Now We Are 12: “Dead Men’s Plans”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Dead Men’s Plans, by Mignon G. Eberhart (Dell, 1954).
Cover art by Richard M. Powers.

The Beginning of the End

In the coming hours, I’ll post the final entry in this blog’s 12th anniversary series of vintage book covers. It has been a great joy during these two weeks to introduce readers to some “classic book fronts that have attracted my attention over this last pandemic-seared year.” I am especially happy to have included within these dozen installments the work of several artists not previously showcased on this page.

If you haven't been assiduously following my daily presentations, simply click here to catch up with the whole series.

And rest assured that, although this particular celebration will soon conclude, the variety of classic covers in my collection is nowhere near tapped out. The future holds many more treats!

Now We Are 12: “My Late Wives”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



My Late Wives, by “Carter Dickson,” aka John Dickson Carr (Pocket, 1949). Cover art by Louis S. Glanzman.

Now We Are 12: “The Pleasure in Women”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



The Pleasure in Women, by “Ted Lee,” aka Herbert Leavy (Monarch, 1962). Cover art by Harry Schaare. If you’d like to read the back-cover copy, you can do so here.

Now We Are 12: “The Mote in God’s Eye”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



The Mote in God’s Eye, by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle (Pocket, 1975). Cover art by Edward Soyka, who—if I’m not mistaken—is currently on the faculty at the State University of New York’s School of Art and Design. More of Soyka’s science-fiction book covers can be found here.

Now We Are 12: “Spy Hunt”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Spy Hunt, by Norman Daniels (Pyramid, 1960).
Cover art by Victor Kalin.

Now We Are 12: “Come Pretty Puss”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Come Pretty Puss, by Artèlle Freed (Corgi, 1960). The cover illustration here is credited to John Richards, who is better known for his science-fiction fronts. More of Richards’ paperback art can be enjoyed here and here.

Now We Are 12: “Lodge Sinister”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Lodge Sinister, by “Dana Ross,” aka William Edward Daniel “W.E.D.” Ross (Pocket, 1975). The cover was painted by Buenos Aires-born artist Hector Garrido, who died on April 19, 2020, at 92 years of age. Learn more about Garrido here and here.

Now We Are 12: “Naked Sin”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Naked Sin, by Gordon Clark (Avon, 1958).
Cover art by Clark Hulings.

Now We Are 12: “Don’t Ever Love Me”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



Don’t Ever Love Me, by Octavus Roy Cohen (Popular Library, 1951). Cover art by Rudolph Belarski.

Now We Are 12: “The Mephisto Waltz”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



The Mephisto Waltz, by Fred Mustard Stewart (Signet, 1970).
Cover art by Robert Heindel.

Now We Are 12: “A Real Killing”

Part of a series celebrating Killer Covers’ first dozen years.



A Real Killing, by James Pattinson (Robert Hale, 1976). This was the second installment in Pattinson’s seven-book series starring “Sam Grant, of the Peking Inquiry Agency and later the Grant Inquiry Agency.” The cover painting is by Eileen Walton.

Now We Are 12: “No Nice Girl”

Today, as more than one Web site reminds us (see here, here, and here), would have been the 100th birthday of Patricia Highsmith, the author most famously of The Talented Mr. Ripley, who died back in 1995. Significantly less well remembered is that January 19 also happens to be the anniversary of Killer Covers’ founding in 2009.

I had modest hopes for Killer Covers when I launched it. I wanted only to create a designated spot where I could post vintage (and some newer) book covers I admired, and maybe write a bit about them and their authors on occasion. This blog has since gone through alternating periods of tremendous activity and meager attention, but I have to say that it has significantly exceeded my expectations. I just put up its 1,000th post last week, and have plans for several special projects to roll out here in the coming months.

To celebrate the passage of a dozen years, I’m planning to keep things simple. Beginning this morning, I shall post—one per day—12 classic book fronts that have attracted my attention over this last pandemic-seared year, and that I would like to share with readers. Some of the artists whose work is included will be familiar to regular readers of this page, but I want also to welcome new illustrators into the mix, artists who deserve to have been introduced here long before now.

We’ll begin with the cover above, from the 1959 Pyramid edition of No Nice Girl, by Eugene, Oregon-born fictionist Gail Wilhelm. As I understand it, this was the third title for that novel, which was first published in 1936 as No Letters for the Dead. The artist responsible for Pyramid’s No Nice Girl cover was Jim Bentley (1922-2003), a New Yorker whose artistic career began in 1950, when he signed up for a correspondence course offered by Art Instruction Inc., the same Minneapolis, Minnesota-based enterprise that nurtured the talents of Norman Saunders, Allen Anderson, and others. Click on the image at left to enjoy Bentley’s original painting for this paperback.

It hardly seems possible that a full 12 years have passed since I launched Killer Covers. Much has changed in my life during that period. But one thing that remains the same is my interest in and curiosity about book-cover artists. I shall be glad of more opportunities in the future to acquaint readers with the wealth of skills that have been displayed in decades past. The next two weeks will only offer a taste of things to come.