Norm studying a model before painting a men’s adventure magazine cover, 1951.

The thirty-fifth anniversary of Norman Saunders’ death slipped by me, but I really wanted to get something up in his honor. On top of being just a great all-around American, Norman’s work for the pulps, Men’s Adventure mags and various trading cards from Topps made him a pop art legend. If nothing else, Saunders painted the very first rendition of Conan the Cimmerian for a paperback cover, beating Frazetta by fourteen years.

Over at the official Norm Saunders website there is an excellent career chronology as well as a very cool memoir of his father by David Saunders. There’s no way I can top those two resources, so simply click on the hyperlinks above to learn about Norman, his exceptional parents and the very full life he led. As I noted above, Norman Saunders was a great all-around American. His life story is both entertaining and inspiring.

Feel free to enjoy the small gallery of Saunders art below.