Astounding Science Fiction – Literary Art and Illustration

Astounding Science Fiction – October, 1953 (Featuring “The Gulf Between”, by Tom Godwin) [Frank Kelly Freas] [Updated post… [Yet further updated…]]

[Update – December 26, 2020: My search for additional sightings of Frank the Robot has been successful. I’m happy to report that he’s been captured on video on many occasions, and entirely un-UFO-like, his identity has been definitively verified by amateur and professional observers from locales the world over. It turns out that he’s not at all reticent about public appearances, seeming to quietly revel in and appreciate public recognition. True, he doesn’t say much. (Actually, he doesn’t say anything at all.) After all, if you’re a metallic man several stories tall, your presence alone speaks for itself.

I’ve also included numerous links about Frank’s creator, Frank Kelly Freas. Oh, yes… Note Frank’s resemblance to the robot in Freas’ black & white illustration for Tom Godwin’s story “The Gulf Between”. A distant relative?

So, to view a better Frank sighting, scroll down a little – just below Stewie Griffin – and enjoy.]

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“What the hell is that, a killer robot monster?!”

Frank Kelly Freas’ art gets around, in ways quite unexpected:

I recently discovered that the plaintive, puppy-dog-eyed, giant robot featured on the cover of the October 1953 issue of Astounding Science Fiction – the inspiration for the cover art of Queen’s 1997 album “News of the World” – was encountered in the latter form by none other than Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin, in the series’ 2012 episode “Killer Queen”. As you can see in the clip below (original here), Stewie’s introduction to the un-named metal monstrosity – courtesy of Brian Griffin – is a meeting quite memorable.

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“A MACHINE DOES NOT CARE“

“You wanted obedience Cullin – now you have it.
You climbed a long way up by forcing human beings to behave like machines.
But you were wrong in one respect;
no human can ever be forced to behave exactly like a machine,
and no machine can ever be constructed that
will behave exactly like a human.
Machines are the servants of humans, not their equals.
There will always be a gulf between Flesh and Steel.
Read those five words on the panel before you and you will understand.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

It was a good ship,
built to travel almost forever,
and it hurled itself on through the galaxy
at full acceleration;
on and on until the galaxy was a great pinwheel of white fire behind it
and there was nothing before it.

On and on,
faster and faster,
into the black void of Nothing;
without reason or purpose
while a dark-eyed robot stared at a skeleton
that was grinning mirthlessly at a five-word sentence:

A MACHINE DOES NOT CARE
(Tom Godwin, “The Gulf Between”, p. 56)
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“God, why does he look sad?! He’s already destroyed mankind; what else could he want?!”

“I’ll tell you what the news of the world is, we’re in a lot of #@%$*! trouble!”

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From the YouTube channel of TroyDouglas917, here’s Frank’s opening for Queen + Adam Lambert’s November 25, 2017, show at 3Arena in Dublin, with great views of Adam Lambert and Brian May.

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Illustration by Frank Kelly Freas, for Tom Godwin’s story “The Gulf Between” (p. 35).

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Illustration by Richard Van Dongen, for James H. White’s story “The Scavengers” (p. 121).

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Illustration by Richard Van Dongen, for James H. White’s story “The Scavengers” (p. 136).

References

Killer Queen, at Internet Movie Database

Adam Lambert – Official Website

Adam Lambert – Wikipedia

Brian May – Official Website

Brian May – Wikipedia

Queen – Official Website

Queen – Wikipedia

Queen + Adam Lambert – Wikipedia

Frank Kelly Freas

Official Website

Wikipedia

SFE – The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

FindAGrave

JVJ Publishing (Illustrators)

Field Guide to Wild American Pulp Artists

Internet Speculative Fiction Database

GoodReads

Galaxy Press

Wikimedia Commons (Cover Art) – 47 images

Comic Art Fans – some classic, “clickable” (relatively) full-size cover art

Dangerous Minds

invaluable – The World’s Premier Auctions and Galleries – original art for sale

Mad Magazine Covers by Frank Kelly Freas – Doug Gilford’s Mad Magazine Cover Site

1/28/17 – 9/7/20 — 3/23/18 1735

Astounding Science Fiction – June, 1943 (William Timmins) [Featuring “The World Is Mine”, by Lewis Padgett] [Revised post]

(I recently obtained a copy of the June, 1943, issue of Astounding Science Fiction in somewhat better condition than that which originally appeared in this post. The cover of my “new” copy appears below…)

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Illustration by Paul Orban, for Edna M. Hull’s story “Competition” (p. 47)

Illustration by Paul Orban, for Edna M. Hull’s story “Competition” (p. 54)

Astounding Science Fiction, August, 1954 (Featuring “They’d Rather Be Right,” by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley, and, “The Cold Equations,” by Tom Godwin) [Frank Kelly Freas]

Tom Godwin’s short story “The Gulf Between” was a cautionary tale about using computer technology to supplant human decision-making, set within the overlapping contexts of the creation of the ultimate (robotic) soldier, and, mans’ first venture into space. Godwin’s “The Cold Equations” is different: The story is a stunning exploration of the classical philosophical dilemma of balancing the life of one, versus the life of many, set within the frontier of a future space-faring civilization.

