There are GIANTS among us

Hollywood has been featuring "Giant Humans" in films since the 1940s, highlighted of course by their fantastic lobby posters. Giant humans, and 'giant human hands,' have been featured on many a pulp magazine and book cover too, before 1940 and especially since.

Here's a selection of GIANT HUMANS from all three mediums.

ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN (1958, Allied Artist Pictures, directed by Nathan Hertz). Poster art by Reynold Brown.

Brown's depiction of Allison Hayes as a giantess causing destruction along an elevated freeway is probably the most enticing poster art ever painted for a 1950s SF film. However, because the film is virtually devoid of quality special-effects, and painfully dull to watch, it's become almost insignificant when compared to its many 1950s counterparts. The film has never lived up to our heightened expectations as brought on by the posters enormous appeal. So while the movie itself hasn't stood tall in the test of time, Brown's poster has and will. Of the more than 250 movie poster that Brown produced in his lofty career, Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman is probably his most coveted. For cinephiles everywhere, it's as big as they come.

"See A Female Colossus... Her Mountainous Torso, Skyscraper Limbs, Giant Desires!"

I don't normally don't give space to digital art, but this 2018 Attack of the 50ft Woman concept piece by Daniel Burns stole my breath.

Daniel Burns has been an on-set designer and art director across hundreds of diverse projects, for film and television and commercial production and more besides. He has worked with Guillermo del Toro and James Cameron, to name drop two, across a broad range of genres. He has also worked on the films Fantastic Voyage, IT (chapter 2), Pacific Rim Uprising and Asura. Some of Burns' clients include 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Legendary Pictures, Sony Pictures and the SYFY Channel. His tools of the trade are Zbrush, #DS Max, Keyshot, Vue Xstream, Photoshop, and, much to my relief, a "good ole pencil."

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (American International Pictures, 1957, Black & White, 81 minutes, directed by Bert I. Gordon). Poster art produced by Albert Kallis. The art on the Mexican lobby card (1957) replicates most of what Kallis drew, and is uncredited. Supposedly this film was an attempt to duplicate the commercially successful pathos of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) by reversing its procedure. Some folks consider ACM to be Bert I. Gordon's best film, but not this poor ole blogger. The matted special effects are some of the worst that's ever been effectuated, and even allowing for the film's era and meager budget they should've been better. A lot better.

The story: Lt. Colonel Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast and although he sustains burns over 90% of his body, he survives. Then he begins to grow, but as he grows he starts losing his mind. By the time he stops he is 50 ft tall, insane and rampaging across the landscape.

Glenn Manning: "At high school I was voted the guy most likely to reach the top."  "Perhaps it isn't I who's growing, but it's everyone who's shrinking!"  "Why don't you ask me what it feels like to be a freak?"  "I just don't want to grow anymore. I don't want to grow anymore!"

CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST (1958, American International, directed by Bert I. Gordon). Half sheet art by Albert Kallis. This is the sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man, and if that film was, as some folks might argue, Gordon's best film, then this, in my opinion, is his absolute worst. The matted special effects are even lousier than they were in ACM, and that's saying something!

The story: Lt. Colonel Glenn Manning's sister is convinced that her brother survived after being exposed to radiation from an atomic bomb. Joyce goes to Mexico with two companions and finds that he has, in fact, survived, but was left disfigured and nearly mindless by the trauma of his fall. Not mindless enough to avoid going on another rampage though. 

 
Joyce Manning: "Do you know what it's like, just sitting around waiting for news?"

Maj. Mark Baird: "You mind if I suggest a remedy? It's an old one , but it usually works. Find something else to occupy your mind. Do you have a job?"

Joyce Manning: "I write copy for an advertising agency."

Maj. Mark Baird: "Now that should help you forget your troubles."

Joyce Manning: "I can imagine myself going back to write all those tired old adjectives: "Tremendous," "Gigantic," "Colossal!" You know what they'd mean to me now, don't you? Glenn! A colossal freak, Major, and he's my brother!"

CYCLOPS (Allied Artists, 1957, Black & White, 66 minutes). Poster art by Reynold Brown. The Argentinian poster duplicated most of what Brown created except for the silly Cyclops head. I watched this film decades ago and have no memory of it at all to offer an opinion. I guess that speaks louder than words.

