Nova

NOVA - A black ink and color pencil drawing on an 8 x 8 size vellum paper, circa 1968.

When I drew this picture in 1968 I was aware that things had changed dramatically in the SF field since the early 1950s when I first started reading science fiction. At that time there were as many as 25 different SF magazine titles being published, with lots of work for both writers and illustrators. But, as the years went by the number of titles dwindled and by the late 1960s the number of magazines being published was down to only 5 titles. So, my chance of breaking into the SF field in 1968 was greatly reduced and that was certainly disappointing to me. However, I was also aware that the SF paperback market was growing dramatically, and that kept my hopes of becoming a SF illustrator alive.

I miss all those SF pulps of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, there was an exciting "sense of wonder" to them that doesn't exist any more. Those early pulps were the beginning of science fiction as a literary genre in this country, and an important influence on young readers. They are gone now. Forever!

"the beginning is the most important part of any work, especially for the young for that is the time at which the character is being formed and the desired impression is more readily taken. Anything received into the mind at that age is likely to become indelible, unalterable, and is therefore most important that the tales they read should be models of virtuous thought." - Plato's Republic

Which is what those early science fiction pulps were all about.