FABLES COVERS: THE ART OF JAMES JEAN VOL. 1

author:
JAMES JEAN

Covers
Vertigo

I’ve decided this week to judge a book that is unreleased, and, once again, this piece of eye candy stood out amongst the glut of bad cover designs being shoveled on our plates. My immediate reaction was relief: Finally, something visually engaging.

For the uninitiated, James Jean’s cover art for DC Comics set the comic book industry on fire at the turn of this century. If you’re familiar with his work, then you’ve probably suffered severe bouts of sketchbook envy. Fables Covers seems to be exactly what the title says: a collection of the covers he’s done for the Fables series.

Beginning with the color palette, I’m a firm believer that less is more, and limiting yourself to two colors plus an accent color is guaranteed to yield pleasing results. That’s why most of those contemporary silk-screened rock posters are so great. But unlike those posters, there is no overprinting or any flat fields of color. Instead, the frame is filled with one dominant, illustrative style in a wash of blue hues and shades. This approach works just fine, and the spare use of red goes a long way.
 
The word “Fables” is no doubt interesting and succeeds in complementing the hand drawn scene with some streamlined, mechanical boldness. The rest of the typography adheres to the basic tenets of secondary copy, which are don’t stand out too much and try to fit in.

I say Fables Covers is a resounding success—an appealing cover design for what I truly believe to be a must-have collection of appealing cover designs.

purchase at IndieBound