GALLERY OF FRANK R. PAUL's SCIENCE FICTION ARTWORK
artwork (c) Frank R. Paul estate
Cover art by Frank R. Paul for March 1932 Wonder Stories for "Red April, 1965" by Frank K. Kelly.
The story describes the technical aspects of the blue laser thus: "Grenham saw three great hulks of shining scarlet metal, grouped in a perfect triangle formation. ... And in the exact center of that equilateral triangle, hung there by the interplay of forces from the three ships, hung a perfect sphere of blue light. ... Purple ships whirled up in screaming zooms, pursued by a vengeful finger of blue light leaping from the sphere. The luminous beam flickered gently over the lowest cruiser, and that great ship faltered, turned orange to red, and vanished into nothingness."
Interestingly, the idea of one large laserblast being formed by the union of several smaller laser beams (though minus a large central ball) is re-used in Star Wars and Return of the Jedi (shown here).
Back to FRP: Close-up of the spaceship detailing.
Below is interior art for the same story with the caption: "Everard had leaped at him. He was forced to shoot. Livingston stood perfectly still, horror written on his face."
Another Frank R. Paul interior illo (and an enlargment thereof) from the same issue, for the story "The Eternal World" by Clark Ashton Smith. This is probably my favorite FRP black-and-white interior, as it's full of opposites: vertical and horizontal, crystal-clear and opaque, fragile and solid, faceted and smooth, light and dark, light and heavy (though, importantly, the darkest and heaviest thing is at the top of the drawing - the opposite of where you would expect it). The caption to the illo states: "It descended upon the head of one of the geometric images. The figure was dragged upward as by an herculean effort and vanished..."
In this issue, reader Herman Teeter of Arkansas wrote: "It's been a long while since we've had an all-Paul illustrated book. Of course, we've had one or two of his remarkable drawings each month, but these were spaced in between others so poor that I could scarcely enjoy your periodical. When I read a story I depend upon its illustration to give me the primary impression. If this impression is poor, then oftimes I am prone to look upon the story as such.
"Again, seeing his wonderful work on the cover of the Fall Quarterly and the latest monthly, has caused me to literally seethe with curiosity. I want to know something of this genius. So herewith this letter takes the form of a frantic plea. I feel sure that I have practically all the science fiction fans behind me.
"Why, in the name of all that's holy, can't you introduce Paul to us? Here we have been praising his work for over five years, and as yet, we haven't the slightest idea as to who he is, his age, or what he looks like! WHO IS FRANK R. PAUL? For Heaven's sake tell us. If you can't inform us through the pages of your Wonder Stories, tell us where we can find out."
Gernsback replied:
"Mr. Paul is modest. He wants his work to speak for him. But since the demand for some personal knowledge of him has become so great, we will try to satisfy it by inducing him to pose for a photograph. In the March or April issue, therefore, we will show you what Mr. Paul looks like." (This was the March issue, and there was no photo of Paul in the April issue.)
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