Planet Stories Fall 1948 — Valkyrie from the Void, Alien Abduction Cover
This is the Fall 1948 Canadian edition cover of Planet Stories (Vol. 3, No. 12), one of pulp fiction's most brazenly action-packed sci-fi magazines. The cover illustrates 'Valkyrie from the Void' by Basil Wells, depicting a snarling, red-haired alien brute manhandling a scantily-clad blonde woman beside a horned alien creature. In the background, a heroic swordsman battles in dramatic silhouette — classic sword-and-planet planetary romance imagery rendered in vivid, oil-painted pulp style.
This cover is approximately one notch below a fully exploding space station — a leering alien brute, a heaving blonde captive, a horned beast, and a sword-swinging hero all crammed into a single frame. Planet Stories rarely did anything quietly, and this Canadian edition exemplifies the magazine's gleefully unhinged sword-and-planet excess.
“A.N.C. VOL. 3 No. 12 PLANET stories FALL 20c VALKYRIE from the VOID A Novelet of Stellar Savagery by BASIL WELLS CITADEL of the GREEN DEATH by EMMETT McDOWELL VALKYRIE FROM THE VOID by BASIL WELLS PLANET STORIES CITADEL OF THE GREEN DEATH McDOWELL JUL 29 AM”
