Alien Grave Robbers Abduct the Dead, Startling Stories Sept 1939
More kinetic and macabre than typical Thrilling Publications fare of the late 1930s, this September 1939 Startling Stories cover depicts a squad of bulbous-helmeted blue aliens raiding a cemetery, extracting preserved women from glass coffins and loading them aboard an enormous orange rocket. The tombstones bear future dates — 2021, 2039 — grounding the horror in tomorrow's world. Rich in gouache-painted detail, the composition's frantic activity and grave-robbing aliens make it one of the more memorably unsettling covers of the pre-war pulp era.
Aliens stealing preserved corpses from a futuristic cemetery while women lie helpless in glass capsules is peak pulp nightmare fuel. The 'Cash Prizes for Best Stories of This Cover' contest invitation only adds to the deranged charm — this cover would have leapt off any 1939 newsstand.
“A NOVEL OF THE FUTURE COMPLETE IN THIS ISSUE! STARTLING STORIES SEPT. 15¢ THE BRIDGE TO EARTH A Book-Length Novel of Men Who Vanish By ROBERT MOORE WILLIAMS A THRILLING PUBLICATION CASH PRIZES GIVEN FOR BEST STORIES OF THIS COVER”
