DON'T JUDGE A COVER by its book

I read several of Piers Anthony's novels when they were first published. He had a strong imagination and equally strong storytelling abilities that impressed me quite a bit. But then I stopped reading him, just like that, cold turkey. Looking back my reasons may have had something to do with just not liking one of his books, but it also could have been not liking his tendency to write about underage sexuality, which almost always made me cringe, even back when I was an underage teen. Anthony eventually got dogged for it too. I've even heard the term "dirty old man" used when describing him as an author. But for the most part, his ardent fans take it all in stride, believing fiction writers have a right to their own artistic expression. I suppose on some level I can agree with that, but only if subjects like underage sexuality are presented in the proper context.

But heck, I'm no prude, I've certainly read my fair share of "adult" artistic expressioning, by authors as diverse as Gwen Davis, Philip Jose Farmer, Burt Hirschfeld, Gary Jennings, Herbert Kastle, Stephen Lewis, Henry Miller, Andrew J. Offutt and Karl Edward Wagner, among others. In fact I've read countless numbers of novels and stories that were published in the last quarter of the 20th century that contained what many would consider to be risque content. I've also read dozens of men's action-adventure and western series novels, which are littered with hot sex scenes. But they rarely made me cringe like some of the scenes in Anthony's books have (I did laugh quite a bit though). In particular, Anthony's Xanth series and his horror novel Firefly have been criticized for their cringe-worthiness, and deservingly so.

And since I've brought up Xanth, after 47 volumes, one would have to assume that that fantasy series is Anthony's pride and joy, his magnum opus. But I believe he may hold his most recently written series, The Geodyssey, in even higher regard. It totals five volumes, which are featured below. In it Anthony has attempted to frame, in ecological terms, no less than the entire history of the human species, using a series of linked stories, or vignettes, as its vehicle. In terms of sheer ambition it's certainly a cry above Xanth, its multitude of volumes notwithstanding. Having just read the first Geodyssey book I can certainly attest to its ambitiousness. The story begins in the days of prehistoric man/women, and then moves into the discovery of America, the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent, war in Mesopotamia, contending Hittite and Egyptian empires, Etruscans and Romans, control of the Silk Road in the first century, the T'ang dynasty in China, 13th-century Lithuania, 17th-century Congo, 19th-century India and Britain, and last but not least, cannibalistic survival in a futuristic 21st-century America devastated by climate change. And since you are wondering, yes, there are plenty of sex scenes to go with each vignette.

Professional cover artists generally don't have the luxury of declining a commission based on whether or not they find a book's content or its author to be to their liking. They, like all of us, have bills to pay. The three artists who produced the covers of the first four volumes of the Geodyssey series probably didn't let any thoughts they may have had either way about Anthony get in the way of their professionalism; they did what they were contracted to do, deliver a highly accomplished set of painted illustrations representing Anthony's novels to their client, Tor Books. In my opinion, they went above and beyond what was expected. Their fantastic covers have even inspired me to assemble a potpourri of similarly looking book covers for this post. I could've added dozens more too, all linked by prehistoric-man/women or primitive-man/women themes, but I think I'll save those for another time.

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Geodyssey 1, Isle of Woman by Piers Anthony was published in paperback by Tor in September, 1994, following the 1993 hardback edition that had the same cover art. The cover art was produced by Eric Peterson, who began his career as a cover artist for Tor in 1992. Since then he has worked for Avon, Forge and Ballantine/Del Rey, among others. Peterson is primarily a traditional realist, but beyond that fact very little is known about him. His covers, which are truly outstanding, are almost always initialed with the letters EP, presented as a small circle.

'A magnificent saga of passion, heroism, and survival. Piers Anthony's ISLE OF WOMAN is a tale like no other ever written. It is nothing less than the story of humanity itself, from its savage origins to its troubled future, told through the lives of one family reborn throughout history. At once grand in scope and intimate in human detail, ISLE OF WOMAN tells the story of a man and a woman born at the dawn of human history, separated by fate, yet united by an unquenchable passion that even time could not conquer: Blaze, the fireworker who raised his kind out of savagery, and Ember, the beautiful green-eyed woman who forever haunted his dreams. ISLE OF WOMAN is a powerful and prophetic masterwork from one of the bestselling storytellers of our time.'

Geodyssey 2, Shame of Man by Piers Anthony was published in paperback in December, 1995 by Tor. The cover art was produced by Bradley Schmehl, a graduate of the Pennsylvania School of the Arts. Schmehl is primarily a painter of American historical scenes, but he can pretty much do it all, from landscapes to people to animals to things such as ships and trains. He has a strong, painterly style, but one that still allows for fastidious detailing, like the kind you see above on Shame of Man. So far I've only been able to find a few book covers attributed to him, all from the 1990s, but I suspect there are more out there.

'The towering sequel to ISLE OF WOMAN, a powerful and passionate saga of human history. A magnificent epic of danger, desire, triumph and tragedy. Piers Anthony's SHAME OF MAN is nothing less than the story of humanity itself. It is the story of two lovers reborn throughout history---Hugh, a dreamer and musician, and his beloved Ann, a beautiful dancer---as they struggle to preserve their family and their way of life during some of the most turbulent periods of our savage past---and our troubled future. Through their eyes we experience humanity's greatest achievements, and witness its greatest shame, the relentless exploitation of nature that now threatens our very survival.'

Geodyssey 3, Hope of Earth by Piers Anthony was published in paperback in March, 1998, by Tor. The cover art was produced by Tristan Elwell. A realist painter by definition, and one of the very best, Elwell is currently teaching at his alma mater, the School of Visual Arts in New York City. He has been producing book and magazine cover art since the early 1990s, with clients that include The Atlantic Monthly, Avon, Forbes, HarperCollins, Penguin, Pocket, Scholastic, St. Martin's, Tor Books and Wizards of the Coast, among others.

