Look Here: Two Bantam New Age Books with lovely cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon

17 November 201310 August 2016 RC2 Comments

I have all sorts of used books in my personal library that I purchased I can’t remember when for maybe a quarter or fifty cents a piece just for the cover art, including these, which I just scanned for display here at RCN:

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**ABOVE:** Madonna Kolbenschlag, *Kiss Sleeping Beauty Good-Bye* (NY: Bantam, 1981), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

**ABOVE:** Shakti Gawain, *Creative Visualization* (NY: Bantam, 1985), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

Shakti Gawain? Of course, Shakti Gawain! Would anyone in the 1980s have purchased new-age claptrap like Creative Visualization had it been penned by Mike Smith from Canmore, Alberta? Not bloody likely!

And will you look at that: both the copyright page and the author’s acknowledgement credit the Creative Visualization cover art to Rainbow Canyon… wait, what? Rainbow Canyon? Of course, Rainbow Canyon! It’s perfect!

The other cover is uncredited, but you and I both know that the art for both Kiss Sleeping Beauty Good-Bye and Creative Visualization is by the Dillons, right?

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: Four more Ace SF Specials with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon

5 September 201313 June 2017 RCLeave a comment

I’ve been a bit slow with new posts and scans here at RCN… been feeling a bit discouraged about a number of things… although TRANSISTORADIO seems to be doing okay, with 90 followers since 01 August 2013 and 1,732 notes on 368 (!) posts… but never mind all that… the show must go on…

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**ABOVE:** Alexei Panshin, *Rite of Passage* (NY: Ace, 1968), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

**ABOVE:** D. G. Compton, *Chronocules* (NY: Ace, 1970), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

**ABOVE:** Gordon Eklund, *The Eclipse of Dawn* (NY: Ace, 1971), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

**ABOVE:** Suzette Haden Elgin, *Furthest* (NY: Ace, 1971), with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon.

For more scans of book covers, etc., with art by Leo and Diane Dillon, click here and scroll down.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Jeffrey Meyer · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: BAREFOOT IN THE HEAD with James McMullan, the Dillons, and the geat unknown

24 July 201310 August 2016 RC

In my recent conversation with Jeffrey Meyer, which I hope you have read and enjoyed, the artist tentatively but astutely suggests that Boards of Canada’s music “might be a good reference point” for understanding the conceptual basis of his own “Nostalgia” series of collages, which he described to me as “a conscious attempt to deal with that [nostalgia] in an abstract way, with as little traditional imagery or ‘things’ in the final pieces as possible.” Practically speaking, however, one might ask: what, specifically, are Meyer and Boards of Canada nostalgic for? What are the visual and auditory sources that each is re- and dis- and re-membering? An integrated and compelling answer to such questions is beyond the scope of this blog post, and perhaps even beyond my ability to formulate, but the covers of these three editions of Brian Aldiss’s Barefoot in the Head — especially the first American hardcover edition (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1970), with photo-based art by acclaimed illustrator and educator James McMullan, who was only 35 or 36 years old at the time — suddenly seem to me, as I sit here at the keyboard this morning typing these words, like they might be portals to the inner sanctum, keys to the heart’s desire…

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How did I end up with three different editions of Brian Aldiss’s Barefoot in the Head in my book collection? And will I buy more if I stumble across other editions in the future? You don’t wanna know, not because the answers are so outlandish, but because they’re so mundane.

P.S. Okay, okay… I’m done promoting RCN talks with collage artist Jeffrey Meyer now. In my next post, RCN will return to its regular programming.

LESSON OF THE WEEK THAT IS:

My most popular tweet to date isn’t about art or music or bacon or anything else that really matters to me; it’s a throwaway line about 3D printers. Here’s a screen shot:

I’m so proud.

