tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post6028396824389982626..comments2024-02-26T02:13:54.009-08:00Comments on Caustic Cover Critic: Terry JamesJRSMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-74641192969207475652009-10-21T15:03:54.621-07:002009-10-21T15:03:54.621-07:00Bob and Ben--they are eerily lovely. Many of the b...Bob and Ben--they are eerily lovely. Many of the books ARE good, I should add. Pohl, Disch and Sturgeon are almost always worth reading, in particular.JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-66929871045331473122009-10-21T02:42:11.108-07:002009-10-21T02:42:11.108-07:00These covers are beautiful - eerie '70s Britis...These covers are beautiful - eerie '70s British sci-fi to the nth degree, as has been noted.<br /><br />I've got an SF Book Club edition of Colin Wilson's "The Mind Parasites", with a similarly abstract b&w cover design, presumably by also Terry James although it's not quite as good or eye-catching as the ones you've posted.<br /><br />They're a really distinctive looking series of books though - I'd definitely pick up any more I happened to see, regardless of literary quality.Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14951955227326548340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-67275919603699059852009-10-19T21:51:53.267-07:002009-10-19T21:51:53.267-07:00Those art really intriguing. The Age of the Pussyf...Those art really intriguing. <i>The Age of the Pussyfoot</i> in particular. That one is eerily enticing.Bob Fingermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01985924051708608925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-11826497484125788832009-10-18T18:52:56.456-07:002009-10-18T18:52:56.456-07:00These are great covers. While science fiction has ...These are great covers. While science fiction has it's share of horrible covers, at least it has covers like these to boast about. I have yet to see much in the fantasy field to match it.Matthew Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06954050440829792514noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-33856725785985556202009-10-18T17:22:15.469-07:002009-10-18T17:22:15.469-07:00Actually, that makes sense--black and white could ...Actually, that makes sense--black and white could cover up some of the flmisiness of effects/sets/costumes, etc, and make a virtue of the problem, the same way that some of the done-on-the-cheap 1940s noir movies are absolutely beautiful to look at.JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-56016053686528693532009-10-18T16:49:23.846-07:002009-10-18T16:49:23.846-07:00Maybe because it was a "children's" ...Maybe because it was a "children's" show, they of course could not show some of the imagery that began to appear in SF book covers at that time. And since TV was mostly B&W then, they astutely used the monochrome at its best. <br /><br />(I have clear memories of watching as a 5 year old in complete awe – and some fear – this sequence whenever I could catch it around 6 p.m on Portuguese TV around 1976. Still has a haunting feel to it.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-54800885628515130002009-10-18T16:41:50.544-07:002009-10-18T16:41:50.544-07:00Wow! I'd never seen 'The Tomorrow People&#...Wow! I'd never seen 'The Tomorrow People', but those credits really do fit the same aesthetic vibe as the Terry James stuff.<br /><br />You're right about the imagery, too. It was always disappointing with 'Doctor Who', the way the amazing music and strange opening credits, with weird shapes and whooshing vortices, would lead into stories full of rubbery costumes and flimsy sets.JRSMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04430775461763521797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-6131492140127082842009-10-18T16:37:02.174-07:002009-10-18T16:37:02.174-07:00Now that I think of it, the opening titles for Tha...Now that I think of it, the opening titles for Thames Television's THE TOMORROW PEOPLE (1973) are strangely akin to the monochromatic aesthetics of James's covers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xez4o1ujOPI<br /><br />Strangely because, by 1973, the standards for SF imagery were far below the poetic abstractions in B&W shown in those covers and in part of those titles.<br /><br />Pedro MarquesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5413291183164140297.post-37569898256455326922009-10-18T15:59:50.549-07:002009-10-18T15:59:50.549-07:00Yes, I hope he doesn't turn out to be THE rapt...Yes, I hope he doesn't turn out to be THE rapture-obsessed author... lol<br /><br />I see you added more covers. Great! Thank you for the feedback!<br /><br />PedroAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com