Bond Reissue Covers RevealedCommanderBond.net has broken a huge story this morning for fans of the literary 007! They've uncovered the images of all fourteen covers for the forthcoming UK hardcover "Centenary" editions of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels from the blog of cover artist Michael Gillette. I love his work (which I wasn't previously aware of), and the images are really, really cool. My only gripe is that they seem more film-inspired than novel-inspired (especially Live And Let Die), as the images are so Sixties (seemingly inspired by the poster campaign for the '67 spoof version of Casino Royale, each featuring a beautiful woman tattooed or painted with the title of the book). As the whole point of this line is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the author of the novels, that seems a little strange, but no matter; Gillette has created some fantastic new Bond imagery sure to separate collectors with their hard-e
arned cash when the books come out this spring! And he's clearly studied all sorts of previous Bond art, as various movie posters and prior paperback covers can be seen as influences on his work. (I really like how Diamonds Are Forever recalls that great Pan paperback cover.) Visit his blog to peruse all of the illustrations. I think my favorite is Dr. No.
arned cash when the books come out this spring! And he's clearly studied all sorts of previous Bond art, as various movie posters and prior paperback covers can be seen as influences on his work. (I really like how Diamonds Are Forever recalls that great Pan paperback cover.) Visit his blog to peruse all of the illustrations. I think my favorite is Dr. No. 
I'm sorry but for the 100th they should have really gone all out and did something really cool. Maybe get a variety of artists to do one book each. I find the covers to be a bit bland. I totally agree that they resemble the Casino Royale type artwork from the movie. I'll stick with the Fahey covers that I've got.
ReplyDeleteThey are cool covers, but I would have expected something much different for celebrating Fleming's 100th. They do remind me of something from the 1960's, along the lines of Casino Royale. I like them, but they don't seem to fit with what they are celebrating. My favorite though is the one for Dr. No.
ReplyDeleteI'm torn about this, myself. The more I look at that artwork, the more I love it. But you're both absolutely right; it's NOT the most appropriate for Ian Fleming's 100th birthday celebration. The current Fahey covers would have been much more appropriate for that; their pulpy flavor evokes the right decade (Fifties) and the literary Bond better than these new ones, which reflect much more the Sixties and the films. But they ARE awesome looking images! The only thing that gives me pause about them is how they fulfill their supposed purpose. If you take that away, these are first class James Bond covers!
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