Andrew Liptak over at The Verge has posted a brief video that chronicles the history of art work found on sci-fi comic and paperback book covers in the 20th century.  Liptak notes that the fact that the genre was considered pulp – read, “trashy” – throughout most of its early history, ironically enough allowed publishers and artists to enjoy a great deal of creative freedom.

Science fiction cover art was originally designed to attract the eye amid a sea of books on a shelf, especially at a time when the genre was demeaned as “sub-literary.” That has become even more important now, in an age where readers select their next reads from tiny thumbnails on retailer websites or via social media posts.

As he points, any of us can now own one of these gems from the past for pennies – just go to a local used bookstore, and many of these titles can be had for a dollar or less.