Illustrator Alexander Leydenfrost (1888-1961) painted the cover for the Spring 1942 issue of Planet Stories, and the teenage Wally Wood copied that alien's head into an unfinished page (see above). Leydenfrost's creature was resuscitated a decade later by Maurice Whitman for Planet Comics #67. This was a comparison I wanted to get into Against the Grain, but somehow it was overlooked. We later managed to squeeze it into The Wallace Wood Checklist. Notice that both Whitman and Wood straightened the head up rather than looking down as in the Leydenfrost original.
Wood eventually became a contributor to Planet Stories with the 1953-54 illustrations below.
"War Drums of Mercury Lost" Planet Stories (January 1953)
"The Un-Reconstructed Woman" Planet Stories (September 1953)
"Color Blind" Planet Stories (Summer 1954)
About eight years ago in Vancouver BC George Metzger showed me the original to "The Un-Reconstructed Woman", which he owns.
ReplyDeleteIt really deserves an immaculate reproduction. No repro I've seen does justice to the original.