Cover art for Fatal Revenant *Now Online*

[Romeo]

Is that going to be a picture of Linden, or the Mahdoubt? I bet the Mahdoubt has a cute butt under all those patchwork robes.

[Cameraman Jenn]

It's probably going to be a pic of Anele's butt....grody.....

[matrixman]

I'm aware that you all now have something better to talk about (the chapter 1 preview), but...after reading the last several posts ("Fatal Fundament" - nice, Wayfriend! ) I still don't see why Palencar's style is so wrong for the Chronicles.

I've looked through a lot of the work of this Palencar guy, and I simply don't like it. It just looks all the same. He seems to have some sort of fetish with nekkid bodies. And that just doesn't seem right for a Covenant book.

If Palencar were to really create a "nekkid body" cover for FR, I'd say it might actually be appropriate for the Last Chrons. My little spiel: purely judging by Runes of the Earth, my impression is that this last series will be the most "internal" of the Chronicles. The Land itself seems to have withdrawn to the background (because it is all but doomed anyway?), and it is the fragile mental landscapes of Joan, Anele and Linden that have taken center stage in the drama. It's also about their physical fragility, especially in the case of Joan.

And besides, what are the images or themes in the Chronicles we see time and again? Ravers, possession, rape, corruption/warping of flesh and health...things done to human beings and their vulnerable bodies. So in that sense I might say Donaldson has a "fetish" for the human body every bit as much as Palencar does.

Thinking along those lines, I would even say that Michael Whelan's art for Runes just doesn't work. It's out of sync with the content. Yes, he created a gorgeous vista of the Land, but that romantic landscape belongs to a distant, heroic age - of Berek Heartthew and company - more so than to the "present" era of a Land lost to itself. What did Whelan's art have to do with what we read in Runes? What we did for most of the book was follow Linden and Anele as they trudge through a Land that, via Kevin's Dirt and Donaldson's own subdued prose, was devoid of majesty and glory. One might say Runes of the Earth was about almost everything else but the Land.

SRD would appear to have a very bleak vision for things to come, and so it will be interesting to see if Palencar will deliver art that reflects that (apparent) coming darkness.

Of course, Palencar may very well draw a perfectly nice and bland picture of the Land anyway, and blow my rationale out of the water. Whatever, I'll still read the silly book.

[Niftium]

Thinking along those lines, I would even say that Michael Whelan's art for Runes just doesn't work. It's out of sync with the content. Yes, he created a gorgeous vista of the Land, but that romantic landscape belongs to a distant, heroic age - of Berek Heartthew and company - more so than to the "present" era of a Land lost to itself. What did Whelan's art have to do with what we read in Runes? What we did for most of the book was follow Linden and Anele as they trudge through a Land that, via Kevin's Dirt and Donaldson's own subdued prose, was devoid of majesty and glory. One might say Runes of the Earth was about almost everything else but the Land.

IIRC, Whelan did not get a chance to read much (any?) of Runes before he drew the cover.

I think the angle that irritates me most is not having continuity in the covers. Looking at the last three Dark Tower books on my bookshelf brings a tear to my eye because they are all so different. Even though most of Palencar's works don't seem to match Whelan's style, I do agree that (continuity aside) he was probably a good choice for what we can expect out of FR.

[dlbpharmd]

Thinking along those lines, I would even say that Michael Whelan's art for Runes just doesn't work. It's out of sync with the content. Yes, he created a gorgeous vista of the Land, but that romantic landscape belongs to a distant, heroic age - of Berek Heartthew and company - more so than to the "present" era of a Land lost to itself. What did Whelan's art have to do with what we read in Runes? What we did for most of the book was follow Linden and Anele as they trudge through a Land that, via Kevin's Dirt and Donaldson's own subdued prose, was devoid of majesty and glory. One might say Runes of the Earth was about almost everything else but the Land.

IIRC, Whelan did not get a chance to read much (any?) of Runes before he drew the cover.

I think the angle that irritates me most is not having continuity in the covers. Looking at the last three Dark Tower books on my bookshelf brings a tear to my eye because they are all so different. Even though most of Palencar's works don't seem to match Whelan's style, I do agree that (continuity aside) he was probably a good choice for what we can expect out of FR.

My understanding is that Whelan doesn't do a cover until he has read the book, and it's one of his conditions prior to accepting an assignment.

[A Gunslinger]

I am more concerned with the contents of the book than its cover....unless al la the Dark Tower series, we (dare i dream of it) get interior pictures as well?

[wayfriend]

Guns: I found a sneak preview of an illustration found in The Final Dark: link

[dlbpharmd]

[A Gunslinger]

Guns: I found a sneak preview of an illustration found in The Final Dark: link

Oh...you are a hockey puck, aren't you?! Heh!

[Niftium]

Stephen, of course, has no say in this. I'm sure Michael Whelan was offered the job and turned it down after the debacle last book. He wasn't given any time to read the book and get the artwork down. The publisher rushed him and it pissed him off. Hell, it pissed me off because the US cover of Runes is terrible compare to Michael's other work. I can see why he turned Fatal Revenant down, if he was even offered the job that is. Who knows? Publishers sometimes have difficult choices to make, but they are rarely informed ones.

I thought I read that bit I mentioned earlier about Whelan & Runes earlier in this thread.

[Manny Calavera]

The artist that is going to be doing the cover art for Fatal Revenant now has an official website up and running...so check it out...

www.johnjudepalencar.com/

I'm expecting the cover of FR to be a real stinker.

My all time fave artist is Robert Williams,I just love his twisted mind.

And this guy kind of reminds me of him,but with only 0.00000003745% of Williams talent.... That said,why couldnt they get Larry Elmore to do it?
Or any of the other artists who worked on the AD&D manuals in the 80's and early nineties....

[Usivius]

ik... I 'like' Larry Elmore's stuff, but suited to D&D and other 'hack' fantasy books. If you are going to pick a D&D artist, pick Jeff Easley ... he was abstract enough to get a 'feel' for something...

[Niftium]

According to a semi-thorough search of the Runes archives, we already had the cover design for that book by this time (mid-June?) that year. RotE was released in late October, so a similar time frame as FR. The UK cover was out even sooner. Is there still no word on Palencar's progress?

[Seareach]

Those who went to the Albuquerque Elohimfest late last month got to see the cover art for both the US and UK books but they're not allowed to talk about it or post pics of it at the moment.

[Niftium]

Thank you. It's comforting to know that the artwork exists in some state of completion.

[kevinswatch]

Yeah, but you think they'd be nice enough to show the picture to their favorite admin. -jay

(Although their favorite admin is probably Alynna, heh.)

[dlbpharmd]

Nah, Danlo was there, he saw it for himself.

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

(Although their favorite admin is probably Alynna, heh.)

Ha! Yeah, no chance of that.

[emotional leper]

I think a good picture that I'd like to see, possibly as cover art, would be that scene of Joan, inside the land that I think Linden witness through one of the falls. Joan, surrounded by all those acid-motes, banging her fist against her temple.

[Manny Calavera]

Jeff Easley ... he was abstract enough to get a 'feel' for something...

Heck even better !