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Oct 22

Two seconds before he shoots himself in the dickClick for full image

Tom Noir Comments: Authors: do your covers often suffer from font problems? Garish costumes? Badly drawn cat people? Half-witted expressions? You may be experiencing BAEN-ITIS.

Published 2003

Actually, that cover IS a classical work of art!I would touch it without protective gloves.I've seen worse. Far, far, worse.Interesting, but I would still read it in public.Middlng: Neither awful nor awfully goodWould not like to be seen reading that!Awful... just awful...That belongs in a gold-lame picture frame!Gah... my eyes are burning! Feels so good!Good Show Sir! (Average: 8.08 out of 10)
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23 Responses to “The Human Edge”

  1. Noel Says:

    Christ on a bike.

    (can that be a tag?)

  2. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    ‘Gosh, it’s sooo hot in here…’

  3. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    @admin: that’s not a gun, that’s a lit plasma torch. Something may be cauterised off here in a moment…

  4. Tat Wood Says:

    I can’t wait to see the look on little Johnny’s face when he gets his first look at the new wallpaper in his bedroom.

  5. B. Chiclitz Says:

    Smug tag? Smirk tag?

  6. Tag Wizard Says:

    @B. Chiclitz – How about both? Smirky McSmug tag. But please don’t ask me to make it retroactive. (Except for that Norstrilia douche.)

  7. THX 1138 Says:

    OK, who’s been raiding the Scooby-Doo baddies’ dressing up box?

  8. fred Says:

    I’m guessing this was the original before it was bombarded with BAEN rays.

    http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQxDZOtP-mpVRHPxYKfyJ0fRKHW8MkQb92o78QK-Xk3lBCaKePa

  9. B. Chiclitz Says:

    @Tag Wiz—my, my you do have a gift for nailing the tag line. I guess that’s why you are named “Tag.” I love it.

  10. Anna T. Says:

    First of all, that’s not a gun but a repainted water pistol with a glowstick inserted.

    Second, ALL HAIL the Smirky McSmug Tag!

    @Tag Wizard, if I find any appropriate examples in old covers, I’ll let you know.

  11. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    Scene from George Lucas’ Winnie the Pooh Episode 1.

    @fred, AnnaT: maybe that’s the legendary BAEN-izer? Able to BAEN-ize a cover faster than you can copy Rex 4 Chaos to Photoshop? After all, there’s none in the original, benign artwork…

  12. B. Chiclitz Says:

    Purplish Ectoplasm Thing: Hey, is that a repainted water pistol with an inserted glowstick or are you just happy to see me? Can I touch it?

    Smirky McSmug: Oh, well, you too? Just get in line will you?

  13. Tag Wizard Says:

    @Anna T. – Please read #6. No Backsies!

  14. A.R.Yngve Says:

    So “The Human Edge” is that our species possesses superior smugness? Boy, that’s going to get us kicked out of the Galactic Federation real fast.

  15. A.R.Yngve Says:

    Seriously, what the hell is that facial expression supposed to convey?

    A) “You are so inferior to me, ha-ha!”
    B) “He who smelt it, dealt it!”
    C) “Which one am I going to shoot first? They all look so… unarmed.”

  16. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    @AR: ‘Oh, my–I wish Hank Davis would select ME!’

  17. valerie coupland Says:

    That cover is a perfection in itself in its first class garishness and campishness. Best way to start a day, with a giggle. Now I want that book!

  18. anon Says:

    I think we need a “stereotypically gay” tag.

  19. Perry Armstrong Says:

    @anon: … er, no we don’t. I’m wary of emphasising stereotypes, even when done with affection, as this might be viewed as subtle invalidation of people who may be affected by such labels. Need I say how unwise a ‘stereotypically Jewish’ tag would be – same sort of thing.

    ‘Camp’ might work as a tag, as it’s less about the individual and more about a broader societal context (as in a movie or TV show can be camp, or music, or a panto, et al). Please excuse this more serious than usual post 🙂

  20. B. Chiclitz Says:

    @Perry A—I’m with you all the way. Plus there’s no humor in that tag. One of the reasons the Wiz is the Wiz is how funny the tags themselves are, e.g. “eyes on stalks.”

  21. Tom Noir Says:

    Since we are talking stereotypes and on a serious note, one tag I would like to see is ‘female author’ and ‘male author’. I have a theory that female authors are far more likely to wind up with overtly sexualized covers. The ‘why’ of this is a question all its own but having such tags would make it easy to flip through and see if it holds true, at least for the covers on this site.

  22. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    @Tom: In all seriousness, we could have such a tag. But I don’t fancy it would take a great deal of data-mining for you to put together such a list on your own. Click that ‘top-rated covers’ on the right and go through until you have, say, twenty-five books by female authors. Put them together with current rank and a few choice tags (say, ‘devil’s dumplings’ or ‘Sir Mix-a-Lot’) and you’ll have your answer.

    And when you have it, share! I’m curious to see if your hypothesis stands.

  23. Dead Stuff With Big Teeth Says:

    @TW: this could use the criminally-underused epic thoughts tag.

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