Book 474
Rayguns & Rocketships: Vintage Science Fiction Book Cover Art
Rian Hughes
Korero Press 2022
So this relatively new book by designer and illustrator Rian Hughes is a gem. Now I know a little something about post-war American pulp illustrators, but because pulps didn’t often cross the Atlantic I know almost nothing about pulp sf illustrators from the UK. So this book features illustrators and images I’ve never seen. And, after living with this book for a while, there is a difference. I can’t really quantify the difference at the moment, but it’s there. The authors might be the same—Clarke, Heinlein, Bradbury, etc.—but, as a group, there is a slightly different character to them from their American counterparts. From the highly graphic work of Leslie Wood to the exuberant designs of Ron Turner and featuring hundreds of images from a variety of publications printed on high quality glossy paper, this is a very welcome addition to any collection of pulp sci-fi art.
