Running Out of Anthology Ideas? Hmmm?
Jeff VanderMeer • October 1st, 2009 @ 10:15 pm • Uncategorized
Same thing strike you about the cover that strikes me?
Jeff VanderMeer
Ecstatic Days 
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October 1, 2009 at 10:23 pm
It’s missing “From Mars”. Then I would buy it.
October 1, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Needs more rabid ninja squirrels. Outside of that, it’s only worthy of being a gag gift to someone, I think.
October 1, 2009 at 11:14 pm
The art was done in PowerPoint by an intern?
October 1, 2009 at 11:20 pm
uhm, if wetting yourself in fear is what struck you on viewing the cover then we’re on the same page, if your still dry then i guess i should explain a childhood fear of rodents and their kind.
October 1, 2009 at 11:40 pm
I am curious about the fellow in the bunny suit behind and just to the right of the fell woodland creatures. Could his name be Frank? If so, I am guessing he told the esteemed author that he could get away with anything without being caught.
…and in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds the world will end.
October 1, 2009 at 11:55 pm
Killer bunnies don’t enjoy cross-species love?
October 2, 2009 at 3:16 am
They superimposed my wife’s mouth onto that bunny’s head?
October 2, 2009 at 5:11 am
F–Fluffy?
October 2, 2009 at 5:13 am
The raccoon doesn’t seem to have a lower jaw?
October 2, 2009 at 7:02 am
I had to search for this on Amazon before I could convince myself it was a real book. How could a professional publisher let one of their books–even one of DAW’s throwaway assembly-line anthologies–go out under a cover that looks like it was vanity-published at Kinko’s?
I also don’t understand the cover to Marseguro. Which was also published by DAW, I see. What’s going on at DAW? Did they accidentally hire Clippy as their art director?
October 2, 2009 at 7:04 am
Incidentally, that rabbit reminds me of one of these things.
October 2, 2009 at 7:19 am
They left out the Jumping Sharks?
October 2, 2009 at 7:21 am
Um….Bunnicula anyone?
October 2, 2009 at 8:36 am
Ha! David–that was my first reaction. Brian–that was my second. Bunnicula!!!!
October 2, 2009 at 9:08 am
My first thought: I hope today’s April 1.
October 2, 2009 at 9:19 am
LOL!
October 2, 2009 at 9:52 am
When I received this book, I thought SPONGMONKEYS from the old Quizno’s commercials
October 2, 2009 at 10:00 am
I was kind of thinking Monty Python’s The Holy Grail, myself…
October 2, 2009 at 10:07 am
Ah, but it caught your eye, didn’t it? :)
I work at DAW, so my bias is obvious, but I can at least assure you that they were going for overstuffed B-movie-poster cheesiness, and hoping mainly to provoke a smile. After all, this sucker is titled “Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies.” A sophisticated, elegant approach might have been a wee bit out of place.
Also, I totally THOUGHT the answer to the question would be “Zombies don’t have fangs.”
October 2, 2009 at 10:17 am
Josh:
Agreed. At the same time, there’s a fine line between planned cheesy and cheesy that looks like a hot mess.
Anyway, in interests of fairness now have to give it a read if it’s sent to me. (No, those are not my fingers holding the book above…)
October 2, 2009 at 10:53 am
Fair enough : )
Yeah, I probably shouldn’t even have butted in, especially since a bunch of the comments were cracking me up – it’s just that I happened to know that reaction to that cover was actually pretty positive internally, and it seemed silly to criticize a goofy cover for being goofy.
October 2, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Josh–No, you definitely should’ve butted in. I’m not saying it should be elegant, but more that this seems like a flawed execution of cheesy, probably in part because there are so many unintentionally cheesy covers out there…and also because, like great B movies, you can’t manufacture the best cheesy. It occurs naturally. But this is also not a really serious discussion. Frankly, it might even result in a few extra copies sold.
October 2, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Right. Though, having read some more serious discussion elsewhere, I think I will nonethless relay, tactfully, some of the technical criticisms. It’s usually better to actually listen to criticism rather than just go with the initial defensive reaction. And hopefully the cover will, nonetheless, amuse some of the bookstore browsers who would enjoy the stories.
October 2, 2009 at 1:04 pm
[...] Zombie Racoons and Killer Bunnys [...]
October 2, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Something tells me I’ll be atoning for my sins on this one.
October 2, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Ack. To clarify: I have not read the stories. That comment was not meant to remark on the quality of the stories, or the cover. It’s HARD to comment in internet discussions as a quasi-representative of an employer. And, of course and in fact, nothing I say should be construed as coming from DAW – it’s just me, here.
That comment also needed proofreading. Strike one of those “nonetheless”es. :)
October 2, 2009 at 1:41 pm
This actually made me laugh out loud. I am actually thinking of buying it for my cousin as a christmas present… he would get a kick out of it.
October 2, 2009 at 1:45 pm
However I agree with Natania… you should have added “From Mars”
October 2, 2009 at 4:08 pm
PLZ KILL ME NOW. OR THEM. DONT MATTER.
October 2, 2009 at 4:25 pm
When DAW get interns in their art department, they should make sure they don’t have have six fingers on each hand first. They should probably take away their banjos too.
October 2, 2009 at 5:22 pm
That’s so delightfully wrong.
October 2, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Josh Starr wrote: I can at least assure you that they were going for overstuffed B-movie-poster cheesiness, and hoping mainly to provoke a smile.
The thing is, if you go back and look at actual old B-movie posters, they actually tend to be technically proficient and sometimes even attractive.
October 3, 2009 at 2:27 am
It’s what I’ve always wanted.
October 3, 2009 at 8:10 am
Yep–true, re B-movie posters.
October 3, 2009 at 6:30 pm
If it’s a pop up book I’m getting one.
October 3, 2009 at 11:37 pm
[...] ETA: Also see comments on Jeff VanderMeer’s Ecstatic Days. [...]
October 4, 2009 at 2:24 am
Hopefully there will be a sequel.
October 4, 2009 at 4:12 am
Why don’t people make pop-up books anymore? I used to LOVE them!
October 5, 2009 at 5:30 am
yep, can’t wait for the movie to come out…oh yeah, oscar-winning stuff there….
peace and love….
October 15, 2009 at 9:34 pm
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