Monday, March 21, 2005

More cover commentary

Nebraska's Frontiers of the Imagination Series is, in my opinion, a laudable book series that is hampered by poor cover design. Consisting mostly of science fiction and fantasy reprints from that hazy period prior to the "Golden Age" of the 1930s, many titles are obscure and long out of print. Some are poorly written, but the influence they had, and the ground they broke make them important landmarks in the history of the genre and worthy of continued availability. Below are four examples of titles in this series:
”Gladiator””When


”Gullivar”The

Looking at these cover designs, a reader will see instantly that they are a part of the same publishing line. That's good, as far as it goes, but I believe the design falls short. The font chosen, a pseudo-woodcut style evocative of a kind of early-20th century motif simply isn't very attractive or easily readable. Choosing a color combination such as orange on black doesn't help matters much. The heavy black border is overwhelming, and oppressive. Individually, these elements seem like a good idea, but when combined fail to stir passion to buy. The cover designs, while technically accomplishing what they set out to do, aren't very attractive.

The first book here, Gladiator by Philip Wylie, has long been rumored to be an influence behind the creation of Superman of DC Comics fame. Unfortunately, there's nothing super about the cover art. Who thought a silhouette of a muscular man flexing his bicep against a salmon-colored sky was a good idea? The cover portrays none of the conflict, anguish or alienation of the book. It's an unforgivably static cover that look more appropriate for a bodice-ripper, and a boring one at that.

The next cover, When Worlds Collide by Wylie and Edwin Balmer, is a bit of an improvement. The pinks and oranges have been replaced by yellow and red, which are stronger. But the swirling ball splashing down into agitated waves is very much a let-down. I can appreciate the retro style inherent in the waves, but is there anyone out there that thinks a subject as dramatic as worlds colliding couldn't produce a more dynamic, evocative picture? With this one, it'd probably have been better to go with an over-the-top 1950s disaster style, to capitalize on the George Pal film version. Again, the design is hampered by the black border and woodcut font.

Gullivar of Mars by Edwin Arnold tries hard to break out of the static approach to cover art. Gullivar is pictured on the cover charging the barbaric Thither Folk, one of whom is cruelly choking the Hither Folk's princess. There's a heavy influence of Burroughs' Barsoom stories at work in this painting, which is understandable--Burroughs fans are a major target audience for this title. I simply don't feel the painting is that good. The images are surprisingly flat, and I get the feeling from looking at it that the artist was simply trying for a quick Frazetta pastiche. The art reminds me of the cover art from the Science Fiction Book Club, circa 1980--yes, it's kind of an accurate representation of the book, but it just isn't very attractive. The overall cover design strikes me the same way. With those old SFBC titles, you bought the book in spite of the covers, not because of them. Go find an old, browning copy of Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human if you don't believe me. Yuck.

The final image, The Disappearance, again by Wylie (I swear, I didn't realize I loaded up so much on Wylie when I was downloading these) is one of the most successful designs in the series. The translucent nude figure is eerie, and in this instance the framing design works to the book's favor, creating the impression that the woman is boxed in and trapped in some fashion. The heavy blue tones in the image also sets it apart from the oranges and reds and yellows so dominant in the rest of the line. Unfortunately, the stubborn commitment to the same woodcut font, along with the use of orange and yellow accents clashes with the art and blue color scheme. How can someone look at this design and not see that there is an uncomfortable dissonance there? That a different font, and more subdued, complementary color for the font and borders, would create a far nicer, more visually appealing package? Close here, but no cigar.

The failings of the Frontiers of the Imagination Series is particularly frustrating because Nebraska has some very talented graphic artists on staff. I've seen their work. They just don't seem to work on the science fiction titles. Look, for example, at these two books:
”This”Kokopelli”

Larry Dierker is a former pitcher for the Houston Astros who became a fan-favorite radio announcer before making the jump to team manager. Despite the naysayers, Dierker led the team to three consecutive playoff appearances. Through it all, he kept his laid-back perspective, and continued to wear his trademark Hawaiian shirts at every opportunity. This book design captures that perfectly, with a single baseball sitting against a white background. What initially appears to be random colorful scribblings on the ball are, upon closer look, the palm trees and surf boards so common in Dierker's wardrobe. I'm not sure I like the pink color chosen for the subtitle, but overall the simplicity and straightforward playfulness of the design and art grabs me. It's intriguing. If I were to see this in a book store, I couldn't help but pick it up.

At the opposite end of the spectrum we have Ekkehart Malotki's Kokopelli: The Making of an Icon. I absolutely love this cover. It does a fantastic job of meshing a petroglyph background with a super-imposed modern silhouette of the ubiquitous Kokopelli. The texture of the design simply begs for a reader to pick up and touch the book. I'm particularly impressed with the font work as well--a simple sans serif that isn't too harsh or too angular, presented in three layers of different sizes and colors does a great job of balancing the page and creating a sense of energy where--when you take all the individual components on their own--there isn't any. It also creates the illusion of telling the potential reader more about the book than it really does. I have this book, and may have some problems with the content and approach taken to the subject matter, but that doesn't change the fact that I absolutely love the cover.

I believe the designers tried a similar approach with Voices of Vision, but the horror connotations simply escaped their notice. From a purely technical standpoint, the cover design of VoV is balance nicely. I like the pseudo-typewriter font, and the nested subtitle set apart in strong red ink. Ditto the way my byline is offset below the title. Hopefully, if Nebraska ultimately decides to give the green light to a follow-up volume (More Voices, More Visions anyone?) we'll be able to purge the horror elements from the design and make it more unambiguously SFnal.

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