Pulp! The Classics publishes classic works of literature with retro-pulp fiction covers. The books are redesigned and reset with the original texts, while the covers mash-up images of such Hollywood stars as Marilyn Monroe as Tess of the D’Ubervilles, and Humphrey Bogart as Heathcliffe on the cover of Wuthering Heights. Others include Colin Firth as D’Arcy in Pride and Prejudice, Alistair Sim as Scrooge, Ryan Gosling as Dorian Gray, and Alan Ladd/Robert Redford in The Great Gatsby.
The covers were painted by David Mann, who explains the story behind the covers on the Waterstone’s Blog. Here he explains his cover for Thomas Hardy’sTess of the D’Ubervilles:
This version is a second attempt. Watch what you say about the body because that’s my wife! No seriously, that’s my wife. The head is that of a famous Hollywood sex object from the olden days. There was going to be a rustic pipe dangling from her mouth in keeping with Tess’s agrarian credentials. However somebody at the New York Times (fancy!) made the suggestion of a bottle of whisky and a smattering of pain killers. No pain killers (leaning too much towards MM reference), but here’s the whiskey…. with a comedy straw. My personal favourite of the covers.
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This cover was originally painted only as a sample for the publisher, but ended up being published on the first Pulp! The Classics. I used a photo of Colin Firth to paint from, as I felt that he’s still the definitive Mr Darcy for most people, the aim was to produce a Colin Firth-esque visage, not necessarily a bang-on portrait. I’ve subsequently been told it looks just like him/ nothing like him / a bit like him / just like myself!
The cover is a pastiche of the old Alan Ladd movie poster (but you knew that right?). I’ve made the cross-reference to Robert Redford in the head area.
Another mash up, featuring Alistair Sim’s mug, but the body is courtesy of Googling ‘scrooge’ . My rendering features the threat of a possible ultra-violent outcome, for increased comic effect.
More pulp classic covers, after the jump…
Via Waterstone’s Blog