Title: Night of Masks
Author: Andre Norton
Cover artist: "JW"
Yours for: $7
Best things about this cover:
It looks a lot like this cover (Paperback 74):
Let's compare- In our book, the mask is basically the same as the face of the guy holding it, whereas in the earlier book, Wrinkles McGreenhand clearly needs his mask to pass for human.
- Actually, the more that I look at it, our book appears to depict Arnold Horshack holding a Charles Grodin mask.
- Our book has more soothing colors, though the soothing they induce is kinda offset by the scimitar-wielding dance troupe in the background.
- The sky of our book appears to have been finger-painted.
- Verdict: version 1 is way way better. Horrifying and mysterious, where our book just looks silly.
"So you just went out on the surface with the boy to hide out. What did you hope to gain?"
So that's why he needed a mask. Got it.
~RP
4 comments:
The guy in the blue cover has either an extremely disproportionate head or carny hands.
Also, an old woman shawl with matching hat. Tres chic!
There's more that could be said. It appears that #136 is a newer edition (1973), so are these covers a sign of declining cover art? They're both from Ace, so why would they re-do the cover?
Well, yes, it's a newer edition, and like most newer editions, the cover art has been changed. See, for example ... well, any novel that has had any kind of shelf life. In the 70s, the art from the 60s perhaps seemed dated. So there's ... not a lot more to say, it turns out.
rp
That 1970s faux art deco/futurist font, in pink with a bold shadow, is enough to put me off my feed all by itself.
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