While perusing issues of Future Science Fiction at Archive.org, I discovered H.W. Kiemle’s evocative and interesting illustration for James Blish’s short tale “Elixir” – in the September, 1951 issue of the magazine – which I couldn’t help but download, edit, and put on display.
The magazine itself features cover art by Milton Luros (Milton L. Rosenthal), while “Kiemle” is actually Henry W. Kiemle, Jr., – both of whose art hasn’t been previously featured in this blog, and interior illustrations by other artists, as well. Like other “second string” science-fiction pulp magazines of the 1950s, the publication’s art is more striking than its literary content, and in visual quality equal to or better than interior art in better known publications of the same genre.
As for the physics and operation of rocket back-pack worn by “Jimmy”, well, that’s another question. The propulsion unit as depicted utilizes a single nozzle, the outlet of which is located at or above the user’s center of gravity. As such, in operation, the unit’s actual effect might be to simply induce a “head over heels” rotation around an axis parallel to the wearer’s mid-section, rather than forward, “flying through space” motion paralleling the “long axis” of the user’s body.
In other words, you’ll go for a hell of a spin, but not much of a fly.
No matter. The picture’s cool.
“Jimmy plotted his course carefully, to take himself safely out of the area of the burning ship.”
(Illustrating “Elixir”, by James Blish, pp. 38-46)
References
Henry W. Kiemle, Jr. at Pulp Artists
Milton Luros (Milton L. Rosenblatt) at Pulp Artists