I just came back from a great trip to London, where I spent three hours one day at Waterstone's, the UK equivalent of Barnes & Noble (they do have Borders, though). It was fascinating to see all the alternate covers to books we're familiar with here in the US, as well as see the fabulous work of Keenan and Gray318 that doesn't grace our stores. Those guys must be sleeping for half an hour a day. Top shows Jon Gray's Dream Eaters - the circle is actually gold foil. Second is the American paperback version (I think Shasti O'Leary Soudant designed it). Third is a new book in this series, and I'm not sure who designed it, although it appears Gray-like. And fourth is Shasti's US design. More UK designes coming up this week.
The first two of six mystery novels about a transvestite Turkish nightclub owner/detective who dresses like Audrey Hepburn. Roseanne commissioned awesome illustrator Tomer Hanuka to bring the hero(ine) to life. Tomer had previously worked on the Marquis de Sade book for Penguin: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Philosophy-in-the-Boudoir/Marquis-de-Sade/e/9780143039013/?itm=2
James Victore gave an interesting talk at FIT last week about his career as an illustrator and designer, and one of the most impressive things about him was his power with the Sharpie. He said Sharpie should actually pay him for all the work he's done with their product. He showed slides of this new project, done for the July 2009 cover of Esquire Magazine. Model Bar Rafaeli, covergirl of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and Leo Dicaprio's girfriend, posed naked for Victore and he handwrote the first sentences to a new Stephen King story on her body. In the slideshow, which showed the writing in several stages, Rafaeli was talking on her iPhone while Victore was writing on her. I love this cover. I actually thought it was going to be a book cover, but this is OK too. Oh, and BTW Victore didn't write on Rafaeli with a Sharpie. He went to Sefora and talked to the salespeople who at first pretended not to know what he was talking about, but when he said he needed some sort of eyeliner to write on a supermodel, they snapped to attention and turned into the most helpful experts.
Great cover printed on uncoated paper. Looks really awesome in the window of a dark bookstore at night with a light shining on it - the dimpled paper looks cool. The wing on the right has a map of Queens, NY, while the left wing shows a map of Kerala, India. This is the story of two sisters from Kerala, one of whom emigrates to NY by passing off her sister's paintings as her own in order to get a scholarship. When her deceit is discovered, she disappears to Queens and her sister leaves Kerala to search for her. I'm not sure if the bottom pattern is supposed to evoke bindi, but it seems like the strand that is reaching for the author's name symbolizes "the hunger for independence and the longing for home; the need to preserve the past and the yearning to break away from it." (excerpt from the product description) Thanks, Ian, for the headz up.
Recently saw the top two in the bookstore. Couldn't help including some other Gregg Kulick favorites. And I just watched Twilight. Some cool things going on in the Gaiman covers...the fly has some weird mechanical solar-panel wings...and the spider has four human eyes, at least two hands, and appears to be juggling a skull and a flaming heart.
Keenan designed the US paperback (top), Brian Barth designed the hardcover (center) and the UK paperback's designer is unknown (bottom). "Meet Burt Hecker: a mead-drinking, tunic-wearing medieval re-enactor from upstate New York. He prefers oat gruel to French fries because potatoes were unavailable in Europe before 1200 AD; and, at war with the modern world, he enjoys hosting large-scale re-enactments at the Victorian bed and breakfast he calls home." Also, his "... nose is a dead ringer for that of the rhinophyma victim in Ghirlandaio’s "Portrait of an Elderly Man with His Son," a miniature copy of which Burt carries in his pouch.
Chris Brand re-brands these mystery novels set in and between the great wars. I love the font, which was created by Chris, as well as the coloration of the images. And there are nifty spot-gloss scratches, dots and lines on top of everything.
A gorgeous hand-lettered cover. Printed on matte paper with foil ornaments and embossed, spot gloss type.
Great photo and type. In 1985, A 15-year old African-American Manhattan prep-shool kid comes of age during his yearly summer vacation in Long Island's Sag Harbor. The photo was taken on-site by a great photographer who's been collaborating with RCD, Tracy Morford:
This is one of Kulick's first jackets, from 2005. It's awesome fun. The book "enthusiastically chronicles the lives and careers of seven songwriting teams from the 50s to the 60s."
New Welsh books being released starting May 26. These are both fantastic. I love the gigantic retro type and giant images, which are both obnoxious and funny. Crime is a novel about a British detective on vacation in Miami, a vacation that turns into a nightmare when he tries to save a friend's 10-year-old daughter, who's been targeted by an organized ring of pedophiles. I've heard that Welsh's books can be disgusting and difficult to swallow. And these covers somehow hint at that but also make them look delicious.
Similar to our last post, but also stunning. The frame is printed with some metallic effect. The novel concerns a Jewish gallery owner who is forced into hiding during WWII, and returns to Paris only to find his gallery empty - having been looted by Nazis.
Apart from being graceful and pretty, I love how this cover combines the old riverboat scene with a geometric form. It's also nice to see such small type. This novel takes place in post WWI New Orleans, where young girl is kidnapped and a man who feels responsible goes looking for her . The man's own son has died, and I'm guessing the ambiguous silhouette may refer to this child as well. I'm pretty sure this was printed on reverse side.
Top is the final cover. The novel recounts "...an alternative history that goes back several centuries to flip the slave trade, with Aphrikans enslaving the people of Europa and exporting many of them to Amarika. The plot revolves around Doris, the daughter of a long line of proud cabbage farmers who live in serfdom. After she's kidnapped by slavers, she experiences the horror and inhumanity of slave transport, is sold and works her way back to freedom." Evan originally pitched a two-cover idea (images 2 and 3) where the girl would be shown going from freedom to slavery on some covers and from slavery to freedom on the others. New from Riverhead.
I really like the template for these UK paperbacks. And how about that boobage?
The trailer is premiering on March 27 right before Monsters vs. Aliens. The film is directed by Spike Jonze. Stop reading now if you don't want to know what music will be performed in the trailer. I'm gonna tell you now. Arcade Fire's "Wake Up". Thank you Spike Jonze Fan Blog: http://s-jonze.blogspot.com/
