A Couple of Cubist Comics

JF Ptak Science Books   Quick Post

This is not a particularly early Cubust-like comic book or sci-fi pulp image--it actually comes quite late in the career of early Cubism, in 1934--some 21 years or so following the pro forma appearance of the movement at the Armory in 1913.  But it is interesting, and seems to have been composed in context with the story--and it looks rather good.

The earliest examples go right back into the very heart of Cubism:

This is a detail from a very early example, "Mamma's Angel Child", by M.T. "Penny" Ross, which appeared within a year or two of the show.  Ross (1881-1937) was a very active illustrator and seemingly somewhat Zelig-like, somewhat everywhere, and signed this work "Paul Vincent Cezanne Van Gogen Gaugin", just to make sure that there was no mistake, and no real understatement. 

Comments

[Ray Girvan]

"... seems to have been composed in context with the story"

Googling - yes. Kelly's "Star Ship Invincible" concerns the conflict aboard a starship between the pilot, Moran (the guy in uniform) and Hansen (the navigator) as the ship drops through various dimensions, causing distortions of size and shape. The white column thing is its "dimensional converter":

"The converter was oddly like a flower—a flame flower with metal petals of vivid blue, and a purple cylindrical stalk luminous with an un-ceasing sweat of cold translucent bubbles that sifted out through a network of tiny apertures on the underside of the petals and flowed downward in a singing stream. It seemed to be covered by a shimmering veil of something shining and smooth and transparent like glass, yet not glass."