“Amazing Stories,” Vol. 2, No. 10 (January 1928). Early robot cover by Frank R. Paul depicting a scene from “The Comet Doom” by Edmond Hamilton.
“The crouching, shackled scientists are surprised and horrified by the entrance of the leader of the visitors from the comet – a grotesque, nightmarish figure, whose body was a cylinder of smooth black metal instead of flesh; who had four spider-like metal lower limbs and four metal tentacles instead of arms. On top of this body was a small cube which could be turned at will in any direction, and in each side of which was a single circle of soft glowing light, instead of eyes. It seemed to be of a high order of intelligence. . .
“In presenting this new author to our readers, all we can say is that we hope that this story will not be the last one by Mr. Hamilton to appear in AMAZING STORIES. For sheer audacity of imagination and for the presentation of good scientifiction, we believe that Mr. Hamilton will soon find a place of his own in the minds of every reader. There is so much that is novel, so much that is interesting in this story, that we are sure that it will be widely acclaimed by everyone.”
(Through the late 1920s and early 1930s Edmond Hamilton wrote for all of the science fiction pulp magazines and was very popular as an author of space opera, a subgenre he created along with E.E. “Doc” Smith. Hamilton was the primary force behind the “Captain Future” franchise, a science fiction pulp that won him many fans. In 1942, he began writing for DC Comics and was instrumental in the early growth of the “Legion of Super-Heroes” feature, as one of its first regular writers.)
“Amazing Stories,” Vol. 2, No. 10 (January 1928). Early robot cover by Frank R. Paul depicting a scene from “The Comet Doom” by Edmond Hamilton.
“The crouching, shackled scientists are surprised and horrified by the entrance of the leader of the visitors from the comet – a grotesque, nightmarish figure, whose body was a cylinder of smooth black metal instead of flesh; who had four spider-like metal lower limbs and four metal tentacles instead of arms. On top of this body was a small cube which could be turned at will in any direction, and in each side of which was a single circle of soft glowing light, instead of eyes. It seemed to be of a high order of intelligence. . .
“In presenting this new author to our readers, all we can say is that we hope that this story will not be the last one by Mr. Hamilton to appear in AMAZING STORIES. For sheer audacity of imagination and for the presentation of good scientifiction, we believe that Mr. Hamilton will soon find a place of his own in the minds of every reader. There is so much that is novel, so much that is interesting in this story, that we are sure that it will be widely acclaimed by everyone.”
(Through the late 1920s and early 1930s Edmond Hamilton wrote for all of the science fiction pulp magazines and was very popular as an author of space opera, a subgenre he created along with E.E. “Doc” Smith. Hamilton was the primary force behind the “Captain Future” franchise, a science fiction pulp that won him many fans. In 1942, he began writing for DC Comics and was instrumental in the early growth of the “Legion of Super-Heroes” feature, as one of its first regular writers.)