Hordes from Hades

Thank you to everyone who sent over their good wishes for a smooth move for the home, studio and new computer. Everything DID go smoothly, exCEPT for when I went to the new basement to put some things away, hordes from Hades came pouring out from the unfinished section—which really shook me up until they explained that they were from the Neighborhood Welcoming Committee, inviting us to worship with them (and you should see the basket of goodies they left!).

Virgil Finlay — Hordes from Hades (my title)

With Trembling Pseudopods

Among many talented cartoonists over the years, Will Elder was one of the top, even though he specialized in satire, and much of it with his compatriot Harvey Kurtzman.

Originally published in Trump magazine in 1957, this illustration satirizes good girl pulp illustration from a decade before. Elder brings his usual 'chicken fat' (extra little sight gags) to the drawing and shows that he could have given Virgil Finlay a run for his money if he had seriously worked for the pulps.

Will Elder — Trump magazine — 1957

Asleep in the Deep

I jes' love seeing texture in an ink drawing, and very few are better at texture in ink drawings than Virgil Finlay was, in pulps and other venues, such as The American Weekly.

Virgil Finlay —Asleep in the Deep — 1940s

Ariel's Song

This Shakespeare guy has inspired one or two artists over the centuries, even reaching into the world of pulp magazines.

Virgil Finlay — September 1942

Dread Summons

From an old pulp story called Dread Summons, this pictorial study of suspense is cinematic — the sort of story that should be read under the covers with a flashlight.

"The door moved a little against his hand,

moved slightly, eerily . . ."

Virgil Finlay — Weird Tales — November, 1937

Fantasy ala Finlay

Virgil Finlay — from The Ship of Ishtar — 1949

Potential Zero

A pair of star-crossed lovers à la Finlay . . .

Virgil Finlay — Science Stories — December 1953

The Second Deluge

I like how this mermaid's hands and ears are amphibian in nature.

Virgil Finlay — preliminary painting — 1947

I have no idea why this preliminary didn't make it to final painting for publication, but below is the cover by Stevens that was published.

Lawrence Stevens — Fantastic Novels — July 1948

The Dancer's Only Garment

Deadline pressures will have me just posting a miscellany of material with no theme or thought for a while. And you thought that's what I was doing all along, didn't you?

Starting off the randomness is a scrap of paper found amongst a box of my mom's papers. No idea why, except that it might have originally been in my dad's papers.

Virgil Finlay

Sesquipedalia Verba

This is a slightly disturbing image from Weird Tales by Virgil Finlay in an early phase of his style, a loose page in my image morgue.

The prose is interesting to glance at, what with words like 'stertorously' and 'horripilation'. I bet the rest of the story is filled with sesquipedalianism as well, not to mention phrases like, "stripping off her flaring-skirted frock of white organza and the clinging slip of primavera printed satin as one might turn a glove."

Whew, is it just me or is it hot in here?

Virgil Finlay — Living Buddhess — November 1937

Back Then

A loose page from a pulp with art by Virgil Finlay, the pulp artists' pulp artist, back then— portraying a character that looks somewhat like Buster Crabbe, the serial hero's serial hero, back then.

Virgil Finlay — Thrilling Wonder — December, 1951

His Song Quiets the Stars

This is pulp fantasy illustrator Virgil Finlay's style applied to the Edgar Allen Poe poem Israfel, written in 1831, about an angel who has the sweetest voice of all God's creatures, 'his song quiets the stars'.

Virgil Finlay — Israfel — 1938

Black Angels Have No Wings

Since I've put up a Lawrence Stevens' pulp illustration, I feel like I need to put up one of Virgil Finlay's as well, from the same time period. This is one from Amazing Stories, August 1952. Not an absolute favorite, but serviceable for the occasion.

My Favorite Virgo by Virgil

Late in his career, Virgil Finlay did a lot of illustrations for astrological magazines, some of it mediocre, but some of it superlative. This is my favorite of his astrology designs.

Virgo

Preliminary drawing for Virgo

A beautiful rendering of a variation of Virgo

Character Spots

I think these character spot illustrations by Virgil Finlay for Galaxy are pretty neat, from later in his huge body of work. See, he did draw more than just pretty women covered with sparkles and bubbles and stars.

Bonfire Survivors

These are a few more items that survived the bonfire. The Thrilling Wonder cover by Bergey is my favorite pulp cover of all time, so iconic and, well, beautiful. Some pulps were saved intact, others were so mangled I had to salvage only individual pages. McCauley's Moon Slave is one of the very few interiors I've seen of his. His covers are wonderful gems. Finlay's covers were never quite as good as his interiors, but his Weird Tales example here is pretty nice. That one survived intact. This post is being uncooperative, so I'm not able to label that one. But I think you'll recognize it.

Bergey

McCauley

Finlay

Stevens