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Sep 12

Dr. Zaius's sister wivesClick for larger image

Good Show Sir Comments: Cordwainer Smith’s little know Planet of the Apes/Gor mashup.

Thanks to Armando or sending this in!

Published 1989

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: 6.78 out of 10)
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23 Responses to “Il Ciclo Della Strumentalita”

  1. THX 1139 Says:

    Is this one of those “Embarrassing family photos” memes?

  2. A.R.Yngve Says:

    Boris didn’t even bother to finish the painting. “Hey Boris, you forgot the corner… well, who cares. Print it.”

  3. Tor Mented Says:

    I think Boris used the same model for two of the figures.
    Can you guess which two?

  4. JuanPaul Says:

    It looks like they took a Boris artwork then had an Unknown Artist paint the gorilla and kneeling woman’s heads at a later date to make it suit the novel.

  5. Francis Boyle Says:

    It’s “Tomo Secondo” yet there’s a very large ‘1’ in the middle of the title. I assume it’s a very liberal translation. And yes, Boris should’ve finished the cover given he had ten years to do it.

  6. fred Says:

    The FANUCCI font seems to have a high opinion of itself in not wanting any cover clutter distracting you from admiring its classic Italian style. Designed by Enzo Ferrari perhaps?

  7. THX 1139 Says:

    “Now, fight like apes! But first, peel me some grapes!”

  8. SI Says:

    Stuck in a robe when all you want is a bikini!

  9. B. Chiclitz Says:

    The only way the sitting queen could be striking that pose is if she’s handcuffed to her own bikini bottom, which I think she is.

  10. Anna T. Says:

    @Tor Mented: um… the two upper ones, maybe? (I kid.)

    I have to say, the last cover by Fanucci I remember from this site was way funnier. You know, the “fedora Dalek” one?

  11. Bibliomancer Says:

    Never cut Boris the final check until he delivers the finished cover art.
    That third nude was going to be spectacular.

  12. Rick Deckard Says:

    Boris: “Hey, I’ll sell it to Pocket Books too. No one will ever know”.

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/df/17/1a/df171a5578c1be053b8577259b8bac22.jpg

  13. Tat Wood Says:

    Is the Art Nouveau fretwork part of the chair-back, part of her hat or both?

    A comic-covers site I used to frequent, ‘Superdickery.com’ has a whole section called Everything’s Better with Monkeys.This week GSS has been reinforcing the idea.

    (It’s been revived on Reddit, which will help with the intrusive adverts that stopped me going http://www.superdickery.com/tag/everythings-better-with-monkeys/ )

    In other news, Ian Brown released an album twenty-odd years ago called ‘Unfinished Monkey Business’.

  14. Raoul Says:

    Boris: “And get my French agent on the phone. I’ve got bills to pay”.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dd4_uUyUwAESh-J?format=jpg

  15. Longtime_Lurker Says:

    If ever there were an Olympics for Cover that Has Nothing to Do with the Book, this would be a contender. Mind you, there are ladies in the Instrumentality–one of them, D’joan, is a dog; the other, C’mell, is a cat. I don’t think either wears a bikini.

  16. Tor Mented Says:

    Is the ape wearing a fur coat? Seems redundant.

  17. Bibliomancer Says:

    Fanucci: “If it’s good enough for a French magazine cover, it’s good enough for an Italian one too!”

  18. Bruce A Munro Says:

    Man, Boris gets around, doesn’t he?

    Nowadays, every Barbarian Princess who wants to strike an impression needs her own lounging Odalisque and talking ape in a bathrobe.

  19. Tor Mented Says:

    You know how I know that this book is a work of fantasy?
    Because the women aren’t cold, but it’s the male who is bundled up.

  20. Tat Wood Says:

    @Tor Mented: Maybe the women are from Newcastle.

  21. GSS ex-noob Says:

    Anyone of a certain age see this and think “Sea Monkeys”? The pose, the hat, the sandcastle — was Boris reading the ads in the back of comics while painting this?

    Although they colored the whole area. At least the French and Spanish used that white space for something. Well-spotted, @Rick @Tat @B’mancer.

    @Francis: Typesetter distracted by artwork, grabbed the wrong number?

    @BC: I looked at all the covers — I think she is!

    @Tor: heh.

    @Tat (13): whole comment excellent.

    4 languages! 4 countries! This art gets around. And I bet it has nothing to do with any of the prose.

    Oops, a quick check of Goodreads shows that the Pocket Books cover of “The City” appears to be the original, it being from 1979 and featuring “the seed of her ape-man lover growing within her”, eww, eww, ewww.

    After that, I guess Boris sold a washed-out version overseas to anyone who was looking for generic fantasy covers.

  22. A.R.Yngve Says:

    Pictured in the middle: Nick Nolte with a hangover.

  23. Anti-Sceptic Says:

    Judging by the princess’s hidden hand, someone seems to have put itching powder as a joke on that pillow.

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