Friday, May 1, 2015
My Gorey Birthday!
My friend Sheila suggested I have a "gory" birthday today, and I thought that sounded like a splendid idea. Taking it to a more artistic level, I thought I'd share some frontispiece, interior, and cover illustrations by one of my heroes, Sir Edward Gorey from great books of horror and mystery by John Bellairs. Enjoy this eerie sampling of highlights from a half dozen or so titles including: The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull, The Eyes of the Killer Robot, The Dark Secret of Weathered, The Hand of the Necromancer, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, and more! (And thanks again to Drazen Kozjan for assistance in helping me further expand both my Gorey and Bellairs collections :)
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11 comments:
FYI: Hoping to get AEET back on track here in May-- I promise!!
Beautiful stuff, surreal and the wood-cutting like art style fits the tone.
It's one of the more simple images, but the pumpkin picture really draws me in.
Cool art. I knew nothing of "Eyes of the killer robot", but I immediately connected it to the baseball player. I vaguely remember something about a robot baseball player. It was either a "Twilight Zone" episode, or an E.C. comic (maybe).
Fantastic! I had no idea you were not already a Bellairs fan. This is what I was reading while I wasn't growing up reading the Three Investigators books you introduced me to. I have several books by this guy with library binds, and while the best ones are Gorey, the other people who did his covers were also usually top notch.
As for Gorey, I guess the first time I was really aware of him as a cover artist was when I read Freaky Friday and A Billion for Boris in third grade. I am also a big fan of his work illustrating the US editions of Joan Aiken's stuff (The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, etc.), which are still, as far as these things go, probably my favorite books with his stuff in them (though Pat Marriott, who is very famous for illustrating the original English editions of her stuff, is also very, very good).
In today's post I like number seven and number seventeen the best. I'm not sure I've ever seen either one before.
Happy Birthday!
Man these are great! I love images 7-10. That car in the distance is so neat. And I love anything having to do with windows. The reflection of the door opening in the window is just awesome.
Neat post! I hope your bday was fab!
I didn't discover the John Bellairs books until a few years ago at a garage sale and I thought they were really good. And I've been a fan of Edward Gorey since watching the intro to Masterpiece Theater on PBS when I was a kid. To me, it was better than the actual show. I have an odd (of course) Edward Gorey story from a 1962 issue of Holiday magazine I'll be posting in the near future.
Sorry, it was Mystery, not Masterpiece Theater.
We knew what you meant, Tom-- for many, Mystery was also our introduction to Gorey.
Had a wonderful bday, thanks to everyone that commented. More fun on the way! :)
Awesome idea! I love Gorey!!
I once personalized a series of sketches for friends based on The Gashlycrumb Tinies. I think my intent was misinterpreted...hee, hee.
Interesting note: I've spent most of my life calling them The Ghastlycrumb tinies. I just can't seem to correct myself!
No worries, Cor! I think I've been calling it that for years too :)
Happy Birthday Taurus! I have a birthday this month, too! Mine is on the 26th of May so I am a Gemini. I'm having a birthday party as well but the theme is Pop Art Explosion!
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