The story: Susan Winters (Talbott) is determined to find her fiancé, Bruce Barton, who vanished in Mexico while prospecting for uranium six months earliers. Promising any uranium they find to wealthy mining expert "Marty" Melville (Chaney), she puts together a search team which includes guide Russ Bradford (Craig), and pilot Lee Brand (Drake). Finding their way to the valley Barton was investigating when he crashed, they land and are almost immediately attacked by giant animals--giant-sized because of exposure to high radiation levels. They soon discover Barton is living in a nearby cave, and, like the animals, he is now a 25-foot tall mutant humanoid with a single eye and deformed face.

'Nature Gone Mad!

It was a monster, yet it was a man!

You'll hardly believe what your own eyes see!  The Strangest Monster the World Has Ever Seen...'

VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS (Embassy Pictures, 1965, Color, 82 minutes, directed by Bert I. Gordon). Artwork and design by Embassy Home Entertainment. I"m pretty sure I was all grown up and paying taxes the first time I sat down to watch this utterly ridiculous film by Gordon, but it still made me laugh. The story is about a gang of teenage hooligans that ingest a chemical substance called "Goo," and zoom to six time their normal size. The special effects, dubbed "Perceptovision," were pretty good this time around, and a significant level of improvement over his earlier "giant" effects. Seek this dumb puppy out if you can.

FUN FACTS: Filmmakers used a special lens to give the effect that the teen's heads were 30 feet in the air.  Censored scenes, including Johnny Crawford snatching clothing off Joy Harmon, were stolen from an editing room during the production.  Featured rock 'n' roll hipsters, "The Beau Brummels" had two 1965 Top 100 Hits, "Just a Little" and "Laugh Laugh."

VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS (Embassy Home Entertainment VHS videocassette format, circa 1985). The box art was not credited.

"It's the Teen-Scene You've Never Seen! 

STORMSWEPT  (Film Booking Offices of America, 1923). Starring Wallace Beery, Noah Beery, Virginia Browne Faire, Arline Pretty, Jack Carlyle. Directed by Robert Thornby. Cinematography by Ben F. Reynolds. Written by Winifred Dunn from a story by H. H. Van Loan. Apparently only one print of this film has survived the ravages of time, and is in London's British Film Institute's National Archive. The story, in difference to the excellent poster art by an unknown artist or artists, contains not one giant. It's essentially a melodrama about a bitter man who seeks solitude in a lighthouse after his wife deserts him.
 

MAGAZINE COVERS, not unlike movie posters, are visual extravagances of the highest order. As you might expect with the SFF pulps of the 20th century, there are quite a few that feature giant humans on the covers, as well as giant hands. I was only able to find a couple of mainstream type magazines that fit the category though, so we'll start off with them...

BERLINER LEBEN was a German magazine that translates into English as Berlin Life, Leaves for Gallant Art. It ran from 1898 to 1928. Each issue averaged 32 pages, and featured articles on theater, film, art and fashion. This issue is circa 1921, and the beautiful cover art, as best as I can tell, is signed Linge.

FILM FUN, 1923, June. Cover art by Enoch Bolles. Bolles's original artwork (mostly pin-ups) has remained a hot item at places such as Heritage Auctions, and continually sell for thousands of dollars each. I find that rather amazing, but then again, this cover is pretty amazing.

THRILLING WONDER STORIES, 1938, October. Nobody does giant humans (and non-humans) like pulp magazines, although their cover art is not always credited, like here. I'm sure everyone who has ever been interested in this unique American medium has a favorite "Giant" cover. Mine can be found further down this list.

THRILLING WONDER STORIES, 1940, October. Cover art Earle Bergey.

AMAZING STORIES, 1941, January. Cover art by J. Allen St. John.

STARTLING STORIES, 1942, July. Cover art by Earle Bergey. This could easily be my favorite "Giant" cover, but it's not. Although as a fellow collector ya gotta love a giant who also likes to collect.

THRILLING WONDER STORIES, 1942, February. Cover art by Rudolph Belarski.

FUTURE FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION, 1943, October. Cover art by Milton Luros.

AMAZING STORIES, 1946, August. Cover art by Harold McCauley.

AMAZING STORIES, 1946, November. Cover art by Arnold Kohn.This is not my favorite "Giant" cover either, but that woman is definitely favored.

FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES, 1946, December. Cover art by Virgil Finlay.

Let me throw a name out that I've mentioned before: Art Hackathorn. He was a pulp collector and dealer who had complete runs of some of the coolest pulps ever published--or cool to him anyway. I visited his immaculate townhouse in Lakewood, Colorado more than once in the 1980s, where instead of pulps I loaded up on vintage paperbacks. Pulps to me, especially back then, were an unknown commodity. I didn't even know where to begin collecting except by cover art, which in hindsight is probably a good way to start collecting anything that is visually arresting. However, if I went by the gravity of its contents I would've bought some of Art's Famous Fantastic Mysteries pulps. They were launched by the Munsey Corporation as a way to reprint the many science fiction and fantasy stories which had appeared over the preceding decades in Munsey magazines such as Argosy. Eventually they added original material too. From it's first issue in Sep-Oct 1939, FFM was a success, lasting until essentially the end of the pulp era, in 1953. 81 issues were published, with all but the first five having pictorial cover art. All of the cover art, with the exception of three covers by Frank R. Paul, was produced by Finlay, Lawrence Stevens, and Peter Stevens (Lawrence's son). A hardback anthology, Famous Fantastic Mysteries: 30 Great Tales of Fantasy and Horror from the Classic Pulp Magazines Famous Fantastic Mysteries and Fantastic Novels, appeared in 1991. It was edited by Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, Robert E. Weinberg and Martin H. Greenberg, and it is one of the finest anthologies of SFF & weird horror short story fiction ever published. Each and every tale is practically a bona fide classic.

AMAZING STORIES, 1947, March. Cover art by Robert Gibson Jones.

AMAZING STORIES, 1949, December. Cover art by Robert Gibson Jones.

FANTASTIC ADVENTURES, 1951, December. Cover art by Robert Gibson Jones.

Yes, this is probably my favorite "Giant" cover. I like that the woman is riding side-saddle through the water while trying to escape giant clutching hands, and the whole scene reminds me in some weird way of the "Ford of Bruinen" sequence in Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, which of course makes no sense.

FANTASTIC ADVENTURES, 1952, September. Cover art by Walter Popp.

INFINITY SCIENCE FICTION, 1958, March. Cover art by Ed Emshwiller.

DRAGON MAGAZINE, 1988, December. Cover art by Larry Elmore.


AND NOW for a few book covers...

SUSPECT by Gerard Fairlie was published by Doubleday Detective Story Club, Inc., in 1930. The jacket artist is unknown. Fairlie was an English writer and scriptwriter whom 'Sapper' (H.C. McNeilie) supposedly based the character of Bulldog Drummond after. After Sapper's death in 1937, Fairlie continued the series as a sign of respect and appreciation of his late friend. Suspect is a standalone thriller involving a gang of thieves and murderers whose initiation fee is to commit a murder. Alas, there are no giants are in the story, only a giant skeletal hand on the front jacket.

 

THE PANIC-STRICKEN by Mitchell Wilson was published in paperback by Dell in 1948. The cover artist is unknown. This crime novel is about murder and heroin, which always seem to go hand in hand, or skeletal hand in skeletal hand. And never forget, drugs are for mugs!

JOHN CARTER OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs was published in paperback by Ballantine in 1965. The cover art was produced by Robert Abbett. Abbett, for a brief time in my youth, was my favorite illustrator, and may still be yet. That was primarily because of his cover art on this and the rest of Mars series, and Burroughs' Tarzan series as well. To me, his depictions of those two leading characters are absolutely definitive. One of these days I'll do a post on Abbett. I swear it.

AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND by George MacDonald was published in paperback by Airmont in 1966. The cover art is uncredited. MacDonald, one of the founding fathers of modern fantasy writing, had a huge impact on me in my teens, starting with his Ballantine Adult Fantasy paperbacks Phantastes, Evenor and Lilith, as well as three of his children's books (listed just below). I never got around to reading this particular novel though, but I know I would like to.