'The third volume in a passionate epic of human history in the bestselling tradition of Jean Auel and James Michener. In ISLE OF WOMAN and SHAME OF MAN, the first two volumes of the monumental Geodyssey saga, bestselling author Piers Anthony chronicled the triumphs and tragedies of two remarkable families reborn again and again in some of the most turbulent eras of human history Now, with HOPE OF EARTH, Anthony brings us a stirring epic that ranges from our ancient beginnings in Africa's Great Rift Valley to the windswept Andes a century from now, and includes some of history's most fascinating figures---the mysterious "Ice Man" of the Swiss Alps, the decadent King Herod, the British Warrior Queen Boudica, the Mongol Chieftain Tamurlane, and King Louis XIV of France. Exciting, imaginative, and inspiring, HOPE OF EARTH is the story of a group of heroic men and women, bound by ties of passion, honor, and blood, who struggle to transcend our violent past and forge a new and shining future.'

Tristan Elwell also produced the cover art of Geodyssey 4, Muse of Art, and what a beauty it is. Wow! Tor published this paperback edition in December, 2000.  

'A towering testament of ambition and desire, hope and despair, Piers Anthony's epic Geodyssey saga is nothing less than the story of humanity itself, as seen through the eyes of a handful of courageous, passionate men and women reborn againa and again in some of the most turbulent ages of history. MUSE OF ART is the newest chapter in this astonishing chronicle, probing the heart of our deepest fears and highest aspirations, illuminating the spark that makes us what we are. It is the arts that truly define humanity and set us apart from all other species on earth. In a rousing passionate story that ranges from the mists of prehistory to a terrifyingly plausible near future, MUSE OF ART explores the special talents that have inspired and motivated us since the earliest days of our existence: curiosity and creativity, seduction and survival, destruction and healing.'
 

 

Geodyssey 5, Climate of Change was the last book in the series. It was published in hardback and ebook by Tor in 2010 and features a photograph of a dry lake bed on its cover.

'This new novel in Anthony's "Geodyssey" series follows a pair of lovers from the earliest proto-humans on the savannahs of Africa to the near future, as they are reincarnated through time and space. A remarkable epic of passion and courage, savagery and survival, Piers Anthony's "Geodyssey" is a saga unlike any ever written. It is nothing less than the story of humanity itself, told through the lives of a handful of extraordinary men and women reborn throughout history. Now, with CLIMATE OF CHANGE, Anthony introduces us to a new cast of characters, including Keeper, who knows the ways of nature, Rebel, a headstrong girl as brave as any man, Craft, a cunning inventor, and Crenelle, who uses her seductive charms to defend her people. Through their eyes, we see how some of the most crucial moments in human history have been driven by natural forces, from the great ice ages of prehistory to the droughts and plagues that have destroyed history's proudest civilizations. And we witness a harsh but hopeful future in which humanity at last transcends the devastating effects of climate change.'

Amazonia by James Rollins, whose real name is Jim Czajkowski, was published initially in 2002 in an Advanced Readers Edition, often called ARC's by publishing insiders. The cover art for that softback edition was produced by Paul Stinson. When the hardback edition was published later in 2002 by William Morrow, Stinson's cover painting was altered to show even less of the tribesman's face. I guess someone in the art department must've thought it looked better that way. Stinson (b. 1953-) has been creating moody, surrealistic paintings since the mid-1970s. His early cover art was rarely signed, but he did push his clients to credit him as much as possible, hence my small collection of his cover images from which these images will be added to.

As I post this article I'm in the midst of reading Amazonia, and while I'm firmly caught up in it I find it tends to run in cliches inherent to its genre. However, this is just the author's second published book, and while it is an improvement over the first in terms of character development, it is not as improved as his succeeding novels will be. Rollins, in a very short time, has managed to become one of the best thriller writers in the business, with each book in his canon perfectly researched and fueled by well drawn characters. He reminds me a little of Michael Crichton, only Rollins may in fact be the better writer. Rollins has also published some well-regarded fantasy novels under the pseudonym James Clemens.

'When the director of the CIA is handed a report from a Brazilian morgue confirming the death of an agent who disappeared in the Amazon jungle four years before, it doesn't take him long to realize he's got a big problem. In one top-secret folder he holds a pre-expedition photograph of the agent, waving the one arm he has left after a sniper's bullet claimed the other. In a second classified folder the director holds the morgue picture---a photograph showing both arms resting on the agent's sides. What happened down there? It's up to a specially selected scientific and military team to find out---no matter what, or who, it takes.'

Stinson created a new cover along with accompanying stepback art for the mass-market paperback edition published by Avon in July, 2003. Obviously, the lure of painting a shrunken head, or three as it were, was just too much of a good thing to pass up. Or are they really shrunken? (hint: note of the length of each head's hair, and then google shrunken heads).

'The Rand scientific expedition entered the lush wilderness of the amazon and never returned. Years later, one of its members has stumbled out of the world's most inhospitable rainforest---a former Special Forces soldier, scarred, mutilated, terrified, and mere hours from death, who went in with one arm missing... and came out with both intact. Unable to comprehend this inexplicable event, the government sends Nathan Rand into this impenetrable secret world of undreamed of perils, to follow the trail of his vanished father... toward mysteries that must be solved at any cost. But the nightmare that is awaiting Nate and his team of scientists and seasoned U.S. Rangers dwarfs any danger they anticipated; an ancient unspoken terror---a power beyond human imagining---that can forever alter the world beyond the dark, lethal confines of AMAZONIA.'

The Pathless Trail by Arthur O. Friel was published in paperback by Centaur Press in 1969. Its original publication date was 1922. The cover art was produced by Jeffrey Jones (1944-2011), who was praised at the time by no less than Frank Frazetta himself, even though Jones' painting style ironically imitated his own.

