Throwdown Thursday is a weekly thing [hosted by The Neverending Shelf] where we tackle books with similar characters, covers, themes, etc. to determine which one rocks more. And it is up to YOU to determine the winner!
Last weeks Throwdown asked: Fallen vs. Hush, Hush? The verdict by split decision was Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.
We’ve talked about cover art a lot on this blog. It is often the first exposure that readers have with new books. And for good or bad, covers make impressions, promises even about the stories within. So what happens when those covers don’t match the characters?
How important is it to you that the covers match the characters within?
Within our own genre, there is The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher whose covers all depict the main character Harry Dresden as wearing a hat despite the fact that Harry never wears one in the series (in a recent interview on Fantasy Literature cover artist Chris McGrath explains the hat was the publisher’s choice). Or how about the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs? Each cover shows Mercy sporting more tattoos than the last, but in the books she has only one (a paw print on her lower stomach). I’m sure you can think of other examples. I happen to like both of these series and don’t mind these minor inaccuracies in their covers.
But what about more flagrant discrepancies? Take the recent Bloomsbury debacle for example: "Magic Under Glass" by Jaclyn Dolamore is a fantasy YA title featuring African American protagonist. The cover, however, clearly features a white girl. To make matters worse, this is the second time this year that Bloomsbury publishing has used white models on the covers of books featuring dark-skinned protagonists (Justine Larbalestier's "Liar"). The Book Smugglers has an excellent post chronicling similar examples.
Bloomsbury did eventually replace the Liar cover and, after a backlash from the public, recently announced plans to do the same with Magic Under Glass stating on its its website: “The jacket design has caused offense and we apologize for our mistake. Copies of the book with a new jacket design will be available shortly.”
Minor or major, do these inaccuracies bug you? Do you usually notice them? Does it affect your enjoyment of a book? What’s more important? Covers or characters?
My theory is that these things create controversy, which creates interest in the book(s), which in turn creates sales for the books. Remember the saying that any publicity is good publicity. It still rings true. I'm probably just as guilty of allowing myself to be pulled into the hype.
ReplyDeleteDeidre
While a good cover can spark interest in me to further research the book it's ultimately the excerpt and reviews that will decide if I read or not.
ReplyDeleteHonesty, once I start reading the book I really don't think about the cover.
I don't look at the covers in terms of what the author/character looks like.
I have my own ideas to what the characters look like anyways and they NEVER match the cover art. lol <<< Also why I don't watch trailers.
I think covers are very important. It's what draws me in or pushes me away. They're the first insight into the story and characters. I think it's very important that they match the characters, and it does upset me when they don't. I also don't like when within a series, the cover model changes and looks nothing like the previous. Sometimes that model on the cover is what I end up picturing in my mind.
ReplyDeleteAs for what Bloomsbury did ... that is offensive and completely wrong.
I don't mind the small things - but i agree that what Bloomsury did is wrong. Not the first time such things have happened, look at the cover and tv miniseries for the Earthsea saga by Ursula Le Guin. I, as a librarian, really object to the whitewashing of covers that occurs. But the hat on Harry does not bother me - I have my own picture in my mind of what he looks like.
ReplyDeleteIts very important for me that a book have a great cover. It also really irritates me when the cover does not match up to the story. When I read, I create pictures in my mind: how the characters look, the culture in which they live and how they interact with their friends. I sort of get turned off to a book series when the covers are not paralleled to what's inside. Wow, great discussion!
ReplyDeleteCover art is important to me in the sense that it IS the first thing to draw me to a book if the author is new to me, but the excerpt/blurb are what really sell me.
ReplyDeleteI do form my own pictures of the characters regardless of cover, but a change of cover model is somewhat distracting if he/she appears mid-series.
As far as Bloomsbury's error, I also find it quite offensive not to mention completely inept.
I try to stick to the old rule of "don't judge a book by it's cover". But even I have to admit that I am a very visual person I think most people are. The cover is what catches your eye but the characters are what hold your attention. I've been burned by covers before so thats why now I usually read the summary and a page or two to see if I like the writing style and storyline. But thats just me.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I love the patricia briggs book over the other. The tatoos well it seems lots of books are featuring tatoos. House of Night series, devon monk, etc. I think she might have meant to metion more tatoos but editting may have removed them.
