- Hardcover: 176 pages
- Publisher: Collectors Press,U.S.; 1st Edition edition (Oct 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 188805493X
- ISBN-13: 978-1888054934
- Product Dimensions: 28.2 x 23.4 x 2 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,321,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
From deep in the heart of imagination, where galaxies grow, robots rule, and Martians cause mayhem, comes Worlds of Tomorrow: The Amazing Universe of Science Fiction Art. Teeming with gigantic insects, spaceships, and scantily clad heroines, the science fiction pulp and paperback covers of the 1920s through the 1960s represented a generation's vision of the future. New military technology and increased information about space travel fuelled the minds of artists and writers to new heights. Predictions of planetary doom stood side-by-side with visions of Utopia on bookshelves and magazine racks worldwide. Written by lifetime science fiction collector, fan, and B-Movie icon Forrest Ackerman, more than 300 beautifully displayed science fiction covers come back to life in text and chapters grouped by theme. Explore the creative geniuses that moulded our vision of the great unknown into what it is today.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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11 reviews
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
Credit Where It Is Due
23 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover
First let me say that this is a beautiful volume, full of lush reproductions of rare old book and magazine covers. Any fan of science fiction art or the pulps will find this an excellent addition to their library.
But there is a problem, and it is fully as irritating as it is strange. And it's pretty damn strange.
In compiling a historical retrospective of science fiction art, the editors have failed to credit the very artists they celebrate. Every single one of the hundreds of cover images reproduced here is accompanied by the name of the magazine, the month and year it appeared, and the name of the publisher. Book covers also add the name of the book's author, which is generally prominently displayed on the cover itself.
The artist is NEVER listed.
Not when the artist's name is credited in the magazine or book displayed.
Not when the artist is well known.
Not when the artist's style is unmistakable.
Not when the artist's signature is plainly visible in the image.
The editors, Forrest J. Ackerman and Brad Linaweaver, each provide several essays throughout the book. Every one of these has a byline so that we never confuse Linaweaver's prose with Ackerman's. I wish they had been half as meticulous about giving credit where it is due when dealing with the artists who supposedly inspired them.
But there is a problem, and it is fully as irritating as it is strange. And it's pretty damn strange.
In compiling a historical retrospective of science fiction art, the editors have failed to credit the very artists they celebrate. Every single one of the hundreds of cover images reproduced here is accompanied by the name of the magazine, the month and year it appeared, and the name of the publisher. Book covers also add the name of the book's author, which is generally prominently displayed on the cover itself.
The artist is NEVER listed.
Not when the artist's name is credited in the magazine or book displayed.
Not when the artist is well known.
Not when the artist's style is unmistakable.
Not when the artist's signature is plainly visible in the image.
The editors, Forrest J. Ackerman and Brad Linaweaver, each provide several essays throughout the book. Every one of these has a byline so that we never confuse Linaweaver's prose with Ackerman's. I wish they had been half as meticulous about giving credit where it is due when dealing with the artists who supposedly inspired them.
17 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Worlds of Disapointment
23 Sep 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Caveat emptor! Over ninety percent of the cover art images reproduced in this book are the size of bubble gum trading cards. I was under the impression that the images were all full page but no such luck. Once again quality is sacrificed for cheapness.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
DAZZLING ART FROM THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCI-FI
7 July 2005
Format:Hardcover
"Worlds of Tomorrow" is a truly wonderful and nostalgic look back at science fiction art of the golden age of pulp magazines and science fiction books. Written by Mr. Sci-Fi himself, Forrest Ackerman, along with Brad Linaweaver this is a dazzling look into the past at the wonderful art of the 20's through the 50's that graced the covers of those early sci-fi books and pulps such as Amazing Stories, Startling Stories, Astounding Stories, Galaxy, and many more. No one knows Sci-Fi like Uncle Forry and many credit him with coining that term in the first place. It was the very first issue of Amazing Stories that inspired Ackerman's life-long love of the genre and set him on his pace to accrue one of the most fabulous collections of memorabilia ever assembled.
The book reprints hundreds of these classic pulp and book covers along with running anecdotes from both Ackerman and Linaweaver. We look back at these great covers and discover just how visionary the artists were sixty plus years ago. Their works had a perhaps over-spectacular flair to them, but they foreshadowed much of the technology we use today like computers, cell phones, atomic power, spacecraft, and robots. Frank R. Paul was the first star of pulp art as his work graced many covers of Hugo Gernsback's amazing stories and now sells for thousands of dollars today.
Each chapter takes on a different subject such as chapter two's look at space travel with all manner of fantastic rockets, and ships and saucers. It's interesting to see how designs changed from the earliest pulps of the 20's to the 1950's when actual space programs were able to provide inspiration to the artists. One can even see our present day space shuttles in the works of these early talents.
Chapter three covers robots and again these covers don't disappoint as they imagine robot designs both functional and sublime. There are humanoid robots, insectoid robots, even robots that look incredibly like the Transformer robots so popular today. One great cover to Galaxy from September 1954, shows a scientist working on a female android who looks entirely human, but with her skin peeled away over one arm and shoulder showing her internal circuitry, inspiring views of The Terminator, some thirty years before that film came out.
It is then interesting to see how when we move to the 1950's, aliens become the one of the main subjects for covers. With no limits but their own imaginations we are treated to a veritable treasure trove of scaly, hairy, slithering beasts and it's clear that many of the "B" filmmakers of the 1950's used the pulps as their inspiration in creating their latex monsters.
It's truly a magnificent book and I was especially captivated by the covers of the old Sci-Fi novels as you so rarely encounter them these days. A must have for Sci-fi collectors and fans! And as a side note, this book, like all of the Collector's Press books are well made using thick, coated stock, heavy covers and bound beautifully with the collector in mind.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
The book reprints hundreds of these classic pulp and book covers along with running anecdotes from both Ackerman and Linaweaver. We look back at these great covers and discover just how visionary the artists were sixty plus years ago. Their works had a perhaps over-spectacular flair to them, but they foreshadowed much of the technology we use today like computers, cell phones, atomic power, spacecraft, and robots. Frank R. Paul was the first star of pulp art as his work graced many covers of Hugo Gernsback's amazing stories and now sells for thousands of dollars today.
Each chapter takes on a different subject such as chapter two's look at space travel with all manner of fantastic rockets, and ships and saucers. It's interesting to see how designs changed from the earliest pulps of the 20's to the 1950's when actual space programs were able to provide inspiration to the artists. One can even see our present day space shuttles in the works of these early talents.
Chapter three covers robots and again these covers don't disappoint as they imagine robot designs both functional and sublime. There are humanoid robots, insectoid robots, even robots that look incredibly like the Transformer robots so popular today. One great cover to Galaxy from September 1954, shows a scientist working on a female android who looks entirely human, but with her skin peeled away over one arm and shoulder showing her internal circuitry, inspiring views of The Terminator, some thirty years before that film came out.
It is then interesting to see how when we move to the 1950's, aliens become the one of the main subjects for covers. With no limits but their own imaginations we are treated to a veritable treasure trove of scaly, hairy, slithering beasts and it's clear that many of the "B" filmmakers of the 1950's used the pulps as their inspiration in creating their latex monsters.
It's truly a magnificent book and I was especially captivated by the covers of the old Sci-Fi novels as you so rarely encounter them these days. A must have for Sci-fi collectors and fans! And as a side note, this book, like all of the Collector's Press books are well made using thick, coated stock, heavy covers and bound beautifully with the collector in mind.
Reviewed by Tim Janson
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