Apr 29
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Phil’s Art Direction: That’s the Bradbury story about an android grandmother, isn’t it? A sweet, family tale? Right, so let’s have either a muscle man or a horse on the cover. Better yet, a muscle man who IS a horse. And so ripped, that even his muscles have muscle men on them. On a wraparound cover.
Published in 1972
Outstanding! Good Show Phil!

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Tagged with: Centaur! • Corgi Books • dude • Good Show Sir • horses • muscles • Nebular • Ray Bradbury • recursive cover • wraparound cover • WTF
Apr 01
Times are tough in the publishing industry for the German megacorporation Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA which owns Penguin Random House. Even publishing the Morrissey Autobiography as a ridiculous “Penguin Classic” couldn’t reverse their financial woes. You might have read that as part of a major restructuring they recently sold off the venerable Penguin Classics line to, of all publishers, Baen Books.
Baen, being Baen, was quick to reissue many of the Penguin Classic titles with more alluring covers to attract the less discriminating literati. Unbeknownst to Baen though, they recently hired our sometime social media guru Tweet Jane as a copy editor and she was able to forward us the galley proofs prior to their publication. What a sad day for the publishing industry but a major scoop for Good Show Sir!
Moby Dick
Lady Chatterley’s Lover
Little Women
Lord Jim
To confuse the readers even more, Baen is re-issuing some of their own catalog titles and pairing them with traditional Penguin Classics art masterpieces on the cover. Case in point:
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Tag Wizard Comments: I’m sure our talented team of GSSers can do Baen one better. Try your hand repurposing your own favourites and send them along with our lovely submit button. I’ll check in during the day update this post with your submissions.

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Tagged with: April 1st • Baen Books • Good Show Sir • Penguin Books • WTF
Jun 19
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Good Show Sir Comments: Is child labour illegal in Australia? Because Deodand Publishing has a 13 year old boy running its Art Department.
Published 2002

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Tagged with: anatomical issues • damsel • Deodand Publishing • Edgar Rice Burroughs • loincloth • side boob • Unknown Artist Institute • WTF
Jul 20
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Grady Comments: I’m disappointed, to be honest. The back of the book says, “They speak German. They carry whips. And they are connected in some mysterious way with Nazi experiments carried out in the charming old Irish castle during World War II.” Meh, I’ve seen more charming Irish castles.
Published 1968

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Tagged with: Avon Books • castle • damsel • dude • dwarf • evil • Good Show Sir • Hector Garrido • nazi • whip it good • WTF
Nov 08
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Don Comments: It’s so embarrassing when Mummy catches you playing dress-up in her things, even if you’re an alligator. Maybe PARTICULARLY if you’re an alligator.
Published 1966

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Tagged with: Ace Books • anthropomorphism • Avram Davidson • BEHIND YOU! • dress for success • Jack Gaughan • lizard people • lizards • once you see it • robes • strange creature
Aug 21
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L’Angelo Mysterioso Comments: Sung to the tune of Nights in White Satin:
Nights with the Sasquatch
Never reading the end
Novels are written
About Big Foot’s girlfriend
Good Show Sir covers
Make my eyes so sore
Just what bad art is
I can’t say any more
Please don’t judge me
Yes don’t judge me
Oh don’t judge me
Noooooooo!
Published 1977

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Tagged with: anatomical issues • Berkley Books • cleavage • damsel • fangs • font problems • John Cotter • Judith Frankle • modesty-preserving hair • moon • Sasquatch • sexytime • starkers • strange creature • Unknown Artist Institute
Mar 13
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It’s a Two-fer Tuesday: Müller-What-The-Fokker Goings-on
#1 Tat Wood’s Art Direction: “Look, we’re late to this whole Cyberpunk thing but I’ve got the rights to a book about a guy being stored as data. It was published twenty years ago but we can kid the nerds into thinking it’s hip and fresh. It’s a comedy but for Chrissake don’t let on.”
#2 Good Show Sir Comments: Tat lays down the challenge, but I say you can never beat the first edition. Those hardcover publishers only hire the best artists.
Published 1990, 1970

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Tagged with: Bill Botten • Carroll & Graff Books • dead eyes • eye-yi-yi • font problems • Hutchinson • John Sladek • living tissue over metal endoskeleton • my head aplode • nose • Ouch! • spectacular space chart • Spock ears • swingers • tasteful smoke • two-fer • Unknown Artist Institute • WTF
May 14
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Stevyn Comments: I’m ashamed to say that I was the artist in this case. A terrible cover for what is possibly the worst fantasy book ever written.
And with such great lines in this book such as, ‘The effeminate albino pursed his thick lips in that certain way to suggest he was male, but homosexual.’
Read more about this on Stevyn’s website here: http://stevyncolgan.blogspot.com/2008/07/you-really-must-take-vista-be-vigil.html
Good Show Sir! Thank you for sending this in.

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Tagged with: Aaron Jones • cloaks • dude • gibberish title • Stephen Moryk Colgan • strange creature • WTF
Sep 02
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I had a dream last night, and well… I think we should place rows and rows of naked women looking like they are washing dishes. So if we place that on the front with a fully clothed dude walking by them all, we’re keeping every gender happy. Right?
Thanks so much to Chris R!

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Tagged with: booties • bottoms • Cordwainer Smith • damsel • Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger • Sir Mix-A-Lot • space suit • Sphere Books • starkers • Unknown Artist Institute • white-clothed protagonist
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