Friel's novel was the first of its kind for me: exploration and scientific inquiry combined with thrilling jungle adventure. For years afterward I wanted to charter a boat up the Amazon river, still do, although now I'm a little more wary about tropical insects and will probably just keep reading books as a safer alternative. But Friel's novel did spark in me a longing to explore the wilderness areas in my own region. And so I did, backpacking all over the Rocky Mountains with the best equipment I could buy. During my treks I saw and experienced some amazing things too; The caterwaul of a cougar while trying to sleep, one literally attacking a doe and her fawn---I've caught trout with my bare hands, listened to coyotes howl like banshees, been threatened by a porcupine, almost brushed by a bighorn, camped near scarily fresh bear tracks, and I believe I saw, or my companions convinced me that we all did, the last grizzly bear in Colorado rumble up the side of a mountain---though it could've been just a massive, cinnamon colored black bear (I didn't wear distance glasses back then and needed to). Another amazing thing about all of my wilderness adventuring was that the insect danger was limited to just pesky deer-flies and mosquitos, pre-West-Nile fever mosquitos I should add, none of which had the proclivity to bite and defecate at the same time like the Amazonian assassin bug, which allows its feces loaded with the protozoan Tripanozoma crusii to enter your bloodstream, ultimately damaging your brain or heart, and causing certain death in one to ten years.

 

'In the year 1925, the controversial Englishman, Colonel P. H. Fawcett disappeared in the remote mountain county of Brazil to a fate that baffled a curious world. Colonel Fawcett had excited archaeologists and armchair adventurers with his quest for a lost prehistoric city which he believed to exist in this unexplored hinterland.  Three years earlier, a lone American---a teller of tales and a searcher after truth---ventured into the dangerous and unknown region the Brazilian-Venezuelan border on a quest of his own. The land that he entered was the most fearsome in the world---the land of the sixty-foot sucuruju (anaconda), ruthless cannibals, and jungle disease; a land which Conan or a Solomon Kane might think twice before entering. Yet Arthur Olney Friel entered this world seeking the truth behind the many legends and tales of white Indians in the back of beyond. And he returned to chronicle his adventures and his deductions in the poetically titled non-fiction volume, THE RIVER OF SEVEN STARS. But Friel was best known in those days for his fiction. A prolific and accomplished writer, he wrote his novels of high adventure about the fearsome jungle that he knew first hand, and which he flavored with his own fertile imagination. THE PATHLESS TRAIL... is a swashbuckler; heroic, fastmoving, and loaded to the hilt with savage creatures and men of the unexplored jungle. It is a book of conflict, and its heroes are men of conflict...'

This reprint of Jack London's 1906 novel Before Adam, was published in hardcover by Macmillan Company in 1962. We all know Jack London, if for nothing more than having written White Fang and The Call of the Wild. Before Adam is perhaps not at the level of those two, at least not in the eyes of the public, but credit must be given where credit is due; his exciting tale, which tried to incorporate all of the then known scientific facts about hominids, probably influenced everyone who ever wrote fiction about early-man and his environment, from Jean Auel to Edgar Rice Burroughs to the Gear's to Edison Marshall to Linda Lay Shuler to William Sarabande, and yes, even Piers Anthony. 

Leonard Everett Fisher produced the jacket art on the Macmillan edition. He was born in Brooklyn in 1924, and attended Brooklyn College, where he majored in art, paleontology and geology. After serving his country in WWII, he earned a BFA and an MFA from Yale University. He also studied at the Art Students League in NYC. He has since illustrated more than 250 books for young readers, including 88 that he wrote himself. 

'Jack London, the celebrated American author of THE CALL OF THE WILD and WHITE FANG, is little known for his works of science-fiction, though they are among the best books of this kind that have been written. This is the ingenious story of the tree-dwellers, the cave-dwellers, and the fire-makers---three stages of human evolution going on side by side, warring and struggling in a remote geological age. It is also the personal tale of Big-Tooth, a child of the Tree People, who must learn to live among the terrors that surround early man and half-man. Deserted by his parents, Big-Tooth is adopted by the Cave People, with whom he grows to maturity. His is a world of fear and sudden death, to be faced with cunning and bravado, a world in which human enemies are as dangerous as wild animals. The youth finds himself caught between the savagery of Red-Eye, throwback to the animalistic stage, and a a yet more mysterious threat: the strange people to the North, whose approach is marked by a plume of smoke. Yet, within this struggle for existence, he is able to discover lasting friendship and love. Before Adam embodies in novel form London's research into the theories of evolution and atavism (reversion to a primitive type). The life of Big-Tooth is re-created by means of an unusual device: the primeval memories of a modern man, who reveals through his dreams the adventures of his prehistoric "self."   As fresh and immediate today as it was when first published, London's tale of a forgotten age is now reissued for a new and younger generation. Willy Ley, who is best known for his writings on rockets, missiles, and space travel, has returned to a first interest in preparing the Biographical Introduction to this edition: a paleontologist by training, he has long been a London enthusiast, and welcomed the opportunity to review London's life and work. The distinguished anthropologist Loren Eiseley, University Professor of Anthropology and the History of Science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of the THE IMMENSE JOURNEY, comments in his epilogue upon the vitality and scientific basis of London's evolutionary vision, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning artist Leonard Everett Fisher has contributed full-page drawings of the outstanding characters and events in the story.'

If you haven't yet read Before Adam and are wondering why James Bama, America's finest super-realist painter, would place a naked modern man on the cover of this 1970 Bantam reprint, well by all means read the blurb below. Or read the Macmillan blurb above. Then you'll know.

'HE DIDN'T NEED A TIME MACHINE---PRIMEVAL MEMORY TOOK HIM BACK... Big-Tooth, a child of the Tree People, lived his adventure-filled life in a remote geological age---but it was the mind of a modern boy that recaptured those violent times when the earth was very young and its people struggled for existence. Jack London, the celebrated author of THE CALL OF THE WILD and many other classic adventure tales, is little known for his works of science fiction, although they are among the best ever written in this field. BEFORE ADAM is an exciting adventure novel based on the author's research into the theories of evolution and atavism. One of the greatest storytellers of them all writes of mankind's greatest struggle---survival of the fittest!'

