Monday, 30 May 2011

"There is a shortage of perfect breasts in this world; 'twould be a pity to damage yours."*

Here's a wonderful submission in the awful and inappropriate cover category from Amie-June Brumble. I'll let her tell the tale:

You're probably familiar with the story of The Princess Bride, either in book or movie form. Fairy tale romance, a princess, a dashing pirate, etc. I knew the story mostly from the much-loved '80s film with Wallace Shawn and Andre the Giant. Recently, I decided to pick up a copy of the book, and went to my local glorious bookstore (Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park, WA). I found two or three copies of the usual cover, showing Buttercup and Wesley running, and...this!

It utterly astounds me the cover image for this fairy tale manages to make it look like horror/tentacle porn.

Naturally, I bought it. It's one of the tackiest things I own. Fun pastime: cover up the title of the book with your hand, show it to people, and ask them what book they think it is. The responses you get are very interesting.

And here's the cover in question:



Ballantine Books has done themselves proud! The artwork is by Esteban Maroto, and I have no idea if it was actually done for this book, or just grabbed from the files as a case of 'It's a fantasy book, this will do!'. Maroto is a Spanish comics artist whose best-known work is a mix of psychedelic 1970s trippiness and sex. Here are a couple of random pages from two different comics by him to give you the idea--click for bigger versions. (Full comics and more Marotoana are to be found here)


* It's from the book, chapter 8--it seemed too appropriate not to use.
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15 comments:

  1. That Hank30 May 2011 at 19:44

    This was the cover of the first copy I read. I've always liked it quite a bit.

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  2. Professor Chaos31 May 2011 at 01:13

    That cover is absolutely terrifying.

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  3. Anonymous31 May 2011 at 02:34

    I like that as a paperback cover.

    I suppose it is inappropriate but I have not read the book or cared much for what little I have seen of the movie.

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  4. Cleddy Ness31 May 2011 at 03:42

    Purely based on the cover illo, I'd have guessed it was Liz Taylor's autobiography.

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  5. Brian Busby31 May 2011 at 06:21

    I see that Ballantine's sword & sorcery cover was published in 1975 - just about the time that I began reading Robert E. Howard and his ilk. Frank Frazetta was my favourite artist. Had I picked it up I would have been so very disappointed.

    An admirer of William Goldman, I saw the movie. Didn't like it. Then I read the book. Didn't like it, either. One enthusiastic bookseller offers a less than pristine copy at US$75, adding: "Have I said this is a fabulous book? It is one of only a handful which I first read in pb and then ordered in hardcover. It has something for just about any and everyone."

    Each to his own, I suppose.

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  6. Matthew Adams31 May 2011 at 06:23

    Oh boy...

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  7. Meytal Radzinski31 May 2011 at 09:52

    I imagined something bad. I don't think I could have ever guessed it would be this bad... Well, that made my day!

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  8. Anonymous1 June 2011 at 03:12

    I am the previous anon.

    This reminds me of Sword and Sorcery covers from the 70s.

    It brings to mind the late Jeff Jones.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Jones_%28artist%29

    Perhaps Caustic Cover would like to run a piece on Jeff Jones to bring him the attention he/she deserved?

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  9. lucy joy1 June 2011 at 07:39

    It reminded me of an Otto Van Schirach album cover. When I Googled it, I thought "oh, it's not quite that bad' (then again, there is a certain similarity):
    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WFQZMF0RiPY/0.jpg

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  10. JRSM1 June 2011 at 15:33

    Thanks, all.

    Brian, there was a time when a Frazetta-style cover was all I needed to make me pick up a book from the school library. A lot of dross was devoured that way.

    Anon, that's not a bad idea. I've long liked a number of Jones's pieces, and it was only at her death that I learned about her fascinating life (including the fact that she was now a she).

    Lucewoman, that cover--aaaaaaarrgh! I can't unsee it!

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  11. Anonymous2 June 2011 at 15:25

    Funny thing is, "maroto" means naughty in Portuguese. And he certainly could be, sometimes (OK, I will not go any further on this...)

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  12. JRSM2 June 2011 at 15:44

    I think it might be worth pursuing :)

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  13. VanityofVanities23 August 2011 at 01:51

    Beautiful book, but looks like a porn cover. :)

    Thanks for sharing,
    Cathy@scrubs cheap

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  14. David Edward Martin18 November 2011 at 06:56

    The cover is by the incredible (and incredibly underappreciated) TED COCONIS.
    Estaban Maroto came along a little later.
    And I loved this cover. Got me to buy the book.

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  15. JRSM19 November 2011 at 15:22

    You mean I've mis-attributed? Aaargh! I'll have to do more research. Thanks for the info, David.

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