Futuria Fantasia – January, 1940 (Spring) [Hannes Bok (Wayne F. Woodward)]

When it comes to identifying the creator of a pulp magazine’s interior and cover art, an artist’s hand and eye can be immediately recognizable, whether through style, subject matter, or symbolism. In this, illustrators who immediately come to mind for magazines published from 1940s through the 1960s are Hubert Rogers, Virgil Finlay, Edd Cartier, Edmund Emshwiller, Herbert R. Van Dongen, Jack Gaughan, and, Richard M. Powers.

And also, Hannes Bok, the nom artistique of Wayne F. Woodward.

The latter’s work is extraordinarily distinctive, to the point that it’s impossible to mistake a Bok illustration for that of any other artist. Bok’s illustrations have an almost “three-dimensional” appearance, a sometimes simplified (but still aesthetic) exaggeration – sometimes extreme; often elaborate – and smoothing of the human form, and on occasion, the presence of creatures seemingly drawn from or inspired by mythology.

Here’s an example of Bok’s early work: It’s the cover illustration of the fourth and final issue of Futuria Fantasia, a fanzine created by Ray Bradbury and published between 1939 and 1940. This the most elaborate and professional of Bok’s illustrations for the fanzine, Bok actually having created created cover and interior illustrations for the all issues. The painting is unrelated to the fanzine’s content, and like the cover illustrations of Richard Powers, simply and powerfully inspires a mood or mindset.