Some snappy covers there. If you like these I'd recommend checking out the manga series Berserk. The artwork has a very similar mien.John Funk said:
Check Out Japan's Take on A Game of Thrones
- Thread starter John Funk
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I find those to be rather ugly. While I do somewhat enjoy manga artwork, I don't like most of those covers. I don't think that style works well in this situation.
And for those who want to see a manga/graphic novel version of ASoIaF, there will be one coming out some time later this month. here are a couple of the artists early sketches
And for those who want to see a manga/graphic novel version of ASoIaF, there will be one coming out some time later this month. here are a couple of the artists early sketches
Those are some awesome covers. Although Tyrion's cover creeps me out. Scary face.
I already own the books, and I do like the covers they have, but these are beautiful covers.
I already own the books, and I do like the covers they have, but these are beautiful covers.
Mmmm, alright I guess, but doesn't look like anything special, having an article on it made me expect something exceptional.
Slightly random thought btw, but anyone else really digging the female characters in the series? It just struck me after watching the last episode's ending (tavern scene, won't spoil for anyone), I was just thinking, "man, this is how you write a good fucking female character". It wasn't just that moment either, or just that character, every female in it is completely believable and really fleshed out, you have everything from strong women to wannabe princesses, but they're all fantastic characters and none of them feels one-dimensional.
I can't say for the book personally (I hear it's great though), but the show's quite good. If you have the channel/time/etc., give it a watch.John Funk said:
Slightly random thought btw, but anyone else really digging the female characters in the series? It just struck me after watching the last episode's ending (tavern scene, won't spoil for anyone), I was just thinking, "man, this is how you write a good fucking female character". It wasn't just that moment either, or just that character, every female in it is completely believable and really fleshed out, you have everything from strong women to wannabe princesses, but they're all fantastic characters and none of them feels one-dimensional.
I... But.... Ah... Um...John Funk said:
Dude you are totally missing out. And for that, you are grounded young man until either you receive a copy of Game of Thrones and start reading, or watched at least one episode of the series. The book would be preferable, but you're a busy guy, so the series on HBO is adequate enough.
Covers 2 and 3 remind me of Blade of the Immortal's cover style just a bit.
I actually haven't read these books - been looking to pick them up lately but the local library and bookstore didn't have them (!) so I have to go farther afield. Sorta wish I had the option of getting it with these covers...then again, I wouldn't want to pick it up in a bunch of extra volumes just to get neat covers.
Like the first few much more than the last 15 or so though.
I actually haven't read these books - been looking to pick them up lately but the local library and bookstore didn't have them (!) so I have to go farther afield. Sorta wish I had the option of getting it with these covers...then again, I wouldn't want to pick it up in a bunch of extra volumes just to get neat covers.
Like the first few much more than the last 15 or so though.
While I admit the things that set me off are, by all rights, completely bonkers from an objective standpoint, my sentiments come from the fact that the "generic fantasy aesthetic" I was railing against happens to be endemic to the entire genre. It's hard to take a world on its own terms when art and design depicting it appears reluctant to give the world its own look and feel. My historical nitpicks were dancing around the real issue I have with the fantasy genre's chronic lack of visual imagination. Put frankly:Fapmaster5000 said:
yes i mad.
At the fantasy genre in general, anyway. Also, I should probably refrain from sharing my thoughts on the Wheel of Time series, I might come under Mod or Admin scrutiny for unruly and uncalled-for behavior.
EDIT: On the question of a theoretical work combining togas and assault rifles, I wouldn't mind it for its historical inaccuracy so long as the decision to approach that level of absurdity was deliberate and the idea was carried out thoroughly and with panache. It's about artistic design and willingness to eschew stereotype and cliche. And even historical accuracy tends to look more imaginative and fantastical than the typical fantasy-leathers-and-cloaks wind up being. This is why I brought up "silly hats." It's a shame that real history looks more visually interesting than what we imagine our historically-inspired fantasies to be.
Though you bring a good point, and I'll admit a lot of my reservations towards the series is due to fan attention that happened to highlight all the things that would well turn me off. It is unfair of me to judge a work based on how its admirers speak of it rather than on its own merits. I'll say you're the first person to describe SOIAF to me as a juxtaposition between a epic romance of nations and more real, personal drama. I find more appeal in that, rather than fans talking about how impressive a particular "magnificent bastard" character is or how brutal and "for mature audiences only" the depiction of the world might be.RandV80 said:
Speaking on the original topic and the idea of Romance in scale and tone, I would probably have been more likely to give it the benefit of the doubt if more of the art associated with it were of the sweeping, romantic sort. As opposed to, well, this:
I find a lot of appeal in art and design so the covers seen here would not only turn me off, I would feel as though the publisher were insulting my intelligence by pushing them. They're very much the generic, bog-standard "tastefully safe" fantasy cover. The kind a publisher puts on the shelf if they don't want to stick a piece of art that might be inaccurate or, worse, construed as "pulpy" and "downmarket" by its intended audience.GrimTuesday said:
As someone who rather appreciates art both high and low, even pulp and comics, the attitude that good art is something to be avoided for fear of shame from the literati is a long-simmering bugbear of mine.
My personal favorite cover for a fantasy novel?
It's beautiful, appropriate, and also a humorous reference to a terribly famous Rembrandt painting by the same name.
How about these then?Dorian Cornelius Jasper said:
But then again I am pretty much a fanboy.
OT: Those are pretty neat, with the exeption of a way too effeminate Jon Snow and a weird Tyrion.
6 more episodes, so we're almost half way through. It's covering, what, roughly 80 pages or so per episode (although not necessarily in the same order)Scrumpmonkey said:
OT: Some of them are pretty good, but overall some are a bit off.
Also Tyrion will give me nightmares.
You misunderstand. In my opinion, the show is nigh on perfect. I can literally barely wait every week for the next episode.Scrumpmonkey said:
I was referring to the covers, or, you know, the purpose of the article
If I would want to compare ASoIaF to any japanese work, it would be Legend of the Galactic Heroes, even though that is space opera, it has a very similar feel, in the way they both ignore storytelling conventions, for the sake of more realistic folding of events, (like how anyone, really, ANYONE can die, how coincidences happen, etc.) though LotGH might be a bit more idealistic in te end...
