"This day's experience, set in order, none of it left ragged or lying about, all of it gathered in like treasure and finished with, set aside." –Alice Munro, "What is Remembered"
Well, I’m back with sort of a grab bag of covers this time around. Not sure why I chose to scan these particular items this morning, though I do think that even when the cover art is lacking, the overall design of vintage pulp paperbacks from Pocket Books, front and back covers included, is often interesting, and sometimes even amusing — “WOULD YOU ANSWER THIS AD? Thousands of men did, including Perry Mason, and one of the answers was MURDER!” — so maybe that’s the theme here:
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Keywords:The Case of the Rolling Bones, The Case of the Lonely Heiress, Murder up My Sleeve, The Golden Goose.
Don’t delay! The donation deadline is Thursday 28 February 11:59PM PT.
Jeffrey Jones: artist, model, conventioneer…
If you visited the Indiegogo fundraiser for the independent documentary film, Better Things: The Life and Choices of Jeffrey Catherine Jones, the last time I linked to it, you may have noticed that the “perks” at the $100.00 level include the following:
a limited-edition art book showcasing works by artists inspired by the work and example of Jeffrey Catherine Jones,
a DVD of the film TO BE SHIPPED ONCE IT HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED BY A DISTRIBUTOR, and
a set of 6-8 postcards featuring artwork randomly selected from the art book.
Since that time, producer/director/writer Maria Cabardo has added a $75.00 contribution tier with just the limited-edition art book as the perk.
Jeffrey Catherine Jones and Maria Cabardo in conversation…
I’ve copied out the very diverse and impressive list of participating artists below and added links to various official and unofficial websites so you can check out their work; my apologies in advance if I’ve copied a name incorrectly or linked to the wrong website:
And last but definitely not least, the art book will feature reproductions of several pieces of art by JEFFREY JONES himself, including a watercolour sketch donated by collector Robert Weiner, president of Donald M. Grant Publisher, Inc., that will be featured on the cover.
Here’s the official description of the book, cut and pasted from the Better Things Indiegogo home page:
An amazing collection of artwork from artists in the comics, publishing, role-playing, and entertainment field. This book is dedicated to help fund BETTER THINGS and was only made possible by their generosity and willingness to help get Jones’ story and art to the world. It contains 48 pgs of color and black and white work.
Estimated delivery: July 2013
Help Better Things meet its fundraising goal by donating at the $75.00 or $100.00 levels (or higher!), and receive the art book as thanks from your favourite artists. Go to the Better Things home page at Indiegogo and reserve a copy now!
Jeffrey Jones with an unusual fan…
UPDATE (10 February 2013):
If you are reluctant to contribute to the Better Things Indiegogo fundraiser because you think that the campaign is unlikely to reach its fundraising goal of $30,000 dollars — if you think, well, I see a perk that I really like, but it’s never going to happen for Better Things, so why should I bother — here’s something you should know:
The choice of a flexible funding campaign for BETTER THINGS means you will get your perks no matter how much is raised! http://t.co/NglBF30Q
Yes, indeed, the Better Things Indiegogo fundraiser is a “flexible funding campaign,” and as such, the campaign owner receives any money raised but in return has agreed to fulfill the perks even if the stated goal is not met. For more information, see “Following Up and Sending Perks.”
Therese Nielsen (http://tnielsen.com/) and Patrick Hill has been added to the list of artists contributing to the Jones Artbook. It is now a 64-page art extravaganza [upgraded from 48 pages], a tribute to Jones and a wonderful example of the artistic community’s generosity.
UPDATE (13 February 2013):
Earlier today, Maria Cabardo posted a new pledge video:
Don’t delay! The donation deadline is Thursday 28 February 11:59PM PT.
First published in National Geographic Magazine, vol. 144, no. 6 (December 1973), the following drawings by Noel Sickles of “Scorchy Smith” fame were commissioned by the magazine’s editors to accompany an article by David Lewis entitled “Alone to Antarctica”; they were scanned for display here at RCN, by me, from a copy of the magazine that I bought at a local thrift store:
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Notice that the two largest drawings have a seam about two-thirds of the way from right. This is because the pictures were spread over two pages. Lazy bum that I am, I have done nothing to try to “fix” them.
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.
The cover art for all of the following covers is uncredited, but some are signed by the artist, Stanislaw Fernandes, and near as I can tell, he produced the cover art for the other books in the series, too:
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P.S. The above books are all from my personal library and were scanned by me just a few minutes ago. Of course.
P.P.S. I often buy vintage books solely for the cover art. I bought Stanislaw Lem’s books (years ago) because I wanted to read them. And I kept them because I wanted to re-read them. Because Lem is now one of my favourite writers.
Keywords:The Investigation, The Futurological Congress, The Star Diaries, The Cyberiad: Fables for the Cybernetic Age, Tales of Pirx the Pilot, Mortal Engines: Electronic Escapades in the Lands of Tomorrow, Return from the Stars.
Ragged Claws Network 