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A sporadic, but always welcome, addition to my inbox are the missives from the delightful Adam Rowe about his quixotic and singular passion: retro sci-fi art. In addition to the newsletter, he’s also published a gorgeous book for you to really sink your teeth into. Looking at art on screens is lovely and all, but a big fat book is a great way to savor some art.
Illustrations for covers are most, if not all, of the art he showcases. A recent one about some magazine covers from Italy in the 70s got me thinking. We really love putting covers on things, don’t we? The more creative the content the more inspired we are to decorate the container.
We seem to love, to crave a sympathetic aesthetic experience when we behold a cultural object. Mere protection and identification are not enough. Even if the content is not visual, we want a visual entree into the world within. A quick way to know if it’s for us or not. Reading words is too slow, we want the gut punch of immediate visuals tickling the faster parts of our central processing unit to know if we should spare our precious and limited attention on something.
A lot hinges on the humble cover.
Covers also tell larger stories when looked at collectively and beyond their decision making uses. Flipping through a whole book of cover art is a wonderful experience. It’s a great way to see how themes, trends, tastes, come and go. Or seeing a single book’s many, many lives through its covers over the years and across languages offers a glimpse into the priorities of the various time periods.
It’s also intriguing to sit back with a martini, shaken not stirred, and ponder your own cover story. What moves you? What makes your swoon and scream “take my money, now!”? What covers tug at the heartstrings when you come across them unexpectedly?
If you want to wander further down the quirky alley of art-making that we began this digression with, well, I got you covered. Some of my favorites follow. Given just how quirky, expect to do some hunting to get your hands on these. I say worth the effort, but your mileage may vary.
Adam Rowe, Worlds Beyond Time
A lovely collection of sci-fi art of a bygone era. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. The art is well presented and the accompanying essays are insightful and fun.
Jeffrey Jones: The Definitive Reference
A wonderful tour through the work of a singular, underapprecatied voice.
Frazetta Book Cover Art
Everyone’s go-to when it comes to fantasy art and illustration. You could say he defined the genre and you may see his influence still at work today—if that’s your jam.
The Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage
Of course there was a woman doing amazing things decades before the boys took over!
Sex and Horror: The Art of Emanuele Taglietti
Unrestrained, bordering on unhinged. This and the other books in the series dive into a realm where the only question they ever seemed to ask of themselves was “how far can we take this?”.