{"id":441,"date":"2006-11-30T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-30T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/2006\/11\/30\/bookpeoples-december-top-shelf-pick\/"},"modified":"2014-12-14T18:49:59","modified_gmt":"2014-12-14T18:49:59","slug":"bookpeoples-december-top-shelf-pick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/johnpicacio.com\/onthefront\/2006\/11\/30\/bookpeoples-december-top-shelf-pick\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookpeople’s December Top Shelf Pick"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p> $\"\"$ <\/a>
Nice way to kick off December! (Or technically, finish November.) COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO<\/a> is Bookpeople\u2019s Top Shelf Pick for the month of December. BookPeople<\/a> is three stories of literary retail goodness located in the heart of Austin, Texas, and it\u2019s the state\u2019s largest independent bookstore. All of their copies of the book are signed, so if you\u2019re making holiday shopping decisions for literary or art lovers in your life, you might keep that in mind. \ud83d\ude42\n

In-store, they\u2019ve got the book displayed on an endcap in the sf\/f section, ground level. The majority of stores stock the book in this section, which makes perfect sense. However, BookPeople\u2019s smart. They ALSO stock the book upstairs in their general art book section. Hey, it\u2019s a real kick to see my art book displayed next to Picasso\u2019s books. OK, it\u2019s more good fortune than anything since the store alphabetizes all of their artist monographs by last name, but nevertheless, I enjoyed that. The store prints up a nice newsletter booklet every month and the following review by Revolution SF<\/a> Books Editor Peggy Hailey will be included in their December issue. I don\u2019t think this review will be on the store\u2019s website, so I\u2019m taking the liberty to run it here, for the benefit of online readers and shoppers.<\/p>\n

From Peggy Hailey: \u201cJohn Picacio is one of my favorite cover artist\/book designers working today. In fact, if you know me at all, I\u2019m sure I\u2019ve pointed out my many favorites to you a time or two. He\u2019s creative, talented, a real stand-up guy, and, as it happens, a darned good-looking man to boot. But even if he weren\u2019t all those things, it wouldn\u2019t matter, because John\u2019s work speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

On a purely aesthetic level, COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO is a beautiful book. The cover is gorgeous, featuring a triptych of book covers wildly divergent in style but connected by Picacio\u2019s rich palette of colors. Everything comes together with a feel that\u2019s both functional and artistic, from the typeface to the richly colored endpapers to the glossy pages. You can literally feel the quality.<\/p>\n

But let\u2019s be honest \u2014 pretty covers and a smart layout will only take you so far. What really counts is the content, right?<\/p>\n

Luckily the content is top-notch, too. Along with full-page, full-color reproductions of the covers we get sketches and background info about the creation of each cover. This insight into the creative process sets the book apart for me. Knowing that, say, the wings from John\u2019s cover to DANGEROUS VISIONS were actually built and existed in the real world adds to my appreciation of the picture. But the book would be well worth the cover price for the pictures alone. Just pick up the book and thumb through it for a while.<\/p>\n

Go on; I\u2019ll wait.<\/p>\n

Now I ask you, how can you possibly resist? I love that trenchcoated gorilla on GEEK CONFIDENTIAL. I adore those fantastic tripods hiding out on the back cover of A BLAZING WORLD. I can\u2019t stop looking at the flaming monk on A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ. I am fascinated by the man in homemade wings about to take flight on DANGEROUS VISIONS. And I am transfixed by the sleeping face on GHOSTS OF COLUMBIA.<\/p>\n

Each of the covers is an evocative piece of art in and of itself, but once you\u2019ve read the book in question you discover just how well the cover complements the content. It\u2019s clear that John actually reads the books he\u2019s working on, God bless him, and if you ask me, that\u2019s why the covers work so well.<\/p>\n

Still unconvinced? Really? Well how about this: every single copy we have of COVER STORY is signed by the artist. Surely you know someone who would appreciate a beautiful book full of gorgeous pictures signed by an up-and-coming Texas artist. MonkeyBrain Books has put together a fabulous package to show off Picacio\u2019s talent that has substance (including an introduction by Michael Moorcock and a lengthy interview with the artist) as well as style. John Picacio is a rising talent in his chosen field, and he\u2019s only going to get better. COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO lays a beautiful foundation for the amazing work I know is still to come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"