Rating Dune Book Covers
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- čas přidán 15. 06. 2024
- Since the 1960s, Dune cover art has reflected trends in sci-fi book publishing. Which era has the best art? The bizarre, pulpy seventies? Or the classy, minimalist 2000s?
Here is the excellent article where I pulled most of my history and images from. Seriously, check it out: www.muddycolors.com/2020/09/b...
00:00 Intro
01:48 The Original Series
06:20 The 70s
07:10 The 80s
10:44 The 2000s
11:40 Current Covers
The new minimalist covers have really vibrant colors! That definitely drew me into buying Dune.
Glad they worked for you! A lot of people are really drawn to them. My nostalgia forces me to love the old 2000s covers (even though they look VERY outdated) but the new ones are so bright and inviting
I’ve made them my profile picture on discord, that’s how much I love them!
Totally agree. They are gorgeous and they draw your eye all around
I, too, use the same part of my brain that wants to eat fruit when picking books
Definitely my favorite thing about the new dune covers! they have such gawgling color choices- i love the way that every cover has a nice, complementary set. Heretics of Dune is my fav from this slew of covers for sure, but that's purely based on taste!
"It's pretentious but i'm gonna say it." What a mood. I still have no idea what Dune is about but judging by the covers I now know it features a big ol worm. The 80's covers didn't need to go so hard, those are stunning.
XD big mood. And you basically summed it up. Dune = big worm. It's amazing.
Also can we discuss the 80s movie?! With SIR PATRICK STEWART CARRYING A PUG INTO BATTLE!!!
a trick : watch movies on flixzone. Been using them for watching a lot of movies lately.
@Josue Trey Yea, been watching on Flixzone} for since december myself :D
@Josue Trey yea, have been watching on Flixzone} for years myself :)
I disagree concerning the anniversary addition. The colors are great for starters. You have tattered robes signifying some sort of hardship, but he’s standing straight and confidently, ready to lead. You can tell there’s some technology near his neck, drawing you in even more. His eyes are strikingly blue, and his head has a slight halo that is evocative of the old paintings and mosaics of Christian Saints. You have an image of an otherworldly, resilient, religious figure. If that doesn’t draw you in, I don’t know what would.
I also LOVE the sprayed edges and interior art you can get with it
I never saw that cover in my hands, but it's gorgeous, wish I had it
I have the anniversary edition and love them. The Messiah and Children of Dune in this edition are beautiful as well.
Yeah--definitely could see where Man was coming from with the font being out of place, but otherwise it's a quite evocative image.
I didn’t realize they made so many dunes and so many different cover arts!
Me neither! lol. Then I became obsessed...
Each of the first three books I have in editions that weren't even in this video.
the first one is like sixty years old, there's going to be lots of editions.
Very popular book and ran into many editions. You'd be surprised to learn how many designs there are for C.S. Lewis' Space Trilogy which is nowhere near as popular as this.
@@ManCarryingThing I think Alex Ross could do some Covers of Dune.
I'd be Awsome.
It