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Bama also produced the cover art on this 1969 Dell paperback edition of Desmond Morris' rather speculative, non-fiction book, The Naked Ape, a kind of visual precursor to the Bantam edition of Before Adam.  

''THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT THE ANIMAL CALLED HUMAN.  Man is a creature who can write poetry, raise giant cities, aim for the stars, build an atomic bomb---but he is also an animal, a relative of the apes---a naked ape, in fact...'

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the sexiest primate of them all?" Don't look now, reader, but it's you. How and why you rate this ranking is but one of a series of discoveries awaiting you. For there are a great many things about yourself that you don't know---and a few perhaps you would rather not. So be prepared. For delicious wit. For dazzling knowledge. and for a number of shocks, as famed zoologist Desmond Morris takes all the wraps off---'

The Golden Rooms by Vardis Fisher was reprinted by Pyramid in 1960. Its original hardcover publication date was 1944. The novel was the second volume in Fisher's epic 12 volume Testament of Man series, which traced the development of the human race, or human thought, from prehistoric times to civilized times. None of the volumes are currently in print and unlikely to be reprinted, but if a publisher was to take a chance on them and reuse all of the original paperback covers, including this awesome one by Robert Maguire, heck, how could they not sell like hotcakes? Fisher, who died in 1968 at the age of 73, is considered by many to be the state of Idaho's foremost native author, but it was his regional history books and novels of the Old West that made his reputation, not the Testament of Man series.

Maguire was an influential cover artist throughout his career, from his humble beginnings at Trojan Publications in the early 1950s to his final glory days with Pocket, Signet and Silhouette in the 1990s. In all, he produced more than 1200 book covers.

'They walked naked and unashamed. They sated their lust in sexual orgies. They drank the blood of their enemies. This is the brutal and compelling story of primitive me and women who lusted and loved, hunted and killed with wild animal abandon and with no sense of sin or shame.'

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Aton by Irving A. Greenfield was published in paperback by Avon in July, 1975. The cover art is unfortunately uncredited, and I say unfortunately because it truly deserves to be credited; it is in my opinion one of the best wraparound covers in the entire early-man/women genre.

'ATON: his adventure has been rescued from history. Violently ripped from the blood-steeped legend of early man, the chronicle of his passionate journey brings forth bizarre forays into foreign lands; a father challenged by a son; heroic, loving women; and the strange mystery that leads people to create new gods of terror and of power.'

Poor Dr. Irving A. Greenfield. Not poor in the literal sense mind you, but poor in the sense that he just didn't get the kind of respect he should have for having written more than 300 novels. I have a special fondness for grinders like Greenfield and I always cut them a great deal of slack no matter how they are regarded by the literary intelligentsia. Aton is actually a kick-ass novel, and one of Greenfield's best. But don't take my word for it, take the word of someone who reviews books in a decidedly more professional manner than I do, Tarbandu, at the PorPor Books Blog.

Long Pig by Russell Foreman was published in paperback by Ace in 1959. Foreman was born in Melbourne, Australia, and lived for many years in the Fiji Islands where this novel takes place. He was fascinated by the history and ethnology of the Pacific, and did intensive research on ancient Pacific religious concepts and cultural patterns. Long Pig, which is based on an actual historical-incident, is to a large degree a product of those studies. 

Raymond Johnson produced the cover art on Long Pig. Raymond Sven Johnson was a significant paperback and men's magazine illustrator throughout the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s for publishers like Avon, Ace, Dell, Popular, Monarch, Atlas, Fawcett and Vista. He had a rather distinctive style of painting, especially noticeable in the way he portrayed women. He also produced some notable science fiction covers, Jack Williamson's The Green Girl being one example. Johnson is also credited with illustrating the interiors of three Tom Swift Jr. Adventures in the late 1960s. He may have produced the cover art too.

 

"Want a recipe for Long Pig? That and other Fijian delicacies are described in great detail in Russell Foreman's account of the fate of the crew of the brig ARGO which foundered on a lonely Fiji atoll around 1800. Based on historical fact, this is an exciting tale in the tradition of such great sea adventures as MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY and PITCAIRN'S ISLAND. From the first cry of "Breakers... breakers a-a-head," which presaged the wreck of the American Yankee trading ship, to the last days of its last survivor the story is richly detailed with authentic native lore against a backdrop of tropical splendor. Explosive incidents of violence grip the reader as he races through fast-paced scenes of tenderness and terror encompassing a sensuous love story and savagery at its bloodiest. "What is LONG PIG? Well, it's Fiji for a human body to be eaten. Literally, one trussed like a frog and roasted whole. For details and other recipes, don't be squeamish and read LONG PIG." --- Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Savages by Shirley Conran was published in hardback by Simon & Schuster in 1987. The jacket art was produced by Wilson McLean. After emigrating to the U.S. from Scotland in 1965, McLean became one of the most successful commercial illustrators of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. His artwork, much of it in the form of surrealism, has been featured on everything from books to magazines to albums to stamps. McLean's wraparound painting for Savages is practically perfect for this particular kind of story, a thriller about civilized women forced to survive in a harsh, primitive environment after a sudden and shocking catastrophe. 

'Shirley Conran's SAVAGES takes the reader into the lives of five women: upper-class corporate wives, surrounded by all the luxuries their husbands salaries and charge cards can buy; wives, mothers, neighbors, cordial rivals, whose husbands are in competition for the presidency of a Fortune 500 company... After a business conference in Australia, the top executives of the powerful Nexus Mining Company relax together on Paui, a tropical island west of New Guinea. Unfortunately, during their vacation, the political unrest that simmers on this only partially civilized island comes to a head. While the women are on a boat trip, the hotel is attacked by terrorists and the tourists are slaughtered. Catching sight, on their return, of the carnage, the women flee into the jungle to survive as best they can. Suddenly these five women, who have known one another for years in the slightly bitchy atmosphere of genteel suburban competition, are forced to rely themselves for everything---including life itself. They have only their wits, strength, courage, and each other, now that all civilization has been stripped away and the only prize is survival. They are their only hope!'

