Amazing Stories 1940s

The issue August 1941, volume 15, number 8 was illustrated by J. Allen St. John. The style of the early issues are and better than ever with a ton of detail, shading and use of color.

The 1940s featured a lot of combinations of different animals and aliens that were indistinguishable from humans or that had certain characterists similar to humans. In the August 1941 issue, two men are violently engaged with a disfigured mountain lion-like creature in a snowy terrain. There is a man under that creature with a sword and seems to be in grave danger, while the other man is in front of the monster with a gun ready to shoot it as it comes forward. The monster has huge hands and claws with long and sharp fangs and teeth that protrude out of its mouth, along with bug-like eyes that look like they are filled with balls. The monster is standing on four legs and reaching out to the man in front with two arms.

Racism was rampant in the US and was often reflected in the cover art of magazines or books. Amazing Stories was no different; the cover illustrates two men with tan skin and very little clothes with the words “Yellow Men of Mars” written next to them. The word yellow was commonly used as an slur or insult towards people of asian descent.