Though the latter tale is far better known within and even beyond the genre of science-fiction, the cord linking the two stories being Godwin’s adept use of an imagined future as the setting for confronting and resolving – in a deeply unsettling, unflinching manner – questions of man’s uniqueness, and, the inherent spiritual value of the individual. Though the stories are (unsurprisingly) somewhat dated on technological grounds – well, they were written over a half-century ago – overall, the writing is tight, crisp, and direct, their length belying their impact and the import of their underlying themes.

“The Cold Equations” has been adapted for radio, television, and web formats, testimony to the tale’s power and literary merit. Similarly, the story has been anthologized many times, one example being in volume one of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame, published in November of 1972.

The story, scripted by George Lefferts and with the roles of pilot Barton and passenger Marilyn voiced by Court Benson and Jill Meredith, was broadcast as episode 15 of the X Minus One radio program on August 8, 1955. The play can also be downloaded from Archive.org.

The two television versions of the story comprise the Twilight Zone production of January 7, 1989 (available on YouTube), and the FilmRise / Alliance Atlantis movie of December 7, 1996, the latter receiving widely varying reviews at both IMDB and Amazon.

Oddly, the several YouTube versions of the Twilight Zone version manifest the same strange problem: About one hour long, all are comprised of three copies of the episode “spliced” together, whereas the actual episode – without commercial breaks – is only 21 minutes long.

Though appearing under a different title – “Stowaway” – the DUST YouTube channel’s version of The Cold Equations, released on April 7, 2018, is a superb rendering of Godwin’s story, the brevity (12 minutes) and pacing of the film closely paralleling the feel of the original story. The acting is excellent (the CG, too), but (?!) the names of the actor and actress are not presented.

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Though Frank Kelly Freas’ illustrations and cover art were often whimsical, humorous, and – at least in his early years – highly creative (the cover is superb!), such qualities would not have befitted art accompanying “The Cold Equations”. Thus, the images of Barton and Marilyn are aptly subdued and pensive, while the leading image – a simple depiction of a spacecraft which seems to have jettisoned an unidentified “something” as it approaches a planet in crescent phase – symbolizes the central aspect of the story. These appear below, accompanied by key passages from the story, which is available in full text at LightSpeedMagazine.

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He began to check the instrument readings,
going over them with unnecessary slowness.
She would have to accept the circumstances
and there was nothing he could do to help her into acceptance;
words of sympathy would only delay it.

It was 18:20 when she stirred from her motionlessness and spoke.

“So that’s the way it has to be with me?”

He swung around to face her.
“You understand now, don’t you?
No one would ever let it be like this if it could be changed.”

“I understand”, she said.
Some of the color had returned to her face
and the lipstick no longer stood out so vividly red.
“There isn’t enough fuel for me to stay;
when I hid on this ship I got into something I didn’t know anything about
and now I have to pay for it.”

She had violated a man-made law that said KEEP OUT
but the penalty was not of man’s making or desire
and it was a penalty men could not revoke.
A physical law had decreed:
h amount of fuel will power an EDS with a mass of m safely to its destination;
and a second physical lad had been decreed:
h amount of fuel will not power an EDS with a mass of m plus x safely to its destination.

EDSs obeyed only physical laws
and no amount of human sympathy for her could alter the second law.

“But I’m afraid.
I don’t want to die – not now.
I want to live and nobody is doing anything to help me
everybody is letting me go ahead and acting just like nothing was going to happen to me.
I’m going to die and nobody cares.”

“We all do,” he said.
“I do and the commander does and the clerk in Ship’s Records;
we all care and each of us did what little he could to help you.
It wasn’t enough – it was almost nothing – but it was all we could do.”

“Not enough fuel – I can understand that,” she said,
as though she had not heard his own words.
“But to have to die for it.
Me, alone –

How hard it must be for her to accept the fact.
She had never known danger of death;
had never known the environments where the lives of men could be as fragile
as sea foam tossed against a rocky shore.
She belonged on gentle Earth,
in that secure and peaceful society where she could be young and gay and laughing
with the others of her kind;
where life was precious and well-guarded
and there was always the assurance that tomorrow would come.
She belonged in that world of soft winds and warm suns,
music and moonlight and gracious manners
and not on the hard, bleak frontier.

— Tom Godwin —
— 1954 —

Astounding Science Fiction – May, 1942 (Featuring “Asylum”, by A.E. van Vogt) [Hubert Rogers]

“Asylum”, which is anthologized in Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 4 (1942) (published in 1980) (one of three stories by A.E. van Vogt appearing in that volume), has qualities typical of van Vogt’s writing: Transitions between events and settings that are sometimes dreamlike – abrupt – in nature; an air of calibrated grandiosity in terms of theme and plot; a writing style generally placing vastly less emphasis on “hard science” than on the mental states and thoughts of characters.