'Herodotus, an ancient Greek writer, mentioned a people who lived at the back of the North Wind. George MacDonald, a Scottish writer whose books for children include THE LIGHT PRINCESS, THE PRINCESS AND CURDIE, AND THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN, says that he does not think Herodotus had the right account of the tale, and he then proceeds to give us his story of a boy who actually went there. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND tells of the boy Diamond, the son of a poor coachman, and of his fascinating friendship with the North Wind, who appears in the story in many different guises. George MacDonald combines the spiritual with the everyday happenings of life in such a way as to make tham all wonderfully believable. Diamond's adventures at the Back of the North Wind is a rare and lovely book which ranks with the best in children's fiction.'

LORD OF THE SPIDERS (Blades of Mars) by Michael Moorcock was published by Paperback Library in 1971. The cover art was produced by Behan. Only one other cover is attributed to Behan on isfdb, and so far there doesn't appear to be any information about this illustrator beyond that, online or anywhere.

'Michael Kane had to return to Mars. The siren call of the ancient planet filled his blood with longing... both for a world that was not his own, and for the lovely Queen Shizala, the alien who claimed permanent possession of Kane's heart. But the way back lay through the matter transmitter, and the journey threatened to be more perilous than even Kane imagined! For the matter transmitter could not be controlled; when it tore him from Earth, the other end of his journey might be anyplace... or anywhen! And the mars that he discovered this time was not the Mars of his Shizala! As perilous as his early adventures had been, this Mars was far more deadly and alien!'

THE COLOSSUS OF MAROUSSI by Henry Miller was published in paperback by Pocket in 1975. The cover art was produced by Alan Magee.

"A spellbinder.... At his best Miller writes on a level of true expressiveness, generating a kind of all-out poetry, at once genial and savage."  --- New Republic

"An engaging potpourri of mysticism, egoism, sexualism, surrealism, and anarchism."  --- Harper's

"Miller... is our modern American Rabelais--always as drunk with language as he is with sexuality; as much in love with words as he is with women. I love the sheer energy of his writing."  --- Erica Jong, The New York Times

MORTAL GODS by Jonathan Fast was published in paperback by Signet in 1979. The cover art was produced by Boris Vallejo. What could be worse than a giant hand bursting through the fabric of reality to clutch at you and your beak-faced alien companion? Being in love with that beak-faced alien companion.

'Mutagen was the company that had made mankind's wildest dreams a living reality, creating the Lifestylers, genetically manipulated humans become gods and allowing the dead to live again as "elder" statesmen. Now Mutagen was once again attempting the impossible--to save the entire Alta-Tyberian race from destruction! And while the scientists frantically struggled against time and relativity, public relations man Nick Harmon was detailed to escort Ms. Hali Hasannah, the lovely, blue-skinned Alt-Ty emissary, around the Mutagen planet. But their peaceful tour soon became a hair-raising chase as someone began murdering Lifestylers and making it look like Hali was the killer. Nick didn't know why anyone wanted the Lifestylers dead but he sword he'd find out. Because if he didn't, both Hali--with whom he'd fallen in love--and the entire Alta-Ty people were doomed to extinction...!'

BERSERKER'S PLANET by Fred Saberhagen was published in paperback by Ace in 1984. The cover art was produced by Boris Vallejo.

'Five hundred years have passed since the combined fleets of humanity met and broke the berserker armada at Stone Heath. But through the human victory was total, one of killer machines--weaponless, its star drive a ruin--managed to limp to secret sanctuary on a planet called Hunters' World. Over the years since then a new cult has arisen there, a cult dedciated to Death as the only and ultimate Good. For Hunters' World has become a BERSERKER'S PLANET. 

The berserkers... the ultimate weapons, remnants of an ancient war, they roam the universe, programmed to seek and destroy all life.

GIANTS! GIANTS! GIANTS! was edited by Helen Hoke and published in hardback by Franklin Watts in 1980. The jacket art and interior illustrations were produced by Stephen Lavis. The book contains 14 stories and 2 poems all relating to folk and fictional giants.

Harry Bennett is one of those cover artists whose work sometimes crossed stylistic boundaries. I don't like everything he did, for instance his gothic paperback covers are drab, but when the mood was on he could produce a strikingly original composition, like here on the cover of Donald Barthelme's collection UNSPEAKABLE PRACTICES, UNSPEAKABLE ACTS. Pocket published this paperback in 1976. The book contains 15 short stories.

