Pretty much every one of the covers to Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series
stinks, with the possible exception of the first one. I believe that the artist for much of the run is named Darrel Sweet. Where the covers are not just UGLY, the character representations are just wrong. I’ve always wondered if the cover artist gets any info on the book before starting- I don’t expect them to read every book they cover, but surely the author has a vision? At the very least, provide character profiles prior to the work starting.
-stonebow, who is still peeved at the ‘bodice ripper’ cover to Lord of Chaos, a book that has perhaps the best ending of any sci-fi/fantasy novel ever
I’ll start off by answering the OP: early Kinsey Millhone mysteries had nice covers, later ones (since about M), bad ones. They used to have some sort of image depicting some element of the mystery story. After that, the Alphabet Letter began growing and crowding out the image, until finally, they decided to standardize the cover design with the Alphabet letter looming over everything. I enjoy the alphabetic gimmick, but what makes a good title does not make an interesting cover.
The following is a hijack, but after reading Eureka’s post, I had to chime in about a similarly mis-placed lighthouse, and I didn’t think that “mis-placed lighthouses” would result in a real thread of its own.
We have a Jewish children’s video called “Uncle Moishy” which my 3-year-old son loves to watch. One of the songs on it is a person singing that he can do good deeds in all kinds of different situations - different times, places, circumstances. So while the chorus is running through that routine, it gives a location shot intended to portray the situation the song mentions - Brooklyn Bridge, Liberty Bell, hotel lobby…
At one point, he mentions Nebraska, and the image is a lighthouse overlooking a vast expanse of water. That totally cracks me up.
I can relate. I have all the books ever done on the history of paperbacks and their covers and most of the ones on hardback cover art. It’s not why I collect, but how can you not love a great cover on a great book? And there’s never any one way to do a great cover; they’re as varied as the books are.
There are obviously more ways to do a bad cover than a good one. One of the fascinating aspects of Bradbury: An Illustrated Life is that it has almost all the covers for every edition of every book so that you can see how tastes and styles change over the years, and what works and what doesn’t.
One of my books, for example, had a boring text cover in the U.S. But it sold in a number of European countries, each one of which took the theme and gave it a twist that really sold the book. I think they’re all better not only than that book’s but better than any cover I’ve ever had in U.S.
Speaking of science fiction: I have all the Gnome Press books, including I, Robot, and they’re like a history of science fiction art from the garishly lurid to the sophisticated and subtle. Unfortunately, none of them were done by Richard Powers, whom I think is the artist that Evil Captor was thinking of. A couple of links for him to check:
My favorite cover is from some editions of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire. The one that shows a cross on the horizon, silhouetted against a blood-red sky.
It is simple but striking. You can imagine it as the last thing seen by a vampire caught by dawn, or the last thing seen by a human caught by dusk.
Those cover, will nice, drive me insane. Magrat is ironing board flat with a squint, not at all like that curvy blonde in the green dress! All I want is a cover that doesn’t contain innaccuracies.
How 'bout them Frank Frazetta covers for the Conan the Barbarian books? I never read one of these books, but I remember standing and looking at the covers in awe back in my hometown paperback store.
Yeah, Frazetta did some classic work not only for Lancer’s series of Conan the Barabarian paperbacks, he became a major illustrator in the field as well as a comic artist. He also did a lot of the art for the covers of Edgar Rice Burroughs reprints for Ace Books.
I always thought James Bama’s cover illustrations for the Doc Savage paperbacks back in the '60’s and '70’s were excellent examples of commercial/pop art. They were the main reason I started buying the books. Doc Savage fans who have purchased the original paintings say the paperback covers don’t do justice to the wealth of detail and the rich colors. Bama later went on to a very successful career as a Western painter, and I mean original canvas paintings, not book covers or interior illustrations. I understand he’s considered a Contemporary Realist. Any art lover who wants a break from mainstream modern art should check out his work.
As for bad covers–eh. Far too many to even begin talking about them.
