Science Fiction Cover Art

[Sineva]

Believed to the earliest picture of Mos Eisley by Ralph McQuarrie. The two robots should look familiar. As for the person with the big gun, her first name is unknown, her last name Skywalker.....

My favorite of McQuarries would have to be this one,I can still vividly remember seeing it in a bookstore when I was about 9,this was well before Empire came out.

 

[Graham1973]

My favorite of McQuarries would have to be this one,I can still vividly remember seeing it in a bookstore when I was about 9,this was well before Empire came out.

Indeed and still worth a read to see where things could have gone.

 

[Graham1973]

An alien landscape by Bruce Pennington for the cover of 'The Year's Best Science Fiction Nº. 6' (1973) edited by Brian W. Aldiss and Harry Harrison.

 

[Sineva]

Stormtroopers with shields & light sabers.....

 

[Graham1973]

The cover art by Chris Moore for the 1992 UK (and apparently all subsequent UK reprints if the ISFDB is to be believed.) edition of Philip K. Dick's 1966 novel 'UBIK'. This one came to my attention when it was used as the thumbnail to a music video on YouTube.

 

[Michel Van]

EMSH illustration for story "Wonder Child" in Fantasic 1953

 

[Graham1973]

Ken Barr's cover for the 1978 reprinting by Ace Books of author Ben Bova's 1969 novel 'The Duelling Machine' an early work dealing with the idea of 'Virtual Realities' in a science fiction context.

 

[Graham1973]

The cover art by Mark Harrison to the 1989 Bantam-Spectra reprinting of the novel 'Project Pendulum' (1987) by Robert Silverberg, the fourth book in the 'Millenium' series of young adult science fiction novels published between 1986 and 1989. The cover of another volume in the series Katherine Kurtz's 'The Legecy of Lehr' (1986) can be seen in post #161.

 

[southwestforests]

The cover art by Mark Harrison to the 1989 Bantam-Spectra reprinting of the novel 'Project Pendulum' (1987) by Robert Silverberg,

Top of pendulum stand looks like it was borrowed from a railroad signal,
specifically a wig-wag (pendulum) grade crossing signal,

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/382072/
https://www.railpictures.net/photo/179368/

 

[Brett Davidson]

Karel Thole

 

[Brett Davidson]

Thole did a lot of covers restricted to circular composition, most for the magazine, Urania.

 

[Michel Van]

Karel Thole

Allot of his covers were used by german Heyne Verlag for there Sci-fi publication.

 

[Graham1973]

A Bob Layzell image of explorers amidst the ruins of empire. As to what publication it was intended for I have no idea, but there is one clue. In most fiction the phrase 'Imperium Galactica' is used, in the mural in the background the two words are reversed.

 

[Michel Van]

A Bob Layzell image of explorers amidst the ruins of empire. As to what publication it was intended for I have no idea,

it's cover for Novel A World Out of Time by Larry Niven used by German publisher
more cover used for Novel
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/titlecovers.cgi?799

 

[publiusr]

Sad news
https://varley.net/https://locusmag.com/2025/12/john-varley-1947-2025/https://reactormag.com/looking-back-at-the-work-of-john-varley-1947-2025/https://forum.cosmoquest.org/forum/...94-john-varley-author-of-gaea-series-has-died

Victory

 

[Graham1973]

To lighten things up a bit, Tim White's cover art for the November 1975 issue of 'Science Fiction Monthly'.

 

[Michel Van]

Sad news
John Varley - Science Fiction Writer

I loved his novels

His Eighth World Series was a wild view on Mankind Future culture.
Gaea Trilogy was wet dream homage on Barsoom
The Thunder and Lightning series was fresh new and funny, about common People start Space Colonisation on their own.

His short Stories were also unique in tone and view and some time controversial.

 

[Brett Davidson]

Old Soviet Christmas cards. Most feature space-related themes, including real spacecraft.

https://www.mazaika.com/postcard/santa-in-space.html

 

[Brett Davidson]

Movie posters are slowly escaping the curse of the giant floating heads. Here's how.
https://gizmodo.com/movie-posters-leveled-up-at-least-a-little-bit-in-2025-2000698512

 

[Michel Van]

This bit off topic
Gil Gerard past away
He play Buck Rogers in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
A TV show i really enjoyed still today...

 

[Justo Miranda]

I'd like to meet this guy's hairdresser, maybe he could do something with my bald spot

This bit off topic
Gil Gerard past away
He play Buck Rogers in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
A TV show i really enjoyed still today...

 

[Brett Davidson]

Potted history of the show.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ZC6_PytHA

 

[Graham1973]

From my collection, Tim White's cover to the 1986 Grafton Books edtion of William Gibson's 1984 novel 'Neuromancer'

 

[Brett Davidson]

We know about Ron Cobb's designs of machinery for Alien(s) but here's a video on the signage detailling the Nostromo.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGA1yE1bhg4

 

[publiusr]

From my collection, Tim White's cover to the 1986 Grafton Books edtion of William Gibson's 1984 novel 'Neuromancer'

Too happy.
That cover depicts a world with anti-gravity, but no oppressive cyber-state.