Stranger in the Forest, On Foot Across Borneo by Eric Hansen was reprinted in softcover by Abacus  (UK) in 1994. It was first published in 1988 by Houghton Mifflin. British born artist Mark Harrison (1951-) produced the cover art. Harrison has been making stunning cover art since the mid-1970s. In the beginning of his career he was known for creating various themes, like here with the solitary figure crouched behind leafy jungle plants. He is better known though for his many SFF landscapes, which I know will be an inspiration to me when I start painting my own similarly styled landscapes.

"What I wanted from my journey was something so far beyond my comprehension that I would have to step completely out of my skin to understand and become a part of my surroundings." With that objective in mid, Eric Hansen walked into the rain forest of Borneo in 1982, carrying only a bedsheet, a change of clothes, and a rattan basked filled with barter goods. For 1,500 miles he hiked under a canopy of leaves so thick he couldn't see the sky, until he reached his destination on the east coast of Borneo. There he confronted modern civilization and turned around to walk back across Borneo in the "season of fear." STRANGER IN THE FOREST is Hansen's gripping story of wild hunts in the jungle, meetings and friendships with tribesmen who live in longhouses decorated with the headhunting swords of their ancestors, and of an inner journey in a dangerous, alien environment."

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Here's another painting by Harrison following the same theme, created specifically for the cover of Pat Murphy's acclaimed short story collection, Points of Departure. Bantam Spectra published this paperback edition in 1990.

'The stories in this groundbreaking collection---including the Nebula Award-winning "Rachel in Love"---effortlessly cross the boundaries between the real and the imaginary, blending visionary storytelling with uncompromising realism. They reveal the extraordinary range, depth, and insight that imbue all of Pat Murphy's work, confirming her as one of the most gifted authors of short fiction writing today."

Herbes Méchantes et autres contes insolites translates into English as "Wicked Herbs and other unusual tales." This collection of short stories was written by Franz Hellens and published in paperback in French by Marabout in 1964. Hellens (1881-1972) was a major literary figure in Belgium, a "Magic Realist" who produced more than 120 works, including novels, plays, criticism, poetry and short stories. He was nominated four times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. While not credited, the cover art could be the creation of Henri Lievens, who produced scores of fantastic, surreal covers for this Belgian based publisher.

The Mystery of Fyfe House by Virginia Nielsen was published in hardcover by Avalon in 1962. I found this book by falling down an internet rabbit hole. I was searching for information about the Romance Writers of America and one thing led to another and there I was seeing the name of their first Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Virginia Nielsen McCall. What? Not Georgette Heyer? No, it seems that the RMA made a stipulation that all inductees must be alive, and Heyer passed away in 1974, nine years before the award was created. So, having never heard of Virginia Nielsen, I went deeper into the rabbit hole and came up with this mystery novel, which I promptly bought. I'm glad I did too; the story is good for its type and so is the cover by Jon Nielsen (though it would be more effective if the girl's eyes were staring right at us instead of down).

Virginia Nielsen McCall (1909-2000), who I don't think is related to Jon Nielsen, was the author of at least 30 books. They seem to be a mix of romance, mystery and juvenile titles. She was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and educated at the University of Idaho and University of California extension classes. She began writing for greeting cards companies and short verse for religious publications in 1937. Then she branched out into self-help articles and then onto home-making and child care articles. She also wrote confession stories for women's magazines. Later, McCall was the editor of Columbia Press of Astoria. Over the years her publishers have included Ace, Fawcett, Harlequin, Avalon, David McKay Co., and Scholastic, among others.

Jon Nielsen (1912-1986) was an artist, illustrator and portraitist whose career spanned over 35 years. Born in 1912 to Danish parents, Nielsen graduated from Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and went on to become primarily a children's illustrator in New York, illustrating over 200 children's books as well as numerous adult titles and textbooks. A college art teacher and an avid traveler, Nielsen also accepted commissions to sketch portraits in Vietnam during the war for the U.S. State Department, and to go on safari in Zambia to make woodcuts of the native animals for the Zambian government. His work has been featured in galleries in New York and Florida. With his wife Kay he created the children's book The Wishing Pearl and Other Tales of Vietnam.

'At this time, Mary Tollar had been too young to understand or to question why Harry “Reverend” Axtell had rescued her from the life of an orphan, delivering her into the hands of Mrs. Abigail Fyfe, aged mistress of an old mansion called Fyfe House. And shortly afterward, the arrangement had been secured when Mrs. Fyfe married Harry Axtell. Through the years Mary had become used to the seclusion that Mrs. Fyfe---she refused to use her new husband's name---imposed upon herself, though it was always bitter to see how the old woman avoided both Mary and “Reverend.” And now “Reverend” was dead, that gentle, unassuming man who had been Mary's protector and whose privately printed newspaper of homespun philosophy and earned him the sobriquet “Reverend” in local circles. It was after “Reverend's” funeral---which Mrs. Fyfe did not attend---that Mary was summoned to the tower room where the old lady kept herself. There Mary was cruelly told to get out of the house that had been her home for years. It was insult added to injury when, from her great wealth, Mrs. Fyfe handed Mary fifty dollars with which to begin her own life. Both confused and angry, Mary left the next morning---only to be apprehended hours later by the police. Sometime during the night, old Mrs. Fyfe had been murdered. In short order Mary learned that she was the only suspect. Baffled now, and frightened, Mary could rely only on the forces of justice to save her---and on Juanita, Mrs. Fyfe's frightened housekeeper, and Don Earl, the vagabond artist Mary had met on her flight from Fyfe House.'

This is the first of three covers by mystery writer Leslie Ford (born Zenith Jones)) that feature the same leafy theme as the first Geodyssey novel (the two other covers are featured immediately below). Honolulu Murder Story was published in the United Kingdom in 1947 by Collins, under their popular Crime Club imprint. The dustjacket is signed Robert Pimlott, and while I did find a couple more books covers that he apparently produced, beyond that absolutely nothing else is known about him.

