Planet Stories March 1943 — Leigh Brackett's Citadel of Lost Ships Cover
Inspired by Leigh Brackett's swashbuckling space opera 'Citadel of Lost Ships,' this visceral Planet Stories cover explodes with pulp bravado: a barrel-chested hero in red shorts fires a ray gun while throttling a green reptilian alien, as a second lizard-creature snarls from below and a captive blonde in purple silk watches from the sidelines. Shadowy armored figures loom in the background, amplifying the chaos. It's Brackett's Venus-noir aesthetic rendered in full pulp chromatic fury.
Half-naked hero. Two snarling lizard-men. Blonde in distress. Ray gun blazing. Leigh Brackett wrote the blueprint and the cover painter burned it down.
“PLANET STORIES 20c STRANGE ADVENTURES ON OTHER WORLDS — THE UNIVERSE OF FUTURE CENTURIES CITADEL OF LOST SHIPS A Novelet of Space Rovers by LEIGH BRACKETT SLAVES OF THE NINTH MOON by ROSS ROCKLYNNE NELSON S. BOND R. R. WINTERBOTHAM HASSE & DE PINA FICTION HOUSE MAGAZINES”
