Feb 24
Click for full imageGood Show Sir Comments: Not sure what makes me more curious: Hawkman… or the incredibly stoned Mickey Mouse.
Published 1975
Many thanks to Chris for sending this in!
(Average: 7.13 out of 10)
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Good Show Sir Comments: Not sure what makes me more curious: Hawkman… or the incredibly stoned Mickey Mouse.
Published 1975
Many thanks to Chris for sending this in!
(Average: 7.13 out of 10)Loading...
(9.25 out of 10) (9.18 out of 10) (9.02 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) (8.89 out of 10) (8.88 out of 10)
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February 24th, 2014 at 11:32 am
‘The Harlan Ellison Discovery Series’? Whatever is that supposed to be? Some precursor to ‘Where’s Wally’?
‘That’s Ellison! Lower right, by the meaty hand.’
February 24th, 2014 at 11:34 am
“Top hat” tag? Nah, that’s a bowler.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:13 pm
To be fair, that is a pretty awsome Hawkman right there.
February 24th, 2014 at 12:14 pm
“Ain’t Gonna Work on Dizzy’s Farm No More”
February 24th, 2014 at 12:44 pm
Ah, so this is an Arthur Byron cover?
I think the long, over-wrought blurb kills any curiosity this cover might have inspired on its own.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:10 pm
Quite right Phil. “Top hat” has now given forth to fedora, sombrero, bowler, beret, peaked cap, nightcap, the woefully underpopulated helmet and ridiculous hat.
An Arthur Byron Covercover.
February 24th, 2014 at 1:20 pm
Man, that Guardians of the Galaxy movie has been a long time in development, huh?
February 24th, 2014 at 1:29 pm
A certifiably lazy novel.
What, me worry?
February 24th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
I think I’ve stumbled upon a new law of nature: There is a direct correlation between the ridiculousness of the character and the smugness of the cover pose. Maybe we can call it the “Axiom of GSS,” or perhaps “Bibliomancer’s Theorem.”
February 24th, 2014 at 3:06 pm
Just been looking at his entry at the SFE http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/cover_arthur_byron and found he had a collection called “The Platypus of Doom and Other Nihilists” I’ve just searched for the cover and found it here: http://www.isfdb.org/wiki/images/6/64/PLTYPS1976.jpg I can’t find it up on Good Show Sir … I think it needs to be added pronto!
February 24th, 2014 at 3:13 pm
That’s a feat of nature to be sure, StevenLP. Good find!
If you (or any other reader) can spot it in the wild, snap a photo and send it in. The doom platypus will be gratefully received.
February 24th, 2014 at 3:37 pm
What impressed me was the biological accuracy of the illustration: the Platypus does indeed have a (poisonous) spur on its heel, not of the size shown perhaps but I think that’s forgivable artistic license. However, the bow tie does not seem to part of their regular attire … but who knows, maybe on special occasions …
February 24th, 2014 at 3:58 pm
is it just me or does mickey mouse there look a bit like the last character you’d want to have near your child? dissolute and degenerate cartoon characters always make me feel a little, oh i don’t know, leery?
February 24th, 2014 at 4:01 pm
oh, and anyone who thinks describing a book as ‘certifiably crazy’ is a cute selling point has never dealt with mental illness. unless of course the story is incoherent, disturbing, and frightening on a level you really don’t want to encounter.
February 24th, 2014 at 4:18 pm
Doesn’t the fact that this is a SF/Fantasy book rule out the use of the word ‘improbable’ on the cover?
February 24th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
@Tag Wizard — Embiggened image link is broken. Too much fooling around with hat tags is wreaking havoc on the site.
Stoner Mickey better snap out of it. Hawkman is looking hungry circling for his dinner prey.
And does the levitating alien have an extra set of nipples or is he wearing a nicotine patch?
February 25th, 2014 at 1:02 am
If only there was some way we could craft or trade hat tags with other members.
February 25th, 2014 at 8:49 am
Fatman’s left arm looks foreshortened; but then you clock his right arm and realise — nah, it’s just really stumpy.
February 25th, 2014 at 9:03 am
Wait, that’s…that’s literally the DC Superhero Hawkman. How did he end up here?
February 25th, 2014 at 11:43 am
Oh, this is just any day in Disneyland. I mean, have you been there? It’s a crazy place.
February 25th, 2014 at 3:28 pm
I know, the joke has been done and done and done, and really needs no further labouring. But still I wonder:
Does the spine of the book say “Arthur Byron Spine”?
February 25th, 2014 at 8:19 pm
I’m pretty sure I used to own both this book and _The Platypus of Doom_, though I believe both were the victims of one of my library culls (so I must not have been terribly impressed). I know I read Platypus (I remember the other animal section titles such as “The Aardvark of Despair”) but I’m not sure I ever got through _Autumn Angels_.
Definitely one freaky cover though.
February 26th, 2014 at 4:05 am
Delightful as this thread is, it seems upon reflection that there’s a lot less Ellison-bashing than one would expect. I guess he’s taking advantage of the Arthur Byron cover.
February 26th, 2014 at 8:29 am
Ellison thrives on adversity! He’d get really mad if we didn’t say anything about him…
February 26th, 2014 at 11:18 am
@BC, AR: Jelly Beans!
February 26th, 2014 at 12:08 pm
@GSS Admin — Please fix the broken picture link
@B. Chiclitz — Ellison is such a litigious bastard. I surprised he wasn’t in court for a decade with the Disney and DC Comics lawyers for putting Mickey and Hawkman on this cover.
February 26th, 2014 at 12:48 pm
Fixed. Thanks, Bibs.
February 26th, 2014 at 8:21 pm
@Phil: I have no idea, but I’m pretty sure the back says “Ron Cobb Novel”.
December 30th, 2019 at 9:44 am
OK, it’s taken me five years to notice, but bowler-hat guy appears to be Chris Lintott, astronomer off of TV’s The Sky At Night.
https://cdn7.allevents.in/banners/0caa8ae0-faa2-11e9-878b-3356aec82cbc-rimg-w526-h788-gmir.jpg
December 30th, 2019 at 2:40 pm
@Phil: …and what he’s doing up there we really don’t know.
December 31st, 2019 at 2:04 am
@Phil, @Tat Wood:
Since he wasn’t even born yet in 1975, clearly he’s a time traveler.
January 2nd, 2020 at 5:21 am
@Bruce: that explains why he looks so damn smug here.* Proud to be front and center on a 1975 book cover, proof he’s time-traveled.
The loooong wait between new covers in the festive season leads us to many desperate trawls through the archives.
* Actually, in your photo, he’s already a bit smirky. Must have been taken after he returned and saw this gambit had succeeded.
January 4th, 2020 at 2:22 am
“The loooong wait between new covers in the festive season leads us to many desperate trawls through the archives”
Indeed. Do you know when the next cover will be up? Monday perhaps?
January 6th, 2020 at 6:29 am
No new covers for a while, possibly. Might first be a recap of last year.
taps foot impatiently