Black and White Sci-Fi
Bold and bright colors are one of the most definitive markers of 1970s and '80s science fiction book covers across the US and UK markets. I'd call them the definitive trait.
Going into the decade, publishers and art directors were convinced that the dismal, muddy vibes associated with surrealist covers were behind a dip in sales. Instead, they established the trend for representational spaceships and alien planets, all colorful enough to grab a potential buyer's eyeballs and directly ladle seretonin into each photoreceptor.
But this is my art blog, and book publishers have no power here. Today, we're looking at the beautiful science fiction illustrations that used nothing but black and white.
Let's start a few decades early, with Virgil Finlay, a phenomenal pulp magazine illustrator prolific across the '30s-'50s. I did a previous post about him, but here's a selection of four 1950s illustrations he did for Worlds of If and Galaxy magazine.
Richard Corben's innovative color reproduction process is a big thing he's known for, so it's even more impressive that he can still deliver stunningly unique art when working in black and white.
Here's "Planetary Geographic," a Corben illustration from Rocket Blast Comic Collector #74 in 1970. How did he get that 2D planet to look like claymation? Is this a Xerox of a color image? I don't know!
Here's an intriguing Moebius illustration from 1971.
This undated illustration's from another big-name French comics artist, Philippe Caza.
Mike Hinge's unique pen-and-ink style already looks like a paint-by-numbers illustration, making this one a little meta.
Lot of comic book artists in this roundup. Here's Walter Simonson, from the program book for the 1971 World Science Fiction Convention.
This next one's by Dennis Fujitake in 1972. He was apparently a popular fan artist at the time, judging from this review.
Alex Nino, from "Man-Gods From Beyond The Stars," in Marvel Preview 1, 1975.
A space crusader by Enki Bilal, 1976.
This one's by Al Williamson, 1978.
I think this interior art by John Schoenherr was done for The Illustrated Dune in 1978, but it might have debuted earlier in some other Dune-related media.
Cosmic Marvel artist Jim Starlin's 1982 Warlock #1 inside back cover pin-up shows off the intricate line work that defined his style.
Virgil Finlay was a big inspiration for Stephen Fabian, an artist who taught himself to draw around his early twenties. He eventually became a fan artist in the early '70s, before eventually becoming a full-time science fiction and fantasy magazine illustrator as a 44-year-old in 1974, when he was laid off from an engineering position.
Here's a 1977 Fabian illustration for a Jack Vance story.
Here are a few more undated Fabian artworks to close out this issue.
Stephen Fabian passed away at the age of 95 on May 6, 2025.
Cool Links
How newspaper comics created pop culture - Pop Cultural Precursors
Great article on how turn-of-the-20th-century newspaper comics were the first synchronous mass entertainment. Dickens, Shakespeare; Eat your heart out. (h/t Humanoid History for pointing me to this one)
This is actually a series of graphic novels, not something you can read online: It's about a team of Nancy-Drew-style teen detectives investigating delightfully upsetting folk-horror mysteries in 90s Canada. And it's somehow even better than that description!
This is a new 30-minute low-budget comedy special with like 6,000 views on YouTube. I hadn't heard of the guy, but he's really funny. Which is kind of what I look for comedy.
Music rec: I'm breaking from my normal recs to suggest an entire band: Cafuné. Great sound for a lazy late-night.
Next Time: Saturn and Other Planetary Rings