Other than the clumsy block with text in it, this cover from the April 1935 number of Terence X. O’Leary’s War Birds is one of my favorite pulp covers and another example of Great Pulp Art.
It sports the classic red and yellow colors frequently used on pulp covers (supposedly because they were the most effective in grabbing purchasers’ attentions from among the other colorful fiction magazines on newsstands). And rayguns. And rocketpacks. And action. What more could you ask for?
Well, a better story for one.
The artwork is by Rudolph Belarski, who was 15 months into a 16-cover run on War Birds. The issue is also the middle of three numbers of War Birds where Terence X. O’Leary was promoted to title character, but it also ends the pulp’s monthly publication regularity. The pulp reverted to just War Birds after the June issue (also a cool rocketpack cover, at right). Clearly, the X didn’t stand for “Xtended run.”
In the March 1935 number, Terence X. O’Leary left behind World War I from the previous War Birds stories and found himself battling threats in the future. The three-issue, lackluster SF experiment (or should that be “Xperiment”?) failed, and O’Leary was back to conventional air warfare for one last appearance in War Birds’ October 1935 number.
Do you have any favorite covers?
