Sadly Not Sans Comic Sans

The late Mordecai Richler was one of Canada's great modern writers--a genuinely funny comic novelist capable of deeply moving work. I started with his Barney's Version (read the book, don't see the misguided movie version), got hooked and worked my way back in time though his earlier books.

Just the other day I encountered a set of covers from McClelland & Stewart for his backlist. Oh dear. Somebody decided that badly kerned Comic Sans would be the perfect font for these otherwise classy-looking books. I don't know how that happened.

It's unfortunate, because there's actually a very nice typeface designed and named in Richler's honour, which would have done splendidly...

While we're on Richlers, any time his daughter, Emma, wants to put out her third novel, I'll be buying it.