"Kafka might well be not turning over but grinning in his grave at Donald Barthelme, for here at last is a worthy successor. Not an imitator-- a successor. Barthelme is so funny that most readers will never know how serious he is."  --- New York Times Book Review
 

OTHER STORIES AND THE ATTACK OF THE GIANT BABY by Kit Reed was published in paperback by Berkley in 1981. It contains fifteen short stories and one novelette. The cover art was produced by Jill Bauman. Hmm... could this be one of the ten best covers in SF history? 

'9:30   Baby Leonard finds the Beta culture. Like all good infants, he sticks it in his mouth.

10:15  On a break from his lab, Dr. Feibourg takes Leonard to the Park. He has some trouble getting him into the stroller.

10:31  Baby Leonard's diaper stretches to the breaking point.

1:00    Dr. Freibourg realizes Leonard is gone--he calls the police.

1:45    Two lovers are awakened from their revelry by a huge, wordless creature. They flee the park and are taken to Bellevue.

5:00    The traffic control helicopter reports a pale strange shape moving through Central Park.

5:01    The search fro Baby Leonard continues. But the baby they are looking for is not the baby they are about to find.'

DEMON by John Varley was initially published in hardback by Berkley in 1984. The above, however, is the Science Fiction Book Club hardback edition with original cover art by Steve Ferris. I loved Titan, the first book in Varley's Gaea trilogy. It was massively entertaining while also evoking a powerful sense of wonder, that rarest of aspects in SFF. I'm embarrassed to say I never read the sequels, but I have read most of Varley's short fiction, an area of writing he particularly excels at. I also visit his blog on occasion, and I have a great deal of respect for him as an author, blogger and person, despite the fact that he bought a damn Tesla, which inadvertently (unless of course it was used) is helping to support the convicted criminal, rapist, adulterer, corporate puppet, grifter, fraudulent businessman, serial liar, fear mongerer and deranged insurrectionist who is, once again, trying to wrest control of the White House.

'The satellite-sized alien Gaea has gone completely insane. She has trapped humans in her mind. She has transformed her love of old movies into monstrous realities. She is Marilyn Monroe. She is King Kong. And she must be destroyed.'

MANY WATERS by Madeleine L'Engle was published in paperback by Dell in 1987. The cover art was produced by Rowena Morrill. Can a seraph (an angel) be considered human? I'm gonna say yes--remove its wings and it looks exactly like any human, except for here with its giganticness.

'Sandy and Dennys have always felt they were the ordinary ones in their family of geniuses. Mother is a scientist, Father experiments with space and time travel, Meg is a mathematical whiz, and Charles Wallace is a six-year-old genius. Now for the first time, Sandy and Dennys find themselves involved in a fantastic adventure. They have been thrown back in time to a desert land filled with mythical beasts and humans barely four feet tall. There they meet Noah, who is starting to build a huge boat. He warns them that "many waters" are coming to the desrt. Sand and Dennys must find a way back home soon, or they will drown. Also inhabiting the desert are the beautiful yet dangerous nephilim, who encourages the humans to be selfish and vain, while their brothers, the gentle, winged seraphim, do their best to protect the humans' innocence. As Sandy and Dennys struggle to survive the harsh desert they, too, are tempted by the devious nephilim. Can they resist the sensuous invitation of Tiglah? Will they ever get back to their own place and time?'

CONAN THE INDOMITABLE by Steve Perry was published in paperback by Tor in 1990. The cover art was produced by the late great Ken Kelly.

'Through a shadowed world buried in the bowels of the earth, Chuntha, the beautiful sorceress, and Katamay Rey, the twisted necromancer, fight their endless war--until Conan of Cimmeria, pursued by blood enemies, descends into the midst of their stygian battles. Witch and wizard each have plans for the intruder, to enslave or to slay, while the Harskeel, itself wrought of insidious thaumaturgies, would sacrifice the young Cimmerian on the altar of its own vile designs. But they know not what the face--for he is Conan, born of the harsh northlands, Conan the warrior--'

*   *   *   *   *

"THERE are always giants," replied Odin, "and men must always fight against them."
"I don’t know what you mean," said Sandy, lifting a puzzled face.
"I understand," said Sheila softly, "you mean fighting against the things that are wrong."
Odin nodded. "Even children may fight that fight," he said. 'Come!"
  

                            --- The Ship That Flew by Hilda Lewis (Oxford University Press, 1946)

[© April, 2024, Jeffersen]