Feb 21
Click for larger imageBibliomancer Comments: Even with a crystal ball they did nazi that coming.
Published 1974
(Average: 7.35 out of 10)
Loading...
Bibliomancer Comments: Even with a crystal ball they did nazi that coming.
Published 1974
(Average: 7.35 out of 10)Loading...
(9.25 out of 10) (9.18 out of 10) (9.01 out of 10) (8.97 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.93 out of 10) (8.92 out of 10) (8.88 out of 10) (8.88 out of 10)
Lastest Tweet
February 21st, 2018 at 11:11 am
And all because the lady loves… oh, wait, that was Milk Tray.
February 21st, 2018 at 12:55 pm
“How many times do I have to tell you??? Use a damn beverage coaster!”
February 21st, 2018 at 1:22 pm
They used dark forces…..to conjure a nude mime who will attempt to kill Winston Churchill.
February 21st, 2018 at 1:49 pm
“Help! I’m naked and trapped in this weird cover!”
February 21st, 2018 at 2:34 pm
Suranne Jones stars in an unsettling new episode:
THEY USED DOC FOSTER
February 21st, 2018 at 5:27 pm
They Used Dark Forces For Dummies!
February 21st, 2018 at 8:16 pm
They should have used the crystal ball to foresee Anglia Television ripping this cover off for ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ and sued.
February 21st, 2018 at 11:07 pm
Didn’t know they had artificial dumplings back in WWII days. Must have been some of that Nazi super-science we see in so many books. Like the cover of “The Little People”, over there in our Top Ten. Ach du Brüste!
Also didn’t know there were naked female mimes who were so enthusiastic about doing the old “invisible box” routine. I’d have expected that in the preceding years; seems more Weimar Republic/”Cabaret”. (Am now picturing Joel Grey introducing zee Mistress of Mime.)
They did stick to one font here, which is to be encouraged. And it’s not embossed. Yet it too fails, what with Dennis’ name bigger than everything else. I can’t tell if it’s from the photo angle or on the book, but the actual title of the thing seems to be in the smallest point size. WTF?
And the layout of the images is more of a pile up in the center; it’s such a random jumble that at first I didn’t recognize das Raum Schafe as our old pal, and thought it was another piece of the assorted items.
The Unknown Artist Institute does it again.
@Tor: Good Show, Sir!
February 21st, 2018 at 11:35 pm
Dennis Wheatley (or more likely his publisher) really loves that jazz handed naked woman. She appear on “To the devil a daughter” as well.
http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=9673
I’m not sure if I should be proud I remembered that, or somewhat ashamed. 🙂
February 22nd, 2018 at 12:23 am
Obviously a reboot of a classic sitcom… the opening titles of Something For the Dads Army.
February 22nd, 2018 at 12:48 pm
When sexual role playing goes too far.
February 22nd, 2018 at 5:19 pm
@Dave M: Good catch.
February 22nd, 2018 at 5:28 pm
@GSS ex-noob: of course Dennis’s name’s the big noise – he was the selling-point and all the punters needed to know was that it was the new one – same way Amazon lists any forthcoming Grisham under the title ‘John Grisham Thriller’ until two months before release. Wheatley was bigger in 1974 than Grisham is now.
And it was wartime, dumplings were all ersatz because suet was rationed.
February 23rd, 2018 at 7:03 am
@Dave M (9): Ashamed as a person; proud as a GSSer.
So all the “Black Magic” books had the same design: young lady of dubious boobius, different colored fire, and clip art of something eeeevil?
February 23rd, 2018 at 5:43 pm
Who let the Nazis into the occult books again?
. . . Christina? Was it you?
February 26th, 2018 at 10:27 pm
@GSSXN – Yes the Arrow Books Wheatley Black Magic series are cookie-cutter designed.
Collect them all!
February 27th, 2018 at 4:57 am
@B’mancer: Egads! “Formulaic” doesn’t begin to describe it. I hope Dennis got the dosh, because the artist really wasn’t earning it with his swapping out the random objet d’eeeeviiiillll.
March 9th, 2018 at 8:32 pm
Thinking about this cover again, I can’t help wondering if we need a ‘Golfing for Cats’ tag.
About forty years ago, Alan Coren supposedly asked his local bookseller what things always guaranteed a book’s popularity and was told pets, hobbies and Hitler were infallible so he called the book ‘Golfing for Cats’ and put a swastika on it. https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/189784571767128039/ and for the paperback https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3368202-golfing-for-cats
The skiffy version would be Paul di Filippo calling a 90s short story collection ‘The Steampunk Trilogy’ but his idea of cover-art isn’t exactly customer-friendly. http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=7058 Or any Baen cover where the random artwork generator is set to ‘omnishambles’.
What I’m getting at is something where the thought-process of the commissioning editors is naked and proud, a catchpenny title, a simple concept and a startling set of images (and a book apparently written to fit). I had a quick look around for examples http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=215 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=5097 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=6136 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=2866 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=4107 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=7742 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=8276 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=4748 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=4336 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=5226 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=7515 http://www.goodshowsir.co.uk/?p=4964
March 12th, 2018 at 6:52 pm
@Tat: I fear that tag would be used even more than WTF, making it almost useless.
March 8th, 2019 at 10:55 pm
They used silicone.
March 9th, 2019 at 12:02 am
@anon: Only Ann-Margret had silicone in 1974.
September 24th, 2019 at 10:01 am
THEY USED JAZZ HANDS
September 24th, 2019 at 9:59 pm
@ARY: Are you hitting the “Random Terrible Cover” link often the past couple of weeks, to be making these comments? You’re like Flashback Friday every day. It’s good fun.
@Tat Wood (13): belated LOL at the dumpling joke.
I realized in Dennis’ oeuvre, all the dumplings are literally the devil’s, making @Tag W’s tag perfect here.
Maybe her fingers are wide spread cos she’s been reading “Piano For Dummies” over on the right.