'Leslie Ford presents those popular characters, Colonel Primrose and Mrs. Latham, in another excellent story. It is the story of a black-sheep American whose family had lived in Hawaii for generations, but who went to Japan and came back to play traitor to his country. Mrs. Latham is present when he makes his first appearance in his family's house; she is present when his murdered body is discovered; and she is deeply involved in the circumstances that lead up to a second murder. HONOLULU MURDER STORY is well told with typical Leslie Ford skill, suspense, deft characterisation and colourful background.'

The Philadelphia Murder Story by Leslie Ford was published in paperback by Popular in 1965. 

Trial by Ambush by Leslie Ford was published in paperback by Popular in 1963.

I was dead certain (no pun intended) that both of these covers were produced by William Teason, famous for producing scores of crime and horror novel covers for Dell, Berkley and Popular during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. But then I found definitive proof that Trial by Ambush was created by artist Joe Lombardero, who is almost as well known as Teason is among illustration fans. So now I'm thinking that The Philadelphia Murder Story cover is his too. It seems both men worked for Popular Library at about the same time, so any similarities between what the two artists composed can perhaps be attributed to whoever was their shared art director. But maybe I have the whole Teason thing wrong, and now I need to reevaluate every unsigned cover that I thought were his. Damn.  

WEB OF EVIL:  'They were all trapped---this beautiful girl with her shadowed past... this handsome, haunted lawyer... this so-called "respectable" judge... this imperious woman whose life was a ghastly masquerade. One man was at the center, weaving his monstrous web. But his brutal, bizarre murder solved nothing. It was only the beginning of something even more terrifying...'

TRIAL BY AMBUSH:  'She accused him of a shocking offense... and now he waited somewhere in the dark for his revenge. Would it be murder---or worse?  Two nights before here wedding, beautiful Baltimore debutante, Mary Melissa Seaton, is thrust into a nightmare of crime and horror. Silently her killer stalks her nights. Having once failed, she knows he must come back... again.

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE, AND HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

[© December, 2023, Jeffersen]

ADDENDUM (3-21-2024): A commenter suggested a great addition to this article, Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard, the trade-paperback cover art of which I was completely unaware of. So, after securing a good image of it I have included it below, along with a few additional covers that I've since discovered. Enjoy:

Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac was published in hardback by Mystery House in 1946. The jacket art was produced by Clement. Lorac was a pseudonym of Edith Caroline Rivett (1894-1958) who was a prolific writer of crime fiction from the 1930's to the 1950's, and a member of the prestigious Detection Club.

'London, 1945. The capital is shrouded in the darkness of the blackout, and mystery abounds in the parks after dusk. During a stroll through Regent's Park, Bruce Mallaig witnesses two men acting suspiciously around a footbridge. In a matter of moments, one of them has been murdered. Mallaig's view of the assailant is but a brief glimpse of a ghastly face in the glow of a struck match. The murderer's noiseless approach and escape seems to defy all logic, and even the victim's identity is quickly thrown into uncertainty. Lorac's shrewd yet personable C.I.C. man Macdonald must set to work once again to unravel this near-impossible mystery.'  ---Blurb taken from 2018 British Library Crime Classics reprint edition.

Green Mansions by W. H. Hudson was reprinted in paperbark by Scholastic in 1969. The cover art was produced by Marvin Mattelson.

'Was she human? Or was she a creature too rare and beautiful for this earth? Abel wasn't sure. He only knew that with here he found love in the dark heart of the jungle. But the natives feared her as a sorceress. They sought to destroy her strange, enchanting power over men.'

Out of Darkness by Marjorie Davenport was published in paperback by Dell in 1974. The cover art was produced by Elaine Duillo. 

'Helen Landreth had fled the nameless horror of her past---first in a nervous breakdown that robbed her of memory and left her on the brink of madness... then in the arms of the handsome Frenchman who rescued h er from the living death of an asylum and brought her to stay at his isolated villa in the wild Breton countryside. Here Helen found sanctuary and growing love---until one day a visitor arrived at the villa. And suddenly there was no peace, no happiness, no safety. There was only terror as the doors of the nightmarish past swung open---and this time Helen knew there would be no forgetting... no escape...'

Head Hunters by James Luceno was published in paperback by Ballantine in 1980. The cover art was produced by Richard Newton.

'Joy, a foxy lady with a Trust Fund---Jack, a dedicated adventurer in flight from the American Dream---Tony, a quiet dreamer compelled to unravel the meaning of a vivid and devastating acid trip---Off on the biggest, boldest, wildest, and craziest scam of their lives: to fly to South America, score four kilos of pure cocaine, and turn it into enough untaxed dollars to buy their freedom from the system forever. So much for simple plans. Arriving in Lima, the trio discovers it could be weeks---and many miles---before they score. All the elements of a midnight-travel brochure await them as they trek across Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil---thieves, cops, triple-crossing drug dealers, expatriates of infinite variety, naive Latin temptresses and, for Tony, strange and powerful messages from an ancient tribe. HEAD HUNTERS: Dazzling, colorful, a high altitude tale of three American adventurers in South American, driven toward destinies they never could have predicted, winding up with much, much more than just cocaine.'

Winterlong by Elizabeth Hand was published in paperback by Bantam Spectra in 1991. The cover art was produced by Mark Harrison. 

'Amid the ruins of a once great city, a girl and her beautiful long-lost twin brother are drawn to the seductive voice of a green-eyed boy whose name is Death. Together they must journey through a poisoned garden filled with children who kill and beasts that speak--all the while resisting the evil that compels them to join in a nightmare ritual of blood that will unleash the power of the ancients and signal the end of humanity.'

Max Lakeman and the Beautiful Stranger by Jon Cohen was published in paperback by Black Swan Press in 1991. This cover art was also produced by Mark Harrison. 

