Example #1: This is the Larry Elmore cover for the first of Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis's wildly-popular-in-the-1980s Mormon-propaganda, sub-Tolkien, Dungeons & Dragons spin-off novels:
Here are a couple of Tutis's classics:
Setting aside the complete inappropriateness of these covers (though at least they Photoshopped out the dragon), this is the unwise theft of a cover which millions of people will recognise.
Example #2: When Weis and Hickman started writing their own sub-Tolkien Mormon propoganda that wasn't affiliated with Dungeons & Dragons, the first cover looked like this:
Enter Tutis:
Example #3: Trashy fantasy novels seem to be a useful resource for Tutis. Here's the cover for one of the bestselling Terry Brooks' many, many Tolkien-"inspired" novels: again, a book cover seen by millions.
And here's Tutis's edition of The Man Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures--remember, by the way, that said man-eaters are actually lions, not made-up airborne monsters.
Example #4: This Tutis Wilkie Collins make use of a Charles Addams painting of the Addams family home.
Example #5: Why reuse other people's covers when you can reuse your own, whether or not they suit the book at all (though who knows where this image came from originally?)
With their usual care and attention, they've left off the author's surname on that second book--it's actually by P. G. Wodehouse. But what is that thing? Look into its cold, dead, pink eyes...
Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!
7 comments:
With a body like that it's no wonder that Jill Mariner suffered a broken engagement, but however did she find employment as a chorus girl?
Close ups on that pink thing made me chuckle.
Looked up some more Tutis. The 'best' I found was Thomas Hardy's Wessex Tales illustrated by a picture of Slash from Guns'n'Roses that they've nabbed from the front cover of Guitar Hero!
http://217.205.197.220/borders-media/BookCoverThumbnail/9788132049654/wessex-tales.jpg?w=200&h=250
That is truly fantastic. I Have to add that to the post! In fact, I think I have to do a new post!
Not sure where the pink creature on the Jerome K Jerome cover originated, but it's also the character Sof' Boy in the comic by Archer Prewitt. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tribe/2891424224/
Magic! Thanks for that--I'll add that info to the post. It's weird--the Sea and Cake is one of my favourite bands, but I had no idea about Prewitt's comic work.
One wonders whether the originators of the art that has been "borrowed" have received any recompense. I'm not a fan of copyright, but if a publisher is making money from the use of images the original artist is entitled to some payment.
I note in particular that the artist who drew that terrifying pink blob apparently started publishing in 1992 - so it is very much inside the "death + 70 years" Disney copyright period.
Stephen, I'm absolute;y certain that none of the art is being used legitimately. Out of interest a while ago I contacted one artist whose work had been Tutised, since I had his email, and he had no idea that this was going on.
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