Betsy Devine: Funny ha-ha and/or funny peculiar

The teenage dream world of 50s sci-fi art now seems as far away and idyllic as Rivendell. Visit Terry Gibbons’s project Visco to see

“…a visual catalogue of the cover art of the science fiction, fantasy, weird and horror fiction magazines from the early twentieth century to the present day.

This is the landscape of Spielberg’s boyhood dreams–jagged lunar peaks under purple skies, heroes whose space helmets look like inverted fishbowls, space villainnesses in see-through veils or pasties, bubblicious space ships in every crayola color. I especially liked this grumpy but somehow likeable monster from the first issue of Amazing Stories.

Thanks to Gary Farber for this link, as well as for his inspiring list of quotes. My favorite, from Sidney Hooke:

“Before impugning an opponent’s motives, even when they legitimately may be impugned, answer his arguments.”