'Max Lakeman is head-over-heels in love with his wife, enchanted by his two children, happy with his job mowing lawns. Unshakably content. Or is he? One warm summer night, Max’s overactive imagination conjures up a beautiful woman, Mrs. Zeno, who steps out of the moonlit rhododendrons and into his life. Max is certain that Mrs. Zeno is imaginary until she manages to seduce him into a passionate affair, blurring the lines between fantasy and reality, between wanting and having. MAX LAKEMAN AND THE BEAUTIFUL STRANGER brings rich attention to the emotional life of an ordinary man with remarkable insight into the longings of the human heart.'

Almost Adam by Petru Popescu was published in paperback by Avon in 1997. The cover and stepback art are uncredited.

'In a remote region of Kenya, American anthropologist Ken Lauder is about to make a discovery that will challenge everything we've ever believed about the missing link and the ascent of humankind: a boy who should not exist... a race that defies all logic... inhabiting a secret world that cannot be... A world Ken Lauder may never escape... alive.'

Life During Wartime by Lucius Shepard was published in trade-paperback by Bantam in 1987. The cover art was produced by Larry Noble.

'David Mingolla is just an average soldier trying to survive the madness of the Central American war. But it seems he's destined for greater-than-average things. In the sensuous and savage jungle, he is about to enter a war zone of the spirit where the well-guarded borders between good and evil, love and hate, myth and reality will become irrevocably blurred. It is Free Occupied Guatemala, during a strange game of chance, that he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Debora, the woman of his dreams--or is she? Before Mingolla can decide, he is recruited into the elite---and top secret---Psicorps. And when his training is complete, a much-changed Mingolla has learned to view love---and war---in a far more complex way than he ever imagined possible. For his first assignment in Psicorps is to track down---and kill---Debora.'

Here are four distinct 21st century editions of H. G. Wells classic horror novel The Island of Dr. Moreau that fit easily into our theme. I've not been able to identify each artist as of yet, but their covers look mighty awesome, proving to this old curmudgeon that not all 21st century book covers suck.

Digi-Reads, ca 2017 (ebook?)
Signet edition, ca 2014 (mmpb).
Gargoyle Collective, ca 2023 (hardcover coloring book, contains 40 large illustrations).
Del Fondo (Spain?), date unknown (format?).

'A lonely island in the Pacific, The sinister scientist who rules it, And the strange beings who dwell there... Take a terrifying journey into the unknown--to a secret scientific laboratory populated by the most unspeakably grotesque forms of life ever to shadow the earth with horror... What you find on THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU is the ultimate in terror.'  --- Signet Edition, 1977.

'Ranked among the classic novels of the English language and the inspiration for several unforgettable movies, this early work of H. G. Wells was greeted in 1896 by howls of protest from reviewers, who found it horrifying and blasphemous. They wanted to know more about the wondrous possibilities of science shown in his first book, The Time Machine, not its potential for misuse and terror. In The Island of Dr. Moreau a shipwrecked gentleman named Edward Prendick, stranded on a Pacific island lorded over by the notorious Dr. Moreau, confronts dark secrets, strange creatures, and a reason to run for his life. While this riveting tale was intended to be a commentary on evolution, divine creation, and the tension between human nature and culture, modern readers familiar with genetic engineering will marvel at Wells’s prediction of the ethical issues raised by producing “smarter” human beings or bringing back extinct species. These levels of interpretation add a richness to Prendick’s adventures on Dr. Moreau’s island of lost souls without distracting from what is still a rip-roaring good read.'  ---Bantam Edition, 1994 (not shown).

*     *     *     *     *

CRANBERRY-JELLO SALAD

It's November. And that means just one thing...

THANKSGIVING!

You know, that special holiday where families gather together for one single purpose: to EAT the biggest, tastiest, and healthiest meal of the year.

Well, healthy? Yes, maybe. Except for the gravy. And the stuffing. And the pie.

And the cranberry-jello salad that my mom became famous for. Ha!
 
During this century my immediate family has shrunk about as much as it has grown, which means Thanksgiving gatherings are no longer what they once were. My parents, or my brother in-law's parents, used to host Thanksgiving regularly until they weren't able to, or available to. Naturally, my sister and her husband took over the task, daughters being daughters and all, and they do a fantastic job, but they have great grandchildren now so seating at their table is at a premium.

My wife and I generally celebrate Thanksgiving by ourselves. Sometimes we invite in a stray or two, but for the last few years, or since the pandemic, it's been just the two of us. So far I've never hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for my immediate family, and yes I have plenty of guilt over that, but now at this late stage I think it would be asking too much of everyone to show up for anything other than a funeral. Grievances, whether petty or justified, plus other factors, will probably keep us all apart for as long as we live. Sad, but true.

When I think of Thanksgiving it always brings to mind this 1943 painting by Norman Rockwell. It was part of a series of illustrations he painted for The Saturday Evening Post magazine called the "Four Freedoms." The idea for the series was born during President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1941 State of the Union Address, where he outlined four basic human rights that he felt were in alignment with our objectives in World War II---"freedom of speech", "freedom to worship", "freedom from want", and "freedom from fear". The "freedom from want" was depicted as a Thanksgiving dinner by Rockwell, and it has since achieved, well really all four of them have, the status of icon in American visual culture.

Of course Rockwell's painting has been parodied many times since its inception. Here I'm going to feature just the few that I like, because for the most part I don't care for too many of them. After that I'll just stick with a couple of Thanksgiving themed illustrations.

On a side note, I want to mention my good friend Chris Spoonmaker. For years he was the Programming and Events Coordinator at the library system I worked for, and there's been nobody better in that position before or since. Being Alfred Hitchcock fans, we used to chat all the time about classic movies (and other things too of course). Chris is a multi-talented fellow; artist, actor, comedian and writer, and he wrote one of the funniest parodies of Rockwell's Thanksgiving painting that I know of, based entirely on one of his own family's mishaps during that holiday (picture the turkey sliding off the tray). I would love nothing better than to feature it here but the story deserves to be published first professionally---it's that hilariously good. Maybe when Chris reads this it will give him the impetus to start submitting it again to various outlets.

