Good Old Retro Sci-Fi

Towards the end of the 19^th century science fiction stories began to gain prominence as science speculation began to become more wide spread. As we went from the late 19^th to the early 20^th century we were swamped with all sorts of delightful stories. These started with Jules Verne and H.G. Wells.

The readers were taken upon incredible and mind stimulating journeys. Then came Edgar Rice Burrows with his sci-fi/fantasy of John Carter and Carson of Venus etc.

With all these wonderful stories came artistic book cover designs that captured the eye of the book shopper. All this retro sci-fi carried on right through the 20^th century with comic books, and film. As time went on we became more adapt at presenting such stories, but although this progress was splendid, it did take away that retro gloss for me. Somewhere that sparkle of mystery was smothered by the better and more realistic presentations of today.

Sometimes we try to recapture it with a new genre that we term steampunk. Modern sci-fi with an old fashion feel concerning dress and ironwork – girders, rivets and zeppelins etc.

When I walk around junk shops or bric-a-brac second hand charity shops, I’m always drawn to old annuals and comics. I just like to flick through and capture a nostalgic moment. Of course nowadays, the internet has all the images one might want concerning old retro sci-fi cover art. One just needs to put it into the search engine and hit images.

It’s always nice to know there are many others out there who share such sentiments and try to keep those old ways alive by sharing online.