Rudolph Belarski (1900-1983), noted for "pulp fiction" and paperback detective images, was said to be "the perfect paperback artist" in the mid 1950s by art editor Ken Stuart, of The Saturday Evening Post. Belarski was fast, could produce a cover overnight, did 'idea pictures', which had symbols in the background such as angels when a plane crash was shown, and numerous action-packed black and white interior illustrations with gouache.

Belarski's illustration career began in the 1920s, with the pioneering days of American aviation and work he did for the publication called Wings. His best-remembered subjects, however, came along with the crime story fascination in the 1930s as portra...