Planet Stories Spring 1947 — Sword of the Seven Suns, Warrior Woman with Ray-Gun
A quintessential planet-opera cover, this image leans hard into pulp's most beloved tropes: the fierce, scantily-armored redheaded woman dominates the foreground, blasting a ray-gun into a chaotic alien battle. Behind her, a yellow-skinned warrior duels amid a hellish orange sky and swarming combatants. The composition is kinetic and breathless, packing savage planetary warfare, a capable female protagonist, and lurid alien atmosphere into a single adrenaline-charged frame — textbook Planet Stories spectacle.
An absolutely packed frame — fierce heroine, ray-gun blast, alien melee, dueling warriors, and a dying civilization's backstory telegraphed in the tagline. Planet Stories rarely delivered anything less than maximum chaos, and this cover delivers on every count.
“PLANET stories SPRING 1947 20c SWORD OF THE SEVEN SUNS Dead was the Machine-God. So the men of Klarn reverted to the Era of the Sword. A future-world novelet by GARDNER F. FOX Also WALTON BRADBURY HASSE WELLS”
