A Very 70s Sci-Fi Art Halloween
Today, I'm on the search for the most Halloweeny retro science fiction art.
You might think this 1983 tech magazine illustration would be in the running. The simplicity really makes it pop.
Ultimately, though, it's not about Halloween at all: The French-language article it's accompanying is simply discussing the ways in which computing is compared to a fairytale, complete with "wicked witches."
Now this viscerally gross cover art for The Color Computer magazine's October 1983 issue is another story! My pores are practically clogged with holiday spirit.
But we're looking for science fiction art, not tech illustration.
This Larry Blamire artwork, an interior illustration for Gregor Hartmann’s “On the Road” for Galileo magazine, January 1978, is pretty spooky: Some cobwebs, that zombie, and an eerie orange twilight.
I also love this Tom Barber illustration. I even tried getting this one in Worlds Beyond Time for my spread about cloaks, but couldn't get in touch with the artist.
Granted, that cloaked dude looks a lot more fantasy than sci-fi. Fantasy and the supernatural in general tend to be a better fit for Halloween.
Fantasy art icon Frank Frazetta has plenty of great Halloween-vibe works.
Tough to get more Halloweeny than Joseph Mugnaini's 1972 cover of The Halloween Tree, by Ray Bradbury.
Some artists just head straight to Halloween-themed autumnal horror imagery. Bob Eggleton's jack o'lanterns in my header image is one example. This Terry Oakes scarecrow is another.
Or Ian Miller's pumpkin-headed warriors here.
But what artworks really nail the combination of science fiction tropes and spooky horror?
Rick Sternback has a spherical spaceship included in an eerie Stonehenge tableau for the cover to IF magazine's Nov/Dec 1974 issue.
Tim White has a great 1994 illustration for the science fantasy novel Star of Danger, by Marion Zimmer Bradley.
Here's a Bruce Pennington robotic UFO apocalypse, cover art for a 1973 anthology called New Worlds 6.
But my vote for the most Halloweeny science fiction? Probably the following handful of works from Steve R Dodd, a lesser known artist who was published in the 1980s and has continued producing a body of largely unpublished work since.
You can check out a short documentary about him here.
One of his most well-known pieces is the very Halloweeny "The Last Harvest," which turned up in Starlog and Future Life magazine as well as 1980s greeting cards.
All these scans come courtesy of Retro Sci-Fi Art, who has showcased Dodd's previously unseen works for years. Here's one, "The Spirit of Once Upon A Time," from the early 1980s.
Here's a great one from 1978, "The Star Surfers."
Here's a more recent one, "The Enchanted Canoeist."
Finally, here's "The Witch Head Nebula."
Happy Halloween!
Cool Links
Stephen Biesty: Cross-Section King - Dead Horses
A profile of an artist behind very cool edutainment kids books featuring cross-sections of pretty much everything. Lots of great art behind the link, along with some interesting artists who inspired Biesty. Via Sentiers.
The Brief Reign of Factory Pomo - Are.na Editorial
An exploration of an 1980s/90s micro-aesthetic that remixed early-20th century industrial concepts with then-high-tech.
How Artists Are Keeping 'the Lost Art' of Neon Signs Alive - 404 Media
Fun little 9-minute documentary about making neon signs.
Music rec: Just some classic rock bangers this time - check my last two or three issues if you're looking for the some top tier Halloween music.
Next Time: Walter Molino