Thursday, April 21, 2011

Book Covers Facebook Would've Deleted,..50 Years Ago

With all the kerfluffle over book covers being deleted over at Facebook, I decided to take a peek at paperback cover art from years ago. After all, these so-called "offensive" covers that are being deleted are something new, right? Our parents would NEVER have allowed risque covers to be seen by the public at large, right? I mean, they would've been offended, and forced publishers to remove them from the drugstore book racks, right?

Yeah, not so much. In fact, it seems like the rule of thumb was the sleazier the better. The one common denominator among these covers seems to be half-naked people. I had so much fun digging up these old covers, I think I may make this a weekly theme. Btw, the publishers of some of these covers are still around today, including Bantam.








I want to know what these guys were doing before they started fighting, especially since the man with the chain has his pants unzipped. And I don't even want to know why the guy in the red shirt is holding a Barbie doll.


















Evidently, the early concepts of spacesuits involved underwear and gladiator boots.

















So..., is he going to sacrifice the baby to the mantis-people, or is this the earliest known fictionalized account of male pregnancy?





















I believe the artist time-traveled and watched Pirates of the Caribbean, because if that pirate isn't Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, I'll eat my keyboard.








Is that a naked man she's pulling up out of the water? Why, yes. Yes it is.

Mommy, why are they giving Tarzan electroshock?








There's nothing that sells books faster than a maniacal grin plastered on the face of a half-naked man slaughtering Native Americans.

Because everyone knows the Eerie Canal was built during a frat kegger.

It's a PUZZLE book! 'Nuff said.







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