Join my "cover" band 📚

Published about 1 year ago • 2 min read

Hello, darlings! Looking fabulous as always.

Some time ago, I made a fun discovery on that infamous bird site now known by a single letter: a feed of vintage sci-fi cover art. While I’ve left that particular site behind, I’m happy to say that I can still delight in that stream of vintage art. The originator of that feed now has not only a newsletter, but also a glorious new book for you to delight in: Worlds Beyond Time: Sci-Fi Art of The 1970s.

Adam Rowe, our curator, has loving collected and produced an amazing volume of a the veary particular genre of sci-fi book cover art. I’ve been known to gush about such art myself. So imagine my delight upon finally receiving a copy of the book.

While its influence on my own work has been clear to me for some time, Rowe points out that this era’s art extends well beyond its own time and into ours:

Seventies-era science fiction cover art is the ultimate wellspring of imagination that we’re drinking from to this day, percolating through our consciousness until it has become inseparable from how we perceive modern science fiction. Sure, there’s the big franchises like Star Wars and Dune, both of which are going strong, but retro sci-fi style turns up in new blockbusters as well, from Marvel’s Chris-Foss-powered space operas to Avatar, which flipped Roger Dean’s art portfolio upside down and shook it for loose floating rock landscapes.

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I will certainly own up to drinking from that well, too. These covers and artists were a huge part of the cultural ingestion during my formative years. While my tastes have expanded considerably, it’s still there, all these many years and many works later. Flipping through this book is quite the nostalgia trip—slipping on a comfy pair of slippers and wrapping up in a cozy blanket.

Whether reliving the past or going on a new journey, this lovely book is worth a read. Explore the continuity of past and present and how one thing feeds into another. Remember, nothing comes from nothing.

Where to Buy...

​Worlds Beyond Time​

Retro delights in a gorgeous hardcover book.
$40

​Chasing the Flame​

Barbarella meets Jackie Chan hijinks.
$9 print, $3 digital

​Change is in the wind​

Limited edition prints, framing available.
Starting at $10

Until next time, flame on! 🔥

This has been the Queer Quantum Dispatch, brought to you by artist Edward Ficklin. If you enjoyed it, smash the forward button and share the love. 💖 If you got this from a friend (and what a friend!) subscribe for more!

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Edward Ficklin (he/him), the maverick artist not afraid to say gay, is dedicated to creating erotic art as a pathway to liberation for all. His surrealist work centers the nude figure exploring its own delights, ranging from the sensual to the ecstatic. In defiance of the societal forces attempting erasure by legislation, algorithm, or so-called “community” standards, he delights viewers with imagery of sex and body positivity. His paintings have appeared in NYC galleries like Foley Gallery and the SoHo Project Space, national exhibitions dedicated to erotic art such as CLAW Leather Getaway Kinky Art Show and Tucson Erotica, and numerous naughty, but high quality, publications like Erotic Edges, Doable Guys, and Dirty Little Drawings. He likes his martinis straight up, with a twist, and, of course, made with gin. He adores the grit, freedom, and wild unpredictability of urban existence and continues, likely to the grave, attempts to get that orchid plant to bloom again.