I have ever written” so maybe the lift-off wasn’t flawless.[1]

Our focus here though is the fifth issue cover dated February 1951. It contains the second installment of Isaac Asimov’s Tyrann, and that is the subject of our next episode. Galaxy’s editor, Horace Gold was notorious for retitling stories and we, of course, know Tyrann as The Stars Like Dust ―.

So, how is Isaac’s second novel progressing? Have we defeated “Second Novel Syndrome” yet? And are we observing the protoplasmic form of Asimov’s unlikeable protagonists like Golan Trevize? Plus, what’s up with that infamous subplot? All that and more is in the episode!

By the way, I was surprised to learn that this issue of Galaxy also contained “The Fireman” by Ray Bradbury. That novella eventually grew into Fahrenheit 451, undeniably one of the classics of Science Fiction. Even if the lift-off wasn’t flawless, the launch was impressive and accelerating.

While we wait for our next episode, hopefully coming on Sunday, let’s enjoy the illustrations from this installment once again featuring some interesting use of negative space by John Bunch.

You can find the complete Issue here: Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1951.

The opening Two-page spread of Tyrann.

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Next Time on Stars End

Galaxy SF, January 1951

Right now I’m listening to Magnets, the second album by the Vapors. Their initial outing, New Clear Days, most famous for the song “Turning Japanese,” remains one of my favorite albums. When I discovered New Clear Days, Magnets was already out of print. I literally spent years trying to track it down to no avail. Eventually, it reappeared with both albums packaged on one CD. At the time, it was a bit of a letdown. Today I’m finding it a much better listen than I remembered. The song “Linena” remains my favorite cut. Still, when I think about the “Second Album Curse,” I invariably think back to Magnets.

There’s a related notion in the publishing world, namely “Second Novel Syndrome.” The Stars, Like Dust — is the Good Doctor’s second novel. Did he escape the syndrome? Let’s save that for the podcast.

The Stars, Like Dust — was written while Horace Gold was trying to get Galaxy Science Fiction off the ground and he was anxious to include something by an author as popular as Asimov. Dust was serialized in Galaxy under the title Tyrann, starting in January of 1951, with art by John Bunch. That’s only the fourth issue. Let’s take a look at the illustrations; which I’ve cleaned up a bit.

Four of the six images are spread across two pages including this title page. I’ve kept the text in place so you can see it in context.

Without the text, I’m able to better align the two pieces.

One of the things that stands out in these illustrations is the extensive and effective use of solid black. Notice that Biron is entirely inside the negative space here.

This is one of the stand-alone images.

I’ve left the text here to highlight that this is an excellent use of layout. Biron feels both constrained and isolated, things highlighted by depicting him inside a cramped image, boxed in by the text.

Another example of effective use of negative space; our attention, like Biron’s, is drawn to Artemisia.

We end with one more three-column, two-page image.

Look for Stars End, Season 5, Episode 17 this weekend! We’ll talk about chapters 1 through 8 of The Stars, Like Dust — or, if you prefer, Part 1 of Tryann as published in the January 1951 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

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Of Pebbles and Pulps

The cover of Galaxy Science Fiction Novel #14
The cover of Galaxy Science Fiction Novel #14

Sometimes the world of science fiction publishing seems like the Wild, Wild West to me. I don’t mean the wacky 1960s teevee show. I probably don’t mean the real Wild, Wild West either because I suspect that was pretty brutal. What do I mean? The Wild West I mean is the one that I grew up with. It lived in shows like The Big Valley and the Star Trek episode “Specter of the Gun” with a little Firefly thrown in for good measure. It also lived in timeless classics like The Cheyenne Social Club. That’s the entire list, I wasn’t much of a Western guy. In fact, I only saw The Big Valley if I was home sick from school. Still, I mean chaotic and lawless in a mostly family-friendly sanitized PG kind of way.

Also, I realize that the inclusion of Firefly implies that I was still growing up when I was nearly forty. That tracks. On my last birthday, I entered my seventh childhood.

So my brain thinks that a novel comes out in hardcover and then some indeterminate time later the paperback edition follows. Mass market paperbacks were just getting started in the early 1950s and in SF publishing, although penny dreadfuls and dime novels were long gone, pulp magazines were still dominant. The other Galactic Empire novels were serialized in major pulp magazines as were the first two Robot Novels. But not Pebble in the Sky, its first paperback edition didn’t exist until 1957. What did we get instead? Two things.

