These are a little old (2003), but Chris and I just found some copies on the remainders rack and scooped them up. How could we not? I love the boppy color, which are nicely evocative of the sixties (these Amazon scans don’t quite do them justice). The images are pulpy as befits the subject matter, but stop short of dreaded kitsch.
Oh dear. Iconic and stylish novels turned into throw away pulp. Where’s Bond? Where’s the debonair sophisticate? (I don’t mean literally where is he, I mean where is the charater’s style represented, I can only see Austin Powers at his trashy worst). I really do hate to be so critical (please, someone shoot me down) but had I seen them on the shelf, then on the shelf is where they would have stayed. Although I can discern a certain influence of the superb 1960’s Pan editions I would rather have seen something more intelligent and ‘new’ applied to such classics.
Note: The Ian Fleming Bond novels were quite pulpy-maybe not gumshoe pulpy, but the international intrigue of Fleming was not “slick” originally (that was the angle of the films). The Bond “look” that people have in their heads are from the films-not the books. This series was meant to bring Bond’s “street cred” back (FYI: The series look was well received by the Bond fan community, and they oughta know…)
I agree that these feel more like the books feel, and several of the movies. Only the more recent Bond flicks seem to have that much darker feel (not that I mind – it did wonders for the Batman franchise – and I can’t wait for the newest film) and I remember enjoying the camp of the earlier flicks.
- and folks, when we put the logos on we’re not sitting there wringing our fingers with maniacle glee chuckling beavis and butthead style “he’s looking at her arse, heh heh, he’s looking at her arse…”. me does think some of you over think these things a bit…we’re just looking for a good comfortable dead spot to situate the logo. if in doing so the little fellow (and is it a fellow?) gets a peek, well who are we to deny…
These are a little old (2003), but Chris and I just found some copies on the remainders rack and scooped them up. How could we not? I love the boppy color, which are nicely evocative of the sixties (these Amazon scans don’t quite do them justice). The images are pulpy as befits the subject matter, but stop short of dreaded kitsch.
Here is a link to a short interview with the designer regarding this project and working with the Ian Fleming estate, and here is a portfolio page which shows all fourteen (!) books.
— Eric Jacobsen, 2006-09-20 17:36:00
...and why not take of some other retro-pulp covers we did for Slate Magazine – some parodies of classics as they might look pulpified?
— Chris Papasadero, 2006-09-20 17:42:00
oh my god, I just noticed: the Penguins are positioned to ogle the Bond Girls
— Eric Jacobsen, 2006-09-20 17:47:00
Oh dear. Iconic and stylish novels turned into throw away pulp. Where’s Bond? Where’s the debonair sophisticate? (I don’t mean literally where is he, I mean where is the charater’s style represented, I can only see Austin Powers at his trashy worst). I really do hate to be so critical (please, someone shoot me down) but had I seen them on the shelf, then on the shelf is where they would have stayed. Although I can discern a certain influence of the superb 1960’s Pan editions I would rather have seen something more intelligent and ‘new’ applied to such classics.
— Richard Weston, 2006-09-21 09:35:00
...perhaps, but hat’s off for pumping out fourteen of these things.
— dave, 2006-09-21 10:54:00
I like these. Admittedly I only have the films as reference but they seem to pretty much match what I have in my head.
— jim, 2006-09-26 09:50:00
Note: The Ian Fleming Bond novels were quite pulpy-
maybe not gumshoe pulpy, but the international intrigue of Fleming was not “slick” originally (that was the angle of the films). The Bond “look” that people have in their heads are from the films-not the books. This series was meant to bring Bond’s “street cred” back (FYI: The series look was well received by the Bond fan community, and they oughta know…)— Jesse Marinoff Reyes, 2006-09-26 20:09:00
I agree that these feel more like the books feel, and several of the movies. Only the more recent Bond flicks seem to have that much darker feel (not that I mind – it did wonders for the Batman franchise – and I can’t wait for the newest film) and I remember enjoying the camp of the earlier flicks.
— Chris Papasadero, 2006-09-30 12:59:00
- and folks, when we put the logos on we’re not sitting there wringing our fingers with maniacle glee chuckling beavis and butthead style “he’s looking at her arse, heh heh, he’s looking at her arse…”. me does think some of you over think these things a bit…we’re just looking for a good comfortable dead spot to situate the logo. if in doing so the little fellow (and is it a fellow?) gets a peek, well who are we to deny…
— buckley, 2007-10-21 12:17:00
Haha. Thanks for the clarification on that.
— Ben Pieratt, 2007-10-25 08:10:00