Illustrator (1921 - 2005) "The Damned Lovely," she of the smoking gun and overturned chair, pretty much sums up ROBERT A. MAGUIRE's ouevre. It's the original ilustration for a 1955 paperback of the same name by Jack Webb (the mystery writer, not the Dragnet guy). Stripped of text and layout, it's about as pure Maguire … Continue reading They Also Served: Robert A. Maguire
Tag: They Also Served
They Also Served: Bayre Phillips
Illustrator (1924–69) One of the 20th century's most prolific book cover illustrators from the forties through to the sixties, BARYE WINCHELL PHILLIPS was born in September 1905 in Fort Lee, New Jersey, and attended the National Academy of Design and The Art Students League of New York. Not even twenty, he began working as a … Continue reading They Also Served: Bayre Phillips
They Also Served: Robert E. McGinnis
Illustrator (1926-2025) "I wish I looked half as good as his painting of me!” — Raquel Welch One of the all-time greats and one of the most influential and prolific illustrators of the 20th century and a relatively late starter (he was born in 1926), Ohio born-and-bred ROBERT E.MCGINNIS painted well over 1,500 paperback covers since … Continue reading They Also Served: Robert E. McGinnis
They Also Served: Harry Bennett
Illustrator (1919-2012) It's a bit of a mystery, at least to me, why HARRY BENNETT isn't better known among fans of vintage crime and detective paperbacks. His distinctive cover work has appeared on works by Dashiell Hammett, Frank Kane, Dolores Hitchens, Talmage Powell, Don Tracy, Agatha Christie, Erle Stanley Gardner, Roy Huggins, Thomas B. … Continue reading They Also Served: Harry Bennett
They Also Served: Norman Saunders
Artist & Illustrator(1907-89) One of the most successful pulp artists of the century (and BOY! Could he do babes!), NORMAN SAUNDERS moved effortlessly from the pulps to paperback illustration. He was born in Minnesota, and took a mail-order art course, which eventually landed him a job at Fawcett Publications from 1928 to 1934. But he … Continue reading They Also Served: Norman Saunders
Last Night I Shot a Private Eye in My Pajamas…
Groucho Marx, P.I.? Created by Mr. and Mrs. Marx Okay, I'll confess. I'm a big Marx Brothers fan. I remember stumbling into class Monday mornings in high school, all bleary eyed, for what seemed like an entire semester, because CBC-Montreal insisted on running Marx Brothers flicks on the late show every Sunday night. And to … Continue reading Last Night I Shot a Private Eye in My Pajamas…
They Also Served: Richard Lillis
Artist & Illustrator (1899-94) One of the earlier pulp artists (he was young enough to serve in the first World War), RICHARD LILLIS was born in 1899 in Oxford, New York, the son of dairy farmers who ran a small grocery store on their property. He managed to attend an upstate New York college for … Continue reading They Also Served: Richard Lillis
They Also Served: H.J. Ward
Artist & Illustrator (1909-45) Despite his short life (he died of lung cancer at the age of 35), HUGH JOSEPH WARD cut a wide swath, responsible for some off the most sensational and iconic pulp mag covers of all time, working for Munsey, Dell and Popular, but mostly for Culture Publication's notorious Spicy line--which … Continue reading They Also Served: H.J. Ward
Dare to Judge This Book
Some Great Pulp & Paperback Cover Artists "Now he's telling herEvery little thing he's doneOnce he glanced at the jackets of some paperbacksNow he's got every one..." — "No Dancing" by Elvis Costello "... the covers were sometimes printed in advance, before there was a story. So what the editor did was show me the … Continue reading Dare to Judge This Book
They Also Served: Mitchell Hooks
Illustrator (1923-2013) One of my favorite artists, MITCHELL HOOKS' covers for Bantam's late-seventies reissues of Ross Macdonald's Lew Archer novels acted as the visual counterpoint to my descent into this literary obsession of mine. Imagine my glee to discover that, years later, Hooks illustrated (in a completely different style) another of my favorite … Continue reading They Also Served: Mitchell Hooks