Pulp paradise in New Britain

“Interplanetary Graveyard” (oil on canvas), by Howard Brown, from the March 1942 Future Fiction, in the show “WONDER STORIES: Pulp Art Illustration From the New Britain (Conn.) Museum of American Art,’’ at that museum through Nov. 3.

The museum explains:

“The museum’s celebrated collection of Pulp Art illustration will be on view at the NBMAA and the Delamar Hotel in West Hartford, in a two-part exhibition highlighting the compelling narrative imagery depicted by artists of this genre.

“From the Great Depression through the World War II era, Americans turned to inexpensive novels referred to as ‘pulp-fiction’ as a form of entertainment and a way to escape their woes. These gripping stories, conceived before the age of television, were suffused with adventure and mystery. Often produced as series, pulp-fiction gave rise to iconic characters, such as The Shadow, The Phantom Detective, and Doc Savage, who many consider the forefathers of today’s comic book superheroes.’’