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Pulp Librarian Profile picture
@PulpLibrarian
Nov 24, 2021 • 11 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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Time for a pulp countdown now, and today I attempt the impossible by picking my top 10 Ed Emshwiller illustrations!
No 10: Crisis in 2140, by H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire. Ace Doubles, 1957. Emsh paints fantastic villains, and this one is my favourite.
No 9: Ed Emshwiller's alternative cover for Super-Science Fiction, June 1957. The composition is lovely and the spaceship is excellent.
No 8: an interior illustration by Emsh for 'The Visitor at the Zoo' from Galaxy Magazine, April 1963. I just really like these aliens.
No 7: Star Wars, by Poul Anderson. Ace Doubles, 1957. It's easy to miss the details on this cover, but if anyone can get away with drawing a space kilt Ed Emshwiller can.
No 6: Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1951. There's a lot of wit in Emsh's work and this is one of my favourite Galaxy covers.
No 5: Ed Emshwiller's cover illustration for Rat in the Skull, by Rog Phillips. If Science Fiction, December 1958. Creepy and funny at the same time.
No 4: Starship Soldier, by Robert A. Heinlein. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1959. Emsh did a lot of Heinlein magazine covers and this captures the essence of what would become Starship Troopers.
No 3: Threshold Of Eternity, by John Brunner. Ace Doubles, 1959. Emshwiller breaks the 4th wall.
No 2: Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1951. Emsh regularly painted the Christmas Galaxy cover, and this one has a great Mid-Mod feel to it.
And No 1: Women's Work, by Murray Leinster. The Original Science Fiction Stories, November 1956. It's just my favourite.

More pulp countdowns another time...

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More from @PulpLibrarian

Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Dec 27, 2025
Today in pulp: how do you write a novel in two weeks?

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Sep 26, 2025
Today in pulp I'm taking a look back at the Regency Romance series from Signet Books! Image
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Sep 14, 2025
Do you enjoy:
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Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jul 26, 2025
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Jun 30, 2025
Given the current heatwave, I feel obliged to ask my favourite question: is it time to bring back the leisure suit?

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Pulp Librarian Profile picture
Jun 29, 2025
Time once again for my occasional series "Women with great hair fleeing gothic houses!"

Let's see what's in the library... Image
The Voice of the House, by Margaret Erskine (an Inspector Finch Gothic Mystery). Ace Gothic, 1973.

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The Three Sisters of No End House, by Mona Farnsworth. Ace Gothic, 1972.

I said she'll fall over if she leans like that! Image
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