ReplyDeleteNow, contervasy..always sells more books. Sorta like rock n roll album by Poison Open Up and Say Ahh do you remember when they had to change their original cover of it for some states to sell because it was thought to be demonic in the bible belt.
Whether I like the cover of a book or not, it's really the synopsis that draws me in. I also love Patricia Briggs book covers and have noticed that Mercy does appear to have more tattoos on the book than she actually does in the book. I think the tattoos have to do the storyline in the book.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that Magic Under Glass had the same issue as Liar and furthermore that it was the SAME publisher who made the mistake. That's kind of disappointing.
ReplyDeleteAs for Jim and Patricia's books I have yet to read either series (although I'm definitely planning on it). I suppose small things like what you mentioned shouldn't and don't really matter to me but I do know that I hold the cover in high regard to a story. I can't tell you how many times that I've read about a main character and continually glanced at the cover to see the model on the front. I compare that image to the one in my head and it's always nice when the cover is at least somewhat similar to the author's descriptions.
I for one am a cover junkie, whore, addict... call it what you will. I love looking at covers. So I definitely understand how important cover art is and how beautiful/eye-catching it can become...but I think sticking with the story and its characters should be a more intergral part when deciding on what goes on the covers.
I am a fan of covers being close representations of the stories within. I really like Jeaniene Frost's covers because she says that those are her characters - who she imagines them to be.
ReplyDeleteI sort of give Daniel Dos Santos (who does the 'Mercy Thompson' covers) a free pass though because his artwork is to die for.
For the most part, I prefer that the coverart be representative of the story, especially when it comes to race, gender, etc.
ReplyDeleteAs a previous comment put forward, I to find the artwork by Dos Santos to be fabulous, so tend to overlook the too numerous tattoos on Mercy Thompson. I do like how the additional tattoos are representative of the story though. :-D
Patricia Brigs once said she hadn't given Mercy any tattoos until the cover artist asked her if it was alright to give Mercy some. She then wrote the paw print tattoo into the story, but the artist has since been creative in giving Mercy tattoos.
ReplyDeletePatricia gave some further info on how she views those tattoos, but can't find that particular piece at the moment.
As for covers not matching the character: I think lots of cover artists do not read the book and just get a very short description on what to paint, so mistakes do happen.
I still have to find the book where my imagination agrees with the cover art.
I personally like covers where I can't see the cover model's face, so I can use my own imagination and the author's description to see the character in my head. When the cover model's face is showing (or when a book is made into a movie and I see who will be playing the character) I lose the original picture of the character in my head, and only see the image provided.
ReplyDeleteI personally love the extra tattoos on the Mercy Thompson covers. I like how the actual tattoos change from cover to cover, depending on the plot. At least Mercy has tattoos. As a big fan of tattoos, I hate when a cover model has tattoos and the main character they're representing does not. That's my biggest pet peeve as far as covers.
For me personally, I'm not too picky about whether the model on the cover looks like the character. I always end up with my own version anyway, so I really don't pay that much attention. As long as the cover is well done, that works for me. However, I do get the point everyone has been making - the model should at least represent the correct ethnicity of the character. I'm curious to see what people think.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the covers to match the description in the book. To me it just pulls everything together. If they are not going to match the author's description, I would rather they not have a model on the cover at all.
ReplyDeleteIt irritates me when the cover doesn't match the book. I'll still read it, but I recently read one book where the cover was just a lock of hair. Not a big deal, right? The hair was blond and the character it was supposed to be from had brown hair. That still bugs me! It kind of makes me wonder how carefully anyone at the publishing house has really read the book.
ReplyDeleteI love this post. All these great releases to choose from. My problem is my bd is Feb 2 and there ae 10 new releases on the 2nd, I can't buy them all so what must I do?? LOL
ReplyDeleteI love a good cover but It must match inside. Thanks for the post.
The Mercy Thompson books bother me the most. In fact I've even talked to my husband about it and he doesn't even read the books, lol.
ReplyDeleteI actually stayed away from the series for so long because of the cover of the 3rd book which looks like she's riding a motorcycle and covered in tat's. I thought the books were about a biker chick or something.