preload
Apr 05

Unbelievably this came before The Machine Gunners by Robert Westhall! Click for full image

Good Show Sir’s Art Direction: Space Ship X.S.22… that’s what this old boy is called? Well I don’t think we should have a space ship or in fact anything resembling anything sci-fi on there. That’s what they’d be expecting us to do. Just put a couple of boys carrying a machine gun while another gets chased by a bull!
Published 1966

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.12 out of 10)
Loading...

Tagged with:

24 Responses to “Space Ship X.S.22”

  1. THX 1138 Says:

    I think Michael Bay’s Armageddon taught us every spaceship needs a machine gun… no, seriously, they mixed the covers up, right?

  2. SI Says:

    No.. wait… maybe the bull IS the space ship.

    Also, that kid is so screwed.

  3. FéarofMusic Says:

    “I say, Martin, I think Alfie’s done for. That bull seems to be rather peeved about something or other. And gaining rather rapidly.”
    “Well, Arthur, mother has always said that’s the sort of thing that happens to those who don’t attend a proper public school. Now help me set up this tiny Lewis gun so that we might repel the Huns.”
    “Yes, well, wasn’t there mention, somewhere, of a spaceship..”
    “The Huns, Arthur.The Boche?”
    “Yes, of course Martin. Oh dear. That’s it for Alfie then.”

  4. Tat Wood Says:

    Either they’re on a hill or it’s a sequel to ‘The Little Prince’

  5. A.R.Yngve Says:

    “We’re going to have a jolly good space adventure — our rocket is loaded with sandwiches, tomato slices, apple pie, and lashings of ginger beer!”

    “Hurrah!”

  6. Bibliomancer Says:

    Good science fiction should give the reader a sense of wonder.

    I wonder wtf is going on with this book.

  7. GSS Admin Says:

    Just realised some information by flicking through this.

    * Victory Press is an Evangelical Christian publisher. Which would be why I couldn’t find much information about this.

    * Book is clearly for children… all children are evil though!

    * There is a minister in the book called Mr. Gay

    * One of the characters is called Willie.. (*sound of school ground laughter*)

    * The story seems to be about a small English town building a “space ship”

  8. JuanPaul Says:

    Little Jimmy was a cyborg with the strangest of implants.

  9. David Cowie Says:

    Is that a Sun computers spare part on the desk?

  10. Rags Says:

    Run Alfie, head for that keyboard!!! Bull’s have a primal fear of technology!!

  11. fred Says:

    Nice law and order cover from the mid 60’s. The boys have stolen apples from an orchard (check pockets) and are being trampled to death by a bull in divine retribution. Serves the little bastards right. Probably would have grown into pot smoking mass murdering hippies.

  12. Alfie With the Sun Keyboard Says:

    and then the bull turned round and chased martin and arthur away from the sarnies and ginger beers and Alfie had a delightful lunch in the warm sunshine and was back home with mummy in time to establish an alibi the end.

  13. B. Chiclitz Says:

    Not only are their pockets stuffed with these obviously pilfered apples, but they appear to have them stuffed down their shirts as well! Fuel for the spaceship? Bribes for the bull? Gotta go with @Bibliomancer here, this is a truly wtf wondercover.

  14. Don Hilliard Says:

    @JuanPaul: Someone had to say it…you dirty boy, you.

    @GSS Admin: I was surprised some years ago, when in the retail book trade, to find out how many juvenile publishers (in the US at least) were subsidiaries of religious publishing houses in the ’50s – ’70s. (One of the more prominent, particularly for SF/fantasy, was Westminster, which was an imprint of John Knox Press – but with few exceptions, there was never any explicit or even veiled proselytizing in their books.)

    And on the whole, this should have been titled STALKY & CO. 1999!

  15. Jaouad Says:

    It appears our Admin is using a SPARC chip as a coaster. Good Show, Sir!

  16. Jerk of all Trades Says:

    That one foreground kid seems very into the scene of the bull trampling the kid in the background.

  17. Anna T. Says:

    What gets me is their very nice jackets. It looks like they raided their fathers’ wardrobes.

  18. anon Says:

    “I’ll help you to a doctor, but this is the last time. Stop sticking your pecker in lead pipes.”

    Tuvy Birdwad: Sex2Cash is P2P

  19. B. Chiclitz Says:

    “Lead pipe? What are you talking about? This is my pecker.”

  20. fred Says:

    This should be one of the Supermarionation TV shows from the 60’s like Fireball XL5 or Thunderbirds.

  21. Tor Mented Says:

    The lad in the blue jacket is a bit frightened to see that the book is by David W. Truby.

  22. Tat Wood Says:

    Acktually fotherington-tomas is worse than me he is navvigator and spend his time skipping about he sa Hullo clouds hullo sky hullo sun etc when huge bull chace chiz chiz.

  23. JuanPaul Says:

    It looks like fun and games, but usually, when you get chased by a bull in field, it is not a comic situation. Alfie is totally f**ked.

  24. Longtime_Lurker Says:

    and they are going to get murded by the PUKON and his TREENS …

Leave a Reply