“Asylum” artfully, powerfully, and very effectively combines such disparate themes and concepts as super-normal (if not transcendent) intelligence, multiple identities / personalities (prefiguring a central theme of the late Philip K. Dick), and, the vampire myth.

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Illustration by Charles Schneeman, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “Asylum” (p. 8)

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Illustration by Charles Schneeman, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “Asylum” (p. 14)

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Illustration by Charles Schneeman, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “Asylum” (p. 19)

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Illustration by Charles Schneeman, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “Asylum” (p. 28)

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for Robert A. Heinlein’s (as Anson MacDonald) story “Beyond This Horizon -” (p. 55)

Technology of the present; technology of an imagined future: A juxtaposition of a Colt M1911 .45 pistol and a futuristic pistol, the latter distinguished by its somewhat streamlined shape and two sets of “fins” – purely ornamental? – for cooling? – along the body and barrel.

Of artistic interest, note Hubert Rogers’ stylized initials – comprised of an “H” and R”, with the year below – in the right center of the image.

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for Robert A. Heinlein’s (as Anson MacDonald) story “Beyond This Horizon -” (p. 60)

This illustration is representative of Hubert Rogers’ depiction of architecture of the future, in a style typical of the illustrations he did for Astounding: The cityscape is characterized by buildings whose exteriors appear as sets of concentric parabolas, emphasizing curves rather than straight lines and angles.

Roger’s most highly developed depiction of this architectural style appears on the cover of the March, 1947 issue of Astounding, in an image representing Jack Williamson’s story “The Equalizer”. Here, Rogers balanced the simple curves and streamlined functionality of a silver-gray spacecraft with a city whose “curved” buildings appear in varied shades of yellow, orange, and red. The backdrop of both spacecraft and city is a sky that softly glows in pale greenish-gray.

The flying car / spacecraft (I haven’t yet read Heinlein’s story!) is also interesting. (Note Rogers’ initials on the door!) The vehicle combines the streamlined shape of a rocket with retractable landing gear reminiscent of an aircraft. Something about this craft is reminiscent of Bell Aircraft’s YFM-1 Aircuda of the late 30s – early 40s….

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for Robert A. Heinlein’s (as Anson MacDonald) story “Beyond This Horizon -” (p. 80)

The Currents of Space, by Isaac Asimov – December, 1953 [Stanley Meltzoff]

Astounding Science Fiction – September 1950 (Featuring “The Lion and The Lamb”, by Fritz Leiber) [Hubert Rogers]

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for William Morrison’s story “The Sack” (p. 47)

Illustration by Brush, for William T. Powers’ story “Meteor” (p. 109)

Illustration by Brush, for William T. Powers’ story “Meteor” (p. 115)

Astounding Science Fiction – August, 1950 (Featuring “Last Enemy”, by H. Beam Piper) [Ron Miller]

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 13)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 22)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (pp. 34-35)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 45)

Illustration by Walt Miller, for H. Beam Piper’s story “Last Enemy” (p. 54)

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 79)

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 87)

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 94)

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Bernard L. Kahn’s story “A Pinch of Culture” (p. 101)

Illustration by Brush, for Alfred Bester’s story “The Devil’s Invention” (p. 141)

Astounding Science Fiction – July, 1950 [Featuring an essay on the filming of “Destination Moon”, by Robert A. Heinlein]

Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Frank McCormack’s story “Skin Deep” (p. 79)

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Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Frank McCormack’s story “Skin Deep” (p. 87)

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Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Eric Frank Russell’s story “Exposure” (p. 107)

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Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Eric Frank Russell’s story “Exposure” (p. 120)

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Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Cyril M. Kornbluth’s story “The Little Black Bag” (p. 132)

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Illustration by Edward Cartier, for Cyril M. Kornbluth’s story “The Little Black Bag” (p. 147)

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Astounding Science Fiction – June, 1950 (Featuring “Incommunicado”, by Katherine MacLean) [Ron Miller]

Illustration by Paul Orban, for Isaac Asimov’s story “The Evitable Conflict” (p. 49)

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Illustration by Paul Orban, for Isaac Asimov’s story “The Evitable Conflict” (p. 56)

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Illustration by Paul Orban, for Isaac Asimov’s story “The Evitable Conflict” (p. 63)

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “The Wizard of Linn” (Part II) (p. 103)

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “The Wizard of Linn” (Part II) (p. 111)

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Illustration by Hubert Rogers, for A.E. van Vogt’s story “The Wizard of Linn” (Part II) (p. 126) This is the “original” art as published in Astounding, in which Rogers has rendered the image in “inverted” tones.