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io9Vintage Cover Art Suggests Future Laden With Guns, Space Suits For Dogs
Behold, the first-edition cover art for Fredric Brown’s 1951 Space on My Hands. The classic science-fiction short-story collection contains “Knock,” which begins with two of the most evocative sentences ever: “The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door …” Later editions of Space on My Hands … Continued
By Cheryl Eddy -
io9
The No-Stilettos Rule: My Approach As A Woman Creating Scifi Book Covers
How do you create a book cover that really sells the story to its audience? How do you package a book with a badass woman protagonist without relying on bare midriffs and spiky heels? Muddy Colors columnist Lauren Panepinto explains how she approaches cover art in her role as Orbit Books’ Creative Director. A few … Continued
Lauren Panepinto — Muddy Colors -
io9
The Cover Artist Who Combined “Sense Of Humor” And “Sense of Wonder”
Ed Emshwiller was one of the all-time great cover artists of science fiction and fantasy. And over at Geeky Nerf Herder, there’s an absolutely eye-popping collection of his book and magazine cover art. Including a surprisingly large number of “Santa Claus in space” images. Check out a few of our favorites below — but tons … Continued
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io9
The covers for the Japanese editions of Game of Thrones are incredible
We’ve seen some pretty amazing arton book covers recently, but these covers for the Japanese translations of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire are especially gorgeous. After looking at all the different versions of Harry Potter covers from around the world, commenter cortexsession recommended these covers from the Japanese translations from Martin’s … Continued
By Ria Misra -
Tech News
How the Rolling Stones’ Iconic Let It Bleed Album Art Was Made
With most of us buying our music in digital formats, album art just isn’t treasured in the way it was in the 1960s and 70s. And now, MoMA has added a classic from that bygone era to its permanent collection: The cover of the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed, designed by Robert Brownjohn. The iconic … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
Here’s How Designers Reimagined the Cover Art For 50 Classic Novels
Classic novels tend to have equally classic cover art. For example, when you think of The Great Gatsby, your mind likely goes to a pair of half-closed eyes floating over a glittering, cobalt city. But what if designers were given a chance to rethink these covers entirely? That’s the concept behind Recovering The Classics, a … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
Tech News
7 Fan-Designed Covers for The Great Gatsby That Rival the Original
F. Scott Fitzgerald was still writing The Great Gatsby when he saw artist Francis Cugat’s original cover treatment. He apparently loved it so much he told his publisher not to show it to anyone else because he wrote it into the book. You know the one? The obscured face on a cobalt background overlooking a … Continued
By Leslie Horn -
io9Books & Comics
How Dave McKean created Sandman‘s multidimensional covers in an era before Photoshop
One of the hallmarks of Dave McKean’s early Sandman covers were the photographic elements framing the central painting, as if you’d stumbled across the piece hanging in curio cabinet or against an overstuffed bookshelf. But before Photoshop made adding these elements as simple as clicking a mouse, McKean decided not to collage his covers but … Continued
By Lauren Davis -
io9
An Exclusive First Look at the Gorgeous New Covers to All of Octavia Butler’s Books
Octavia Butler created some truly memorable stories and characters — and now her novels have been released as ebooks with gorgeous new cover art. Check out an exclusive look at the complete set, below. They’re a gorgeous matched set in reds, black and gold. If you’ve missed any of these novels by the Hugo, Nebula … Continued
Michael Ann Dobbs -
io9Books & Comics
Robots, Mad Scientists and Damsels: Astounding Pulp Cover Art
Last week, we talked about how science fiction cover art evolved into the colorful, pulpy art we love today. Now, here’s our look at the evolution of cover art from 1930 to 1955, as pulp styles exploded into awesomeness. Pulp Fiction 1930-1949 The Great Depression created a tremendous demand for escapism, one quickly filled by … Continued
Natalie Baaklini -
io9
How Pulp Science Fiction Cover Art Got Its Sense of Wonder
We all love the colorful richness of science fiction pulp cover art. But pulp art didn’t spring into the world fully formed, full of beautiful women adventurers and marauding robots. Science fiction book cover art as we know it today was born in the pulp era of 1920-1955, but the process of evolution actually started … Continued
Natalie Baaklini -
io9
Space Babes in Danger: The Space Opera Pin-Up Art of Megan Burns
Megan Burns’ art spoofs and celebrates the sexiness of space opera. Her new gallery show, opening tomorrow in New York, pays homage to paperback book covers and comic book art, with hypnorays, alien life forms, and beautiful bodies. Possibly NSFW? Burns’ paintings will be featured alongside the neon alters of Pavel Kraus in “Ancient Sci-Fi … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
Why is this otter playing a vuvuzela? A treasure trove of pulp science fiction covers
The Pulp Archive blog is featuring a new science fiction book or magazine cover every single day, in case your day is missing awesome images like this one, of a trumpet-playing otter leading a woman. What are they looking at? (Thanks to everyone who corrected me on my otter insanity in calling that otter a … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
Behold the cover to Greg Bear’s first Halo novel in its full glory
Here’s an exclusive look at the full, uncropped cover art to Greg Bear’s first Halo novel, Halo: Cryptum. You’ll notice it’s pretty different than the usual Halo book cover. No Master Chief, no Spartan armor. How did this happen? Click the image above to embiggen (it’s about 4000 pixels wide, big enough for any desktop.) … Continued
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io9
Blast into the space age with vintage science book covers!
Back when the conquest of space was still a thrilling new prospect and the Moon landing seemed certain to lead to a Moonbase, educational book covers celebrated the wonders of the stars. Here are some of our splashy, exciting favorites. Top image via LadyCosmossiae on Flickr. Other images from Dreams Of Space, Stuart Ng Books, … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
This October, Marvel Comics goes Nosferatu with vampire covers
Given the popularity of the Iron Man by Design variant covers, Marvel’s launching a new series of vampire variants to dovetail with the X-Men’s upcoming battle with Dracula. The Iron Man “demon in a bottle” homage is particularly inspired. http://io9.com/5501231/shogun-and-caveman-iron-men-suit-up-for-time+traveling-armor-wars/gallery/ NEW AVENGERS 5 Vampire Variant by STEPHANIE PERGER INVINCIBLE IRON MAN 31 Vampire Variant by … Continued
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io9Books & Comics
The spaced-out covers of 1970s underground comix (NSFW)
The cover art of 70s gonzo comix often hearkened back to the medium’s pulp and scifi roots, albeit with a distinctly adult and tripped-out twist. Here’s a slew of comic covers from artists such as Robert Crumb and Warren Greenwood. You can find much more comic art at Mickey The Pixel’s Flickr. [via Sci Fi … Continued
