{"id":291,"date":"2008-07-04T13:04:00","date_gmt":"2008-07-04T13:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/2008\/07\/04\/fast-forward-2-ed-by-lou-anders\/"},"modified":"2014-12-14T18:47:57","modified_gmt":"2014-12-14T18:47:57","slug":"fast-forward-2-ed-by-lou-anders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/2008\/07\/04\/fast-forward-2-ed-by-lou-anders\/","title":{"rendered":"FAST FORWARD 2, ed. by Lou Anders"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p> $\"\"$ <\/a>Here\u2019s the final cover art for the forthcoming Pyr<\/a> anthology FAST FORWARD 2<\/a>, edited by Hugo Award finalist Lou Anders<\/a>. Art\u2019s best when it speaks for itself, but if you want behind the scenes trivia, here\u2019s a little. This cover had a few inspirations, not the least of which is the mental tennis between me and Lou. It\u2019s not so much Lou saying, \u201cI want the cover to look like this\u201d as much him firing short phrases of things he\u2019s seeing in science fiction, and then I respond with what I see, and at some point, I take off and run with the ball. Hard to explain if you\u2019re not there, but it\u2019s just the way we\u2019ve always worked. The best of times. Back to inspirations:\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>1. This image has been in my head lately\u2026.an illustration by Theophile Alexandre Steinlen featured on the cover of a late-1800\u2019s French magazine called Le Petit Sou<\/span>. The symbolism is so resonant. I don\u2019t think that this image was created with the USA in mind, but it reminds me of the ideals that founded this country, and also what it will probably take if the US intends to be great again. I love this image, and it not only spawned the FF2 cover, but at least two more illustrations that I\u2019ll be doing for myself (or maybe even for future covers?).<\/p>\n

2. Something unexpected and out-of-the-blue\u2026.the death of Dave Stevens<\/a>, the creator of THE ROCKETEER. I\u2019ve never seen a drawing of his that wasn\u2019t full of love and hope. My personal tastes in art have shifted a lot since all those years ago when I treasured his comics, but his recent death still jolted me. In some small way, the cover of FF2 is my way of saying, \u201cRIP, Dave\u2026.thanks for the memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ <\/a>3. From Paul McAuley<\/a>\u2026Lou quoted this in FF2\u2019s intro\u2026.\u201d(Science fiction) not only shows us what could happen if things carry on the way they are, but it pushes what\u2019s going on to the extremes of absurdity. That\u2019s not its job: that\u2019s its nature. And what\u2019s happened to science fiction lately, it isn\u2019t natural. It\u2019s pale and lank and kind of out of focus. It needs to straighten up and fly right. It needs to reconnect with the world\u2019s weather, and get medieval on reality\u2019s ass.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"