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Bats Out of Hell | The Camp | Cannibals | Carnivore | Doomflight | Entombed | The Festering | Fiend | The Ghoul | Mania | Manitou Doll | The Master | The Neophyte | The Origin of the Crabs | The Sucking Pit | Throwback | The Undead | The Unseen | The Wood IntroductionThe art for book covers comes from a variety of sources. The more reputable publishing companies commission it from artists, usually ones with whom they have an ongoing relationship. Knowing that I can't draw to save my life, I've commissioned art for each of my own book covers, choosing a different Arizona artist each time. Others, especially when it comes to foreign editions, may just borrow existing art, whether with permission or not. Some were even commissioned for other book covers, which sometimes makes things rather confusing. The cover for Guy's novel, Mania for instance, was commissioned of artist Les Edwards by Sphere. However it's ended up on a number of other covers, including a Polish edition of Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, a Romanian edition of Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne and a collection, The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror Stories, edited by Stephen Jones. Looking at the progression from original artwork to book cover is fascinating, especially when we can also see the preliminary sketches. Here are some of Guy's covers compared to their original art. Bats Out of HellThe second edition of Bats Out of Hell, published by New English Library in 1985, featured commissioned art by Terry Oakes. Thanks to Shane Agnew, who owns this artwork, for providing the image! Click on the images below to open larger versions. The CampThe first edition of The Camp, published by Sphere in 1989, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. He says that he's heard that Guy wasn't happy with it, perhaps because it didn't use overt drug imagery. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedwards.com). Thanks to Chris Hall for letting me know about this one! Click on the images below to open larger versions. CannibalsThe second edition of Cannibals, published by Arrow in 1988, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here are the sources for the preliminary sketch (lesedwards.com) and for the artwork (mrugala.net). Click on the images below to open larger versions. CarnivoreThe Arrow edition of Carnivore, published in 1990, featured commissioned art by Terry Oakes. Many thanks to Chris Hall for providing this image! Click on the images below to open larger versions. DoomflightThe first edition of Doomflight, published by Hamlyn in 1981, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here's the source for the artwork (comicartfans.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. EntombedThe Arrow edition of Entombed, published in 1982, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedwards.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The FesteringThe Arrow edition of The Festering, published in 1989, featured commissioned art by Terry Oakes. Thanks to Chris Hall for providing this image! Click on the images below to open larger versions. Les Edwards also painted art that was only used on a cover proof. Here's the source for the unused cover (lesedwards.com). Thanks to Chris Hall for letting me know about it! Click on the images below to open larger versions. FiendThe Sphere edition of Fiend, published in 1988, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here are the sources for the preliminary sketch and for the artwork (both lesedewards.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The GhoulThe Sphere edition of The Ghoul, published in 1976, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. The image is of Don Henderson in the original film. Here's the source for the artwork (nevsepic.com.ua). Click on the images below to open larger versions. ManiaThe Sphere edition of Mania, published in 1989, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here are the sources for the preliminary sketch and for the artwork (both lesedewards.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. Manitou DollThe third Hamlyn edition of Manitou Doll, published in 1985, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. The Thai edition three years later re-used part of the same art. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedewards.com). Thanks to Chris Hall for letting me know about this one! Click on the images below to open larger versions. The MasterThe Arrow edition of The Master, published in 1988, featured commissioned art by Les Edwards. Here's the source for the artwork (wow-art.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The Phantom Press edition, published in Poland in 1991, also featured art by Les Edwards, but it wasn't commissioned by them. It was an existing piece called The Croglin Vampire, which had been commissioned for a collection of true supernatural stories but wasn't used. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedwards.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The NeophyteThe first edition of The Neophyte, published by New English Library in 1986, featured work by an unknown artist. Here's the source for the artwork (tumblr.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The Origin of the CrabsThe US edition of The Origin of the Crabs, published by Dell in 1988, featured a commissioned cover by Rowena Morrill. Here's the source for the artwork (facebook.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The Sucking PitThe Polish edition of The Sucking Pit and the Russian edition of The Island, both published by Phantom Press in 1991, featured Swamp! by Les Edwards, originally commissioned for a Peter Tremayne novel of that name. Here's the source for the artwork (mrugala.net). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The hardback edition, published by M. H. B. Press in 2011, featured a commissioned cover by Rick Melton. Here's the source for the artwork (deviantart.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. ThrowbackThe first edition of Throwback, published by New English Library in 1985, featured commissioned art by Terry Oakes. Here's the source for the artwork (comicartfans.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The second edition, published by Arrow in 1988, also featured different commissioned art by Terry Oakes. Here's the source for the artwork (wow-art.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The UndeadThe first edition of The Undead, published by New English Library in 1983, featured a commissioned cover by Steven Crisp. Here's the source for the artwork (hyaenagallery.com). Click on the images below to open larger versions. The UnseenThe Sphere edition of The Unseen, published in 1990, featured a commissioned cover by Les Edwards. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedwards.com). Thanks to Chris Hall for letting me know about this one! Click on the images below to open larger versions. The WoodBoth covers used by New English Library for The Wood, in 1985 and 1988, featured the same commissioned cover art by Les Edwards. Here's the source for the artwork (lesedwards.com). Thanks to Chris Hall for letting me know about this one! Click on the images below to open larger versions. |