[CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE]
Earlier this morning, I purchased the above paperbacks with cover art by Barron Storey from a local thrift store for a buck a piece. When I arrived home with my haul, I noticed that I had received an email from a past contributor to RCN — see Look Here, Read: “The Believer,” reconstructed by Rotomago — who had sent me scans, front and back, of THE EXACT SAME EDITION (!) of The Lord of the Flies that I had just purchased along with a JPEG of a cover with art by Chris Bachalo that apparently was intended as an homage to Storey’s iconic painting. To his credit, Rotomago had noticed the connection between the two covers on his own, but when he checked online, he found that the well-known comics site, Robot 6, among others, had beaten him (and me) to the punch. Still, I do think the connection is interesting, so I’ve decided to post the JPEG of Bachalo’s Avengers Arena cover here at RCN:
The short critique of the Bachalo’s cover that Rotomago sent to me along with the JPEG is pretty much spot on, so rather than write something myself, I’m just going to quote him:
Some current super-heroes addicts seem to find this homage very cool. Personally I’m not so enthusiastic. I find this cover representative of trendy contemporary illustration, in form and spirit, in its undecided soft aseptic lines and colours, and in its poverty of imagination, but that’s surely a question of taste.
Barron Storey’s online presence includes a blogspot that functions as an archive of old journal pages and a tumblr that Storey is in the process of filling with new journal pages.
Rotomago is a cartoonist as well as the creator of the site, Alberto Breccia Bibliografía, which, although it hasn’t been updated in a while, remains a valuable resource.
P.S. I actually own a drawing by Chris Bachalo that I’ve been meaning to scan and post, but for some reason, I’ve just never gotten around to it. Maybe this year…
P.P.S. I’ve used my own scans of Storey’s Lord of the Flies cover rather than the scans that Rotomago sent to me by email — my copy of the novel is in like-new condition; Rotomago’s copy is faded from wear and slightly damaged on the back — but I must say, if I hadn’t coincidentally just purchased my own copy, it’s Rotomago’s scans that you’d be viewing right now.
Keywords: Fahrenheit 451, The Lord of the Flies.
Ragged Claws Network 