Odds and Ends: September 2026

I saw a Naoyuki Katoh illustration recently that reminded me of a similar artwork, a John Harris piece called "Fire: The Rite of the Silver Path."

So, here they both are. I don't have anything insightful to add!

I was recently reminded of my old collection of strange taglines from science fiction covers. Enjoy.

Here's a history and index of Call of Cthulhu's first fanzine, Dagon (1983-1990), complete with a cool selection of cover art at the end of the page.

These are the most colorful ones:

Speaking of interesting historical resources, this blogger has posted the entire 1952-1972 run of the "Space Conquerors" comic, from the pages of Boys Life magazine.

I'm mostly interested in the Gray Morrow illustrations, like this Sept 1968 installment. Dinosaurs and giant ants? Classic.

Anyone in England want to take a trip to Shropshire to see an exhibition of Bob Fowke's speculative art? It's running til September 22. Here's the info I've been sent for it:

"Who remembers the Kellogg's dinosaur flipcards of the 80s; swapping them in playgrounds? Bob Fowke painted the original artwork for the dinosaurs. He has an exhibition of his 70s sci-fi fantasy book cover artwork, two dinosaur originals, and new paintings at Bishop's Castle Town Hall SY9 5BG from 22 August to 22 September."

Figures I'd find this sick cover after my Giant People post was already live: Leo Summers' cover art for Fantastic Stories of Imagination, February 1961.

This uncredited 1974 paperback artwork for The Man Who Folded Himself, by David Gerrold, operates on a similar theme, too.

Check out the Moist Towelette Museum.

Found via the Casual Archivist, who also recently posted this roundup of 1996 graphic design from the Wired print magazine.

"[I]n 1996, nobody really knew yet what supercomputers or 'the internet' were supposed to look like (see: ’90s illustrations of people literally surfing the web). In order to illustrate these new technologies, Wired’s designers had to subvert existing visual techniques to suit their needs: everything from scientific diagrams, rave flyers, and photocopies, to 3D rendered shapes, collage, and comic books were fair game. The result is a publication that represents multiple futures, and multiple ways of representing the future, simultaneously."

Her Wired post also includes a link to this very cool ad campaign for the Robinhood app. The gifs and images here use Ligne claire ("clear line"), an art style pioneered by Hergé (the Tintin guy) but far more associated with Moebius when paired with the trippy sci-fi concepts seen here.

Back in January 2025, I featured the Peter Max 1971 Astrologicalendar, a deeply groovy astrology-themed calendar. This is your timely reminder that in a scant few months, we'll roll into 2027 – a calendar year that has compatible dates with 1971.

If you want to print your own bootleg version of the calendar for the new year, now's the time to get started with all the large scans you'll find over here.

The Mad World of Harvey Kurtzman (film review)

I definitely want to check out this documentary on MAD magazine creator and satirist Harvey Kurtzman, once it's available on VOD. Would you believe it's directed by Bart Simpson?

Paul Vincent Woodroffe's illustrations for Shakespeare's The Tempest, 1908 - Feuilleton

Some very cool vintage fantasy illustration here:

Music Rec: Here's six and a half hours of Italian ambient synth music from the '80s – don't miss the comments, where you'll find heartwarming statements from some of the featured artists, saying how touched they are to be appreciated so many decades later.

Next Time: Paying subscribers get a look at the work of two artists I'm hoping to include in my next art collection – Rowena Morrill and Ioannis. Free subscribers might wanna sign up!