More cover art wonders strange and appalling for you, thanks to one of horror fiction's preeminent publishers throughout the 1980s,
Zebra Books. Behold the splendors of half-skulls and full skulls, of rivulets and baths of blood, of innocence threatened and demons aroused.
Deadly Nature got its mojo risin', no?
Daniel Ransom is the pseudonym of crime writer
Ed Gorman. These two covers absofuckinglutely rule, classic horror fiction cover art goodies in effect.
Another pseudonym - one might begin to get the idea some writers didn't wanna be known as pulp horror writers! -
Jack MacLane is really
Bill Crider.
Goodnight Moon is still on my to-read shelf, so I don't quite get the "moom" reference.
Blood Dreams is one of those nicely reductive horror titles that really crack me up in their dunder-headed obviousness.
Grim Reaper by the unlikely-named
O'Neil Denoux looks more like a pulp crime novel (oh, I spy the initials "WT" and see that it's our old pal
William Teason!);
The Evil One is beyond generic;
The Doll, I mean, horror publishers knew they couldn't go wrong with that image, not ever. Sometimes I wish I could look at their sales charts - did this shit really work?
Author
Joseph Citro is a well-respected regional writer; I've got one of his early '90s horror novels that has lots of critical blurbs - and not the generic "couldn't put it down" kind either - but I haven't read him.
Wow did
Stephen Gresham get the Zebra red carpet when it came to cover art!
And *record scratch* these two are too unfocused and too overdone, respectively, to warrant much interest. I mean, gimme a little subtlety, right? Just a little now and then. I mean I don't ask for much do I?
Great covers! I've always thought that "Deadly Nature" cover was one of the most awkward things ever.
ReplyDeleteJack Maclane is Bill Crider?! Cool! I remember liking Maclane's books. Haven't read 'em in, jeez, like 30 years, but I should re-visit them. I remember Goodnight Moom being one of the most twisted things I'd read at the time... it's kind of a really sick joke, almost. I need to re-read that one, for sure.
Love these covers, I have copies of Playtime and The Doll.
ReplyDeleteI'm biased because I'm a Vermonter, but I'd recommend checking out Joe Citro. His books are good stuff...though that cover art is just plain bogus! That harp-playing skeleton is so goofy looking. His novels were later re-released by Hardscrabble Books with more dignified, but sort've bland, covers. The design of his folklore books has been consistently better.
ReplyDeleteThe cover for The Unblessed would make a great tattoo.
ReplyDeleteAm I normal if I say I want to own each and everyone of these titles?
ReplyDeleteI love that Goodnight, Moon cover!
ReplyDelete