The covers of SLANT or THE STARS MY DESTINATION are more fitting for Neuromancer.

Charming

The Snark:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1195811670226022400

FASA

https://mythadvocate.blogspot.com/2015/02/dark-space-sawsnark-cruiser.html?m=1
Romulan Warbird refit

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CfIB02BJxsA


ILM
https://www.ilm.com/ilm-50-book-ian...poNpwIUKkzdeoxvgT__aem_YxnmhaolDlQltAvcgG7NLg
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2025/12/19/building-a-library-of-science-fiction-film-criticism/

 

[Graham1973]

Cover art for an unknown publication by Syd Mead. For some reason I can't help thinking of Kim Stanley Robinson's novel 'The Gold Coast' (1988) other covers definitely created for that novel can be found in post #1323.

 

[Michel Van]

We know about Ron Cobb's designs of machinery for Alien(s) but here's a video on the signage detailling the Nostromo.

How the Nostromo became so believable
Feature Chris Foss, Ron Cobb, Moebius

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpAJMx4e7v0


why look it like that...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBew0PVtaus

 

[Michel Van]

Ed Emshwiller’s January 1957 Galaxy cover

 

[Graham1973]

A pair of Ralph McQuarrie 'Star Wars' Christmas Cards.

 

[Graham1973]

For the Christmas 1994 issue of Galaxy Magazine, Frank Kelly Freas created a modified version of the cover image he'd created for the story 'Martians Go Home!' in the 1960s, complete with an extra pair of arms in honor of Ed Emshwiller's four armed Santa of the 1950s...

 

[Brett Davidson]

A good a thread as any. Tom Baker's 91 and still with us - and still the definitive Doctor for me.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIgIIjf69LM

 

[Hydroman]

EMSH illustration for story "Wonder Child" in Fantasic 1953

You have to hand it to the kid, keeping abreast of the new tech and figuring it out the math, I'm impressed. Even handling curves thrown at him, he is not a boob.

 

[Hydroman]

Thank you for you're "support", I'm out, stage left!

 

[publiusr]

A good a thread as any. Tom Baker's 91 and still with us - and still the definitive Doctor for me.

Agreed.

Those we lost

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mfNDgewmlEU

Retro space
https://reactormag.com/woman-in-the-moon-climb-aboard-a-rocket-and-launch-sci-fi-cinema-into-space/
What is sci-fi?
https://reactormag.com/unfortunately-i-am-wrestling-with-genre-again/
More modern
https://screenrant.com/upcoming-sci-fi-shows-you-cannot-miss/https://screenrant.com/prime-video-the-captives-war-sci-fi-show-star-trek/https://reactormag.com/the-wild-robot-sequel-nimona-director/https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-no-compromises/https://reactormag.com/four-times-familiar-characters-faced-nuclear-armageddon/https://reactormag.com/five-sff-books-that-pair-heavy-topics-with-a-heap-of-whimsy/
Star Trek
https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-smartest-sci-fi-episode-untouchable/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-47-joke-voyager-omega/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-dar-sha-mystery-alien-update/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-discovery-return-starfleet-academy-finale/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-just-went-bigger-than-it-ever-has-before/https://screenrant.com/star-trek-zero-point-ditch-trend-easter-eggs-tv-show-future/https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-erased-ds9-darkest-sisko-storyline/https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-deviations-comic-the-city-on-the-edge-of-forever-rewrite/
nice ship
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-starfleet-academy-starship-flex-tokyo-drift/

 

[Graham1973]

An imposing retro-styled cityscape by John Harris, for what it was created is unknown. For what it's worth the hotel sign reads 'Hotel Schrodinger'.

 

[publiusr]

Great--now I only have a 50/50 chance of Anton Chigurh blowing out the lock to assassinate me.

When things got busy at the nearby Hilbert Hotel, he just went to every other door.

Borges trained him too well.

Now to escape this:

-in this
https://www.ilm.com/how-to-build-an-x-wing-star-wars-model-50-ilm/

Nick Stevens returns
https://nick-stevens.com/2024/12/30/a-selection-of-recent-work/

 

[Graham1973]

Concept art by Mobeius for the 1979 film 'Alien'.

 

[Michel Van]

Another Study by Moebius for ALIEN

 

[Sineva]

This bit off topic
Gil Gerard past away
He play Buck Rogers in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
A TV show i really enjoyed still today...

Interestingly the prop gun hes holding is actually from the 1976 movie Futureworld

Oddly they replaced the original guns we saw in the pilot & the first few episodes

Capt. William "Buck" Rogers : "Have we met, Gordon?."
Brigadier Gordon: "I don't think so, Captain. We're from different times."

 

[publiusr]

Interestingly the prop gun he's holding is actually from the 1976 movie Futureworld

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/buck-rogers-poster-gun-edd-prototype.213768/
More retro
https://www.nobleknight.com/P/21477...TMtVsOVS-0ta0ta3uybwDz2aoTT1qFgRoCyCQQAvD_BwE