Taking the second thing first, in 1953, Pebble in the Sky was published as the 14th Galaxy Science Fiction Novel. These were reprinted novels that were published monthly in the same digest format as Galaxy Science Fiction. We get a nice new cover illustration, but these have no interior artwork. The Galaxy novel isn’t the inspiration for this post.

The first though arrived in late 1950. Pebble was also published in the first issue of Two Complete Science-Adventure Stories (2CS-AB). And this does have some interior artwork. It took me a while to track it down but I eventually found it at the Luminist Archives which, like Archive.org, is a treasure trove that includes a lot of Golden Age Science Fiction. Each of the two novels opens with an illustrated two-page spread. Here’s the one for Pebble.

The Opening Image for Pebble in the Sky in Two Complete Science-Adventure Stories.

The image from the contents page matches the cover image with the glass hats and the ray guns.

The cover of an Italian Languste version of Pebble in the Sky

This is, so far as I know, the only Pulp Art for Pebble in the Sky. if you know of some more, please let us know in the comments! I’ll leave you with one final image, from an Italian language edition of Pebble. Unlike the 2CS-AB images above it has a clear and relevant relation to the events from the novel.

Resources

Next Time on Stars End

I like to try things I haven’t done before and, on Thursday I decided to make a serious attempt at learning some video editing skills. It’s still a work in progress because, as one of my professors in graduate school once said, “Everything takes longer than it does.” 9999 more videos and I’ll be an expert.

Meanwhile, Season 5, Episode 13 will be out tomorrow. In the meantime please enjoy this preview.

Once you do, you’ll want to follow these links!

Image Credits:

  • Featured Image: From “The Fun They Had” in Tomorrow’s TV, from the Raintree Reading Series 2, 1982 Fair Use

Foundational Readings: On The Edge

It’s been a while since we’ve done an installment of “Foundational Readings” or of “Next Time on Stars End.” I used those two columns to share the art that originally accompanied the stories we were reading. There’s a bit of unfinished business there, but today we have a bit of a surprise.

I remember what a big deal this was: the first Foundation novel in thirty-two years! But here’s something I didn’t remember or, more likely, wasn’t aware of at the time. Unsurprisingly, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine thought it was a pretty big deal too. So much so that the centerpiece of their December 1982 issue is the first two chapters excerpted from the book.

On Saturday, we’ll release Stars End, Season 5, Episode 5. It’s our last installment about Foundation’s Edge; we’ve reached Gaia and the book’s climax.

But there’s lots more! There are two additional pieces of writing by the Great and Glorious Az himself, an editorial entitled “Susan Calvin” and a short essay entitled “The Story Behind the Foundation” under the masthead “Viewpoint.” I’ve read the latter before, although maybe not all at once; it is repurposed in an abbreviated form as a foreword (with the same title) to Foundation and Earth. The editorial, though, was new to me; I’ve never seen it anywhere else.

There are also commentaries from some of the biggest names in Science Fiction lauding the advent of a new Foundation novel, including Arthur C. Clarke, Harlan Ellison, and Larry Niven. Those alone were worth tracking down a copy. Here’s a sample.

A commentary by Frederik Pohl, New York City Forty years or so ago, when Isaac Asimov was beginning to write the Foundation series, I lived in Knickerbocker Village, in downtown New York City, and most Sundays Isaac used to come over to visit. Usually we would go out tor a walk in nearby Chinatown, and we would talk about what we were writing. What Isaac was writing had to do with some fellow named Flari Seldon and his exploits, over centuries, ranging across a galactic empire. Now this was all really great stuff, and I listened with joy, but later on I had to pay the price. John Campbell printed them In Astounding as fast as Isaac wrote them, of course — but then, when those issues came out, I already knew the stories. So I had nothing to read! And for this reason and tor many others, I cannot tell you how much I look forward to Foundation’s Edge, the first story In the series that I'll be able to read with pure pleasure, since some joker will not have told me the plot In advance.

But of course, the main attraction here is the artwork: like the novel, these are the first Foundation illustrations in decades. Unlike the novel, these were not all that available in the subsequent forty-one years.

There are three nice images drawn by Vincent Di Fate. The first is the opening two-page spread of the excerpt.

The other two take up an entire page of the magazine each.

Two additional images reuse elements of images 2 and 3 above. This is lovely stuff, and as I’ve said on our companion site, JosephFranké.com, great art deserves to be seen.

