Oct 21
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Kristen Comments: Sorry about the poor quality of the shot…in any case, it looks like the designer decided to throw something from EVERY short story in this collection onto the cover. At least I hope so, because if there were also armed dinosaurs, fighter jets, and authors working on home computers on board the Titanic, history books have been holding out on us.
Published 1988
Wow!
Many thanks to Kristen!

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Tagged with: aeroplanes • Ballantine Books • beard-wielding • bow-tie • Darrell K. Sweet • dinosaur • dude • flying • frickin laser beams • Jack L. Chalker • lizards • WTF
Sep 27
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John’s Art Direction: No, see, boss, it’s not pornographic – it’s surrealism!
Published 1970
I give this a Bruce Forsyth and a Bullseye.
Many thanks to John!

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • Brian N. Ball • cleavage • devil's dumplings • sky-eyes • surrealist imagery • Tom Adams • WTF
Sep 08
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Sonya’s Art Direction: Instead of two views of wonder, how about a riot of color and image? Perhaps a plant for every short story in the collection? Oh, and throw in a Frida Kahlo lookalike holding a skull ala Hamlet to show that these are serious stories…
Published 1974
Many thanks to Sonya!

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • Chelsea Quinn Yarbro • cleavage • damsel • devil's dumplings • eye-yi-yi • flowers • Mati Klarwein • skeletons • skulls a-poppin' • Thomas N. Scortia • WTF
Sep 06
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Natalie and Steve Comments: Unfortunately, Davy himself is not as vivacious as his cover suggests.
Published 1976
Many thanks to Natalie and Steve!

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • Boris Vallejo • damsel • dude • Edgar Pangborn • font problems • muscles • music • strange creature
Sep 02
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Ashton Comments: Everything about the closer man’s outfit is amazing, from his puffy velvet shirt covered with large gold buttons and trousers striped with red and blue, to the leopard print trim on his girdle. The other man’s garbage sack outfit is no match.
Published 1982
Many thanks to Ashton!

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Tagged with: A Del Rey Book • Ballantine Books • bladed weapons • booties • cape • Del Rey Books • dude • lightning • magic • magical weapon • Michael Herring • mountains • puffy shirt • Roger Zelazny • strange creature • sword • Wizaaaaaaaard!
Apr 26
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I don’t know about you, but when I think of animal slaves I hate that everyone just thinks of chimps. If I had an animal slave I’d definitely want a Scottish Terrier bringing me my dinner while a seal pleasures me. Mmm, well maybe don’t draw that – but at least put a seal on there!
Brilliant! Thanks to Noah!

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • dude • Frederik Pohl • Karl Swanson • strange creature • WTF
Mar 31
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NoiselessPenguin Comments: I tried to make a list of what’s wrong with this cover, and stopped when I realised: EVERYTHING.
Thanks to NoiselessPenguin, I’ve never laughed so much!

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Tagged with: anatomical issues • Ballantine Books • beard-wielding • beast-riding • Darrell K. Sweet • Dave Duncan • dude • Good Show Sir • longbow • muscles • whale
Feb 16
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Like a baseball bat to the face, we’ll hit our viewers with something special. A large forest women with rams horns and red curly hair. Perfect? Not quite. She’ll be wading her way through a swamp with another considerably smaller green tinted female watching. Now we’re perfect.

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • damsel • forest • giant • horns • Keith Parkinson • Terry Brooks • The Magic of Landover series
Feb 03
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There is one thing we should be about, fonts! Lots of them. Vast and glorious as they confuse your mind. Then we’ll just have something completely unoriginal on the cover. Something like, oh I don’t know, some marines firing their weapons at an tribal people who live in the trees. Sounds like a crap B movie eh? Ah ha ha ha ha.

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Tagged with: Ballantine Books • Dan Cragg • David Sherman • dude • font problems • gun • Mark Harrison • Starfist series • war
Dec 11
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Guy sits uncomfortably on the tail of a space shuttle. Don’t forget huge shiny text. And we’ll have to quote another one of her books, something that will really appeal to those hardcore Sci-Fi readers. Oh oh! I know. Dragons of Pern. Ace!

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Tagged with: Anne McCaffrey • Ballantine Books • dude • font problems • Michael Whelan • shiny oh so shiny • space • space ships
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