Kevin's Watch

All this time, and Frank Frazetta is still king. The only illustrator who ever inspired me to read something because of the picture on the cover. I was lucky enough as a boy to inherit my uncles collection of paper backs. He also was a Frazetta fan and he had an entire shelf of books by different authors arranged together as a display of Frazetta's work. If you ever get a chance to read his bio, I would recommend it. Often imitated, never duplicated, Fraz is still the best.

My favorite is definitely the guy who did these covers. I really have no artistic sensibility or whatever. I just think these look spiffy and cool.



He actually sold me on Passage at Arms. I was looking at the various Glen Cook books and decided to pick up that one based on the cover. And surprisingly, of the Glen Cook books I've read it's the only one I've really liked.

Despite the obvious influence that Dread Empire and The Black Company had on the Malazan series, I didn't like either of them very much. And I tried the first part of a trilogy that is set in the same world as Passage at Arms but I didn't much care for it.

I must say, that Dying Earth cover seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the book...

Murrin wrote:I must say, that Dying Earth cover seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the book...

That's just what I was thinking! I read it last year, and the cover on the one I had was more, um dyingearth-y.

Murrin wrote:I must say, that Dying Earth cover seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with the content of the book...

I figured it was Ampridatvir since that's the major "ruined city place" they run across in the books.

EDIT-But, knowing how illustrators do things...

I'm not seeing that image, Syl. (When I try to go direct, I get "Forbidden".)

Mr. Broken wrote:All this time, and Frank Frazetta is still king. The only illustrator who ever inspired me to read something because of the picture on the cover.

For me, that was and always will be Boris Vallejo.



With Roger Dean for album covers...

rogerdean.com/tales-from-topographic-oceans/index.html
(don't I just wish...)

Me too, regarding Syl's image, Murrin.

Strange. It's showing just fine for me.

Ooo...

Nice dragon on The Knight.

Vallejo and Franzetta were always the ones that used to stop me in my tracks as a youth. You could feel the magic. (And as a young single male I can't deny that I stared a lot at the women...)

Andy Kalish wrote:(And as a young single male I can't deny that I stared a lot at the women...)

heh

When it comes to Vallejo's work, I'll admit to that from the time I was a teen through the present day middle aged woman I currently am...

Beauty is what it is and deserves being appreciated. Regardless of gender.

Vallejo's work is too precise, too perfect, for me anyway, Frazetta had a way of convincing me with imperfection, his naked girls had little tummies, and over exagerated curves, his violence expressed on the faces of his characters with a tangible texture, ... time to stop or I will blather on to no point at all.

Mr. Broken wrote:All this time, and Frank Frazetta is still king. The only illustrator who ever inspired me to read something because of the picture on the cover. I was lucky enough as a boy to inherit my uncles collection of paper backs. He also was a Frazetta fan and he had an entire shelf of books by different authors arranged together as a display of Frazetta's work. If you ever get a chance to read his bio, I would recommend it. Often imitated, never duplicated, Fraz is still the best.

I own pretty much every Edgar Rice Burroughs book printed, I also tracked down secondary copies of all of all ERB's works that featured Frank Frazetta cover art....absolutely stunning, top notch artist IMO


CN

Mr. Broken wrote:Vallejo's work is too precise, too perfect, for me anyway, Frazetta had a way of convincing me with imperfection, his naked girls had little tummies, and over exagerated curves, his violence expressed on the faces of his characters with a tangible texture, ... time to stop or I will blather on to no point at all.

I agree. His women are hot, the violence is awesome.

this has always been one of my favorite covers..



rowena morrill

and i like her painting of asimov too.