Month of McGinnis: Happy Halloween!

So we have finally come to the end of Killer Covers’ month-long tribute to American artist-illustrator Robert McGinnis.

When I was planning this project, I imagined posting occasional McGinnis paperback fronts in this blog, beginning on October 1 and continuing just past what was supposed to have been the October 28 release of the handsome new work, The Art of Robert E. McGinnis, by Robert E. McGinnis and Art Scott (Titan). However, it quickly became obvious that there were far too many exceptional choices, and that only daily installments in the series would suffice. Had I known a month ago that publisher Titan would, at the last minute, delay the debut of McGinnis and Scott’s book until November, if not December (due to printing and shipping problems), I would have waited to roll out this series. But I didn’t know, and it’s OK. I believe we have all enjoyed the last 31 days worth of McGinnis illustrations--63 paperback façades in total. And this week’s two-part posting of my interview with co-author Scott--Part I here, Part II here--was a challenge, but most satisfying. Even if I never get the opportunity to meet or talk with the now 88-year-old McGinnis, I have at least recognized the value of his life’s artistic endeavors through this effort.

To close out the series, I’ve been holding onto two Halloween-appropriate covers, both taken from Erle Stanley Gardner and starring his best-known protagonist, defense attorney Perry Mason. Enjoy!



Above: The Case of the Glamorous Ghost, by Erle Stanley Gardner (Pocket, 1962). Below: The Case of the Haunted Husband,
by Erle Stanley Gardner (Pocket, 1962).



Incidentally, if you have favorite Robert McGinnis paperback fronts that I haven’t already written about over the last 31 days, please mention them in the Comments section at the end of this post. And if you can provide links to where scans of those covers might found on the Web, that would be great. Thanks so much.

SEE MORE: “Scaring Up a Finale,” by J. Kingston Pierce
(The Rap Sheet).