You can find out about Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine online at www.asimovs.com. I scored my copy on eBay for a reasonable price.

Or, you can read the whole issue here: Asimov’s SF Magazine v06n12 1982-12.

All illustrations by Vincent Di Fate. You can learn more about his work at www.vincentdifate.com.

Simultaneously published at Comics, The Universe, and Everything.

Next Time on Stars End

Last Sunday we recorded our latest episode as we continued to bask in The Naked Sun.

In this episode, we talk about the middle section of Asimov’s novel as published in the November 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

That corresponds to chapters 7 through 12 in the book.

There’s less hype this time except for the presence of part one in the October issue; Part two was not mentioned in Campbell’s Things to Come and wasn’t on the issue’s cover. Who is James H. Schmitz by the way? I don’t know!

But that doesn’t mean that nothing happened in this installment!

We see the aftermath of the assassination attempt of Hannis Gruer and learn what constitutes “sociology” on Solaria. We meet Gruer’s stand-in as Head of Security and watch as Baley gets to go walkabout across the planet. We also learn an uncomfortable amount about Solarian childrearing and witness a second, seemingly impossible assassination attempt on this world so filled with three-laws robots!

Here’s John W. Campbell’s blurb that precedes this installment!

Second of Three Parts. Lije Baley was investigating a murder. Usually, an alibi proves physical impossibility; on robot-dominated Solaria, a different question arose. Is a robot’s conditioning “physical” or “psychological” impossibility? And is there any such thing as “psychological impossibility”? And if it exists for robots, does it for humans…?

Astounding Science Fiction November 1956

The illustrations this time are again by H. R. Van Dongen.

The available scans were not great, but I cleaned up the images as much as possible. If I keep this up, I may need to learn a lot more about that process.

Season 3, Episode 19: coming soon to anywhere the finest podcasts are sold!

Resources

  • Asimov, Isaac. “The Naked Sun, part 2” Astounding Science Fiction, November 1956, pp. 96-151.
  • Asimov, Isaac. The Naked Sun, ©1956, 1957, 1983, Bantum Spectra

Next Time on Stars End

In our last episode, we reached the end of The Caves of Steel. In our next episode, now in post-production, we continue our trip through the Robot Novels with The Naked Sun. We’re joined as our latest special guest by Joseph’s old friend Andy who has no discernable social media presence.

Asimov serialized The Caves of Steel in Galaxy Science Fiction because the editor, Horace Gold, suggested the idea of a human detective with a robot partner.

But three years later Asimov was increasingly interested in writing popular science and hadn’t published anything with John W. Campbell in a while. He decided to return to his roots and The Naked Sun was serialized in Astounding.

And Campbell did his best to capitalize on the famous author’s return. The month before its first segment ran The Naked Sun dominated Campbell’s “In Times to Come” column which highlighted coming attractions. Here’s what he had to say.

On the cover of next month’s issue, you’ll see Mr. Lije Baley, Earthman detective, coming out from underground into the light of The Naked Sun. Isaac Asimov’s new serial is bringing Elijah Baley and his robot partner, Daneel, on another detecting mission. But while the surface activity is that of determining who killed a man when it was self-evidently impossible, the real and important problem Baley has to solve is far more complex. Essentially, it is… “Which Way Is UP? Which way is forward?”


And this time, the problem lies on one of the Outer Planets; agoraphobic Elijah Baley has to solve a problem under the conditions least endurable to him — out under The Naked Sun

Astounding Science Fiction September 1956

For this episode, we read the same portion of the book published in the October 1956 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. That corresponds to chapters 1 through 6.

In this section, Baley is assigned to a murder case on Solaria, the newest of the Spacer worlds. He’s reunited with R. Daneel and we see him struggling with his agoraphobia in planes, spaceships, automobiles, and also in a big fancy house built just for him. We also learn about the murder and meet Gladia (pronounced gla-DEE-ah) Delmarre who is destined to become a major character and helps put the naked in The Naked Sun.

Here are the opening pages and the remaining illustrations by H. R. Van Dongen.

Season 3, Episode 17: coming soon to the aether near you!

Resources

  • Asimov, Isaac. “The Naked Sun, part 1” Astounding Science Fiction, October 1956, pp. 8-62.
  • Asimov, Isaac. The Naked Sun, ©1956, 1957, 1983, Bantum Spectra
  • Campbell, John W. “In Times to Come” Astounding Science Fiction, September 1956, pg. 42.