Richard Williams, famed in my realm for having produced numerous Encyclopedia Brown book covers, re-imagined Rockwell's classic painting in the most retching way possible for the December, 2007 cover of Mad Magazine. Seated from left to right are caricatures of party-gal celebrities Lindsay, Paris, Nicole and Brittany. The kid, who I don't recognize but maybe you do, probably wishes he were spending Thanksgiving in a different household.

Charles Boyer accepted a “temporary” job at Disneyland as a portrait sketch artist in the fall of 1960, and then stayed with the company for 39 more years, eventually becoming their full-time master illustrator. He brought talent and enthusiasm to everything he did at Disney, which has never been more apparent than on this, a classic homage to Rockwell's Thanksgiving, and I for one couldn't be more happy with it, or him.

This splash page skewering Rockwell, is from the May, 1958 issue of Mad Magazine, and it was the opening to a classic spoof on one of the nation's most popular magazines, The Saturday Evening Post. Be sure to read the introduction at the top of the page---hilarious! Mad veteran Bob Clarke produced the illustrations, and the text was written by his friend Tom Koch. In 1961 their spoof was reprinted in a Signet paperback titled, The Ides of Mad. You may have read it there first as I did.

Leo Morey produced this cover painting for the September, 1962 issue of Sick Magazine. Morey was the creator of Sick's first mascot, the unnamed, bespectacled little physician that you see above. Sick, along with its rival Cracked, were basically knockoffs of Mad Magazine, though Sick was always the more raunchy of the two, and it ran, mostly unfiltered, from 1960 to 1980, lasting 134 issues. Huckleberry Fink, Sick's second mascot, was modeled after Mad's Alfred E. Neuman. Fink's motto, unlike Neuman's own "What, me worry?", was "Why Try Harder?" I worked with people at the library who lived by that motto.

Leopoldo Raul Morey Pena was born in Peru in 1899 but educated in America. Although he held a degree in engineering he really only wanted to be an illustrator, and so he began freelancing to the pulps in the early 1930's. He kept at it too, producing cover art and illustrations for fiction periodicals until his sudden death from a heart attack in 1965.

This is exactly how I remember Thanksgiving when I was about the same age as that boy. The women did all the cooking while the men just sat around doing nothing. Pretty soon that little girl will be relegated to the kitchen too. (And NO, carving the bird after the fact doesn't count for cranberry salad--and just what fool thought it was a good idea to let grandpa have a knife in the first place?)

Bill Griffith produced this painting for an unknown client. He was a fairly productive magazine illustrator during the mid-20th century, chiefly for outdoor-recreation rag's such as Sports Afield. Beyond that not much is known about him or where he trained, but it should be noted that he is not the same artist who created the syndicated comic strip Zippy.

I  remember there was always some drinking going on at every Thanksgiving. For my part it was just beer, as if that makes it any better. One handsome young fellow, who married into the family, and who my wife had just met for the first time at Thanksgiving, gulped down two giant glasses of wine before the table could even be set. I don't think I've seen my wife's eyebrow arch any higher. Needless to say, this fellow wound up with a serious drinking problem, one that eventually cost him his marriage, job, and then sadly, his life.

Douglass Crockwell (1904-1968) produced this painting for a 1952 Brewer's Foundation Beer advertisement. Crockwell was primarily a magazine cover artist and story illustrator, but he also worked in advertising, and he was exceptionally good at everything he did, including one of his extracurricular gig's, making experimental animation films. During WWII he created recruiting posters for various branches of the United States government.

Sometimes Thanksgiving gatherings can get so crowded that the only way to serve dinner is to do it buffet style. And with this many people attending the kids are invariably sent to a separate room to eat, sometimes located in the basement. I used to resent that, not being able to eat with the adults, but sitting down to eat with other kids wasn't always so bad, especially if you could take your shoes off!

George Hughes (1907-1990) started out as a fashion illustrator, and then did a brief stint in Detroit designing automobiles. But for the majority of of career he produced cover art and story illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post, where he completing a total of 115 covers, all featured between the years 1948 and 1962. Looking at one of his covers was like seeing a story within a story; there was always more going than meets the eye. Hughes was good friends with Rockwell too, and Norman often sought his advice on illustrative matters.

Herbert Morton Stoops painted this period looking "Thanksgiving toast" in 1930, an oil on canvas, for probable use on one of the many magazines he illustrated for. Collier's, Blue Book, Liberty, Cosmopolitan, McCall's, Good Housekeeping and the Ladies Home Journal are just a few of the many A-level clients that kept him busy for nearly three decades. In 1947 Stoops began an ambitious project with Blue Book magazine to paint a memorial cover for each of the 48 States. Unfortunately, his death one year later from illness at the age of 60 ended any chance at completion. 

I THINK we can all agree that Thanksgiving is a great holiday, maybe the best holiday there is because it doesn't force any commercial pressure on us besides turkey consumption. And I know you haven't forgotten about my mom's cranberry-jello salad that I mentioned at the top. So here's her recipe in all its glory:

KATY'S CRANBERRY-JELLO SALAD

1 large box of cherry jello.
1 can or jar of cranberry sauce or relish (not jelly!).
1 medium size can of crushed pineapple (drained).
2/3 cup chopped nuts (strictly optional).

12 ounce dish of sour cream.
2 cups of small marshmallows.

Pour the box of jello into a bowl containing 2 cups of water so that it can dissolve (equal parts boiling and cold. You can also substitute some of the water with the drained juice from the pineapple can).
Mix in the cranberry sauce, the drained pineapple, and the nuts (optional), and then pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch pan (or 10" x 10").
Place the pan in the refrigerator until the jello sets firmly.

Mix the sour cream and marshmallows in a separate dish. Let stand for 2 hours at room temperature, then beat or whip until smooth. Then spread mixture evenly on top of the already set jello.

Cut into individual squares and eat. Mmm, mmm, good!

[© November, 2023, Jeffersen]