P.S. I have a habit, on this blog, of referring to any illustrator (or writer) whose work I have decided to highlight who has not received formal credit for his or her work, and whose identity I have been unable to determine or guess, as “the great unknown.” Just so you know…

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: DEATHBIRD STORIES, with cover art and design by Leo and Diane Dillon

13 February 201311 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

It’s not often that I see paperbacks by Harlan Ellison on the shelves in thrift stores these days — or used-book stores, period — but a couple of months ago, I came across what looks to me to be an unread copy of Deathbird Stories at Value Village — I took it off the shelf just before a local bookseller showed up, looking for underpriced books to stock his shelves, and when I showed him what I had found (I’ve purchased books from his store many times; his prices are reasonable), he told me that I was lucky that I had gotten there before him — and because the book also had the classic cover with both art and design by Leo and Diane Dillon, I bought it. Here’s a scan of the front and back covers along with a rough panorama of the wraparound:

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Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: “The Justice Cycle,” with covers by Leo and Diane Dillon

17 January 201311 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

I posted cover scans of books one and two of “The Justice Cycle” by Virginia Hamilton as part of RCN’s visual tribute to Leo Dillon when he died back in May 2012. I have since acquired book three, The Gathering, so now, naturally, I’m here to post a scan, or rather, one new scan and two old scans, since I think some of you might appreciate seeing the three covers displayed together in one post. Enjoy!

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To view all of the work by Leo and Diane Dillon that I’ve scanned and posted so far, start here.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon

Look Here: THE PAINTED BIRD, with first-rate cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon

11 November 201222 July 2021 RC1 Comment

From the library of yours truly, as usual:

BTW, there’s a certain “Dillon Fangirl” out there who seems to think that she has a right to take EVERY Dillon scan from RCN (and LOTS of other sites, too) and post them ALL on her Dillon fan blog without properly acknowledging her sources, i.e., without posting links to the pages where she “found” the images. Now, as someone who goes to a lot of trouble to find and purchase old paperbacks and scan them for display on the Web, I think that what she has done (and continues to do) is extremely uncool. And the fact is, I’ve told her as much by email. I’ve also told her that she is NOT welcome here at RCN. Won’t do any good, of course. She is ungrateful. And utterly shameless.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here · Obituaries

Rest in Peace: Leo Dillon (1933 – 2012)

29 May 201211 August 2016 RC1 Comment

In a post on the Tor.com blog dated 29 May 2012, Irene Gallo announced the passing of Leo Dillon, one half of the legendary husband-and-wife illustration team of Leo and Diane Dillon. Leo was 79 years old.

Here, in remembrance of Leo Dillon, is a teeny-tiny sampler from the magnificent body of work the Dillons created together (although the Tolstoy cover from 1961 is just signed “Dillon,” so I suppose it might just be rare example of a solo cover illustration by Leo; yes, Leo and Diane were married in 1957, but my understanding is that they didn’t immediately begin to do all of their illustration work as a team); the covers have been scanned by yours truly, from books in my own collection:

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Not that it matters, but I have to say 1) that Who’s in Rabbit’s House? is one of my favourite children’s books of all time, and 2) that my enduring affection for the book is entirely due to the Dillon’s expressive character designs and sly, energetic, innovative staging of the story.

To view all of the covers with art by Leo and Diane Dillon that I’ve posted so far here at RCN, click here.

BONUS IMAGE:

From an online auction, here’s a scan of Leo and Diane Dillon’s original art for the cover of John Brunner’s The Traveler in Black:

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Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: More paperbacks with cover art by Leo and Diane Dillon

23 February 201111 August 2016 RC2 Comments

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leo-diane-dillon_a-tale-of-two-cities_ny-washington-square-press-1968 — **ABOVE:** Charles Dickens, *A Tale of Two Cities* (New York: Washington Square Press, 1968), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

leo-diane-dillon_nightshade-and-damnations_ny-fawcett-1968 — **ABOVE:** Gerald Kersh, *Nightshade & Damnations* (New York: Fawcett, 1968), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

leo-diane-dillon_one-million-tomorrows_ny-ace-1970 — **ABOVE:** Bob Shaw, *One Million Tomorrows* (New York: Ace, 1970), with cover art by Leo & Diane Dillon.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Leo and Diane Dillon · Look Here

Look Here: Another Ace SF Special, with art by Leo & Diane Dillon, plus…

1 October 201011 August 2016 RCLeave a comment

Here’s a recent addition to our little library of vintage SF paperbacks, along with a bonus image taken from a profile of Leo and Diane Dillon published in Heavy Metal:

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