"Thomas Pynchon said, grandly"

[Daniel Harper]

Oh, I love these covers... and never even realized it was all from the same
publisher! Silly Daniel.


Comics, of course, are an art of compression. But when
> it comes to cover illustration, that compression has
> to evoke the larger world of the book. In his design
> for Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow," Frank Miller
> — yes, that Frank Miller, creator of "Sin City" and
> "The 300" — frames an upended V-2 rocket knifing
> downward through a speckled and blackened bomb crater.
> Once seen, never forgotten.



This is the edition that I just bought. And yes, the cover art was part of
the reason for my choice of that particular edition. Also great is the use
of the inside flaps on the front and back of the book, which include the
opening and closing passages of the book. It's a brilliant design. (Love Sin
City, too.)


Likewise, Charles Burns'
> jacket for Upton Sinclair's 1906 novel "The Jungle"
> features the flayed head of a cow, its single eye
> looking very much alive and reproachful. These images
> sock and shock you.


...much the way the book shocked its original audience. (As a microbiology
geek, I can't help but love the microscope slide on the back, either.)


Other jackets offer a denser and more verbal
> experience. Chris Ware's work for "Candide" is so
> typically elliptical that you can spend nearly as much
> time with it as with the novel.


Possibly my all-time favorite cover art. I own the text in a Norton
Anthology, but considered buying the book for the cover art alone.


>
> Most often the artists are selected by Penguin art
> director Paul Buckley, but occasionally authors chose
> for themselves. Thomas Pynchon said, grandly: "Sure,
> I'll put 'Gravity's Rainbow' in your series — but you
> have to get Frank Miller." Amazingly, they did.



I can't believe the reticent Pynchon would publicize these kinds of details.
Does anyone have a source for that?

<snip rest>

Yeah, this whole thing is a great example of good art being used to heighten
the experience of reading the book. So many book covers are dull and
lifeless (even those that are attempting to shock), but these Penguin covers
are eye-catching and memorable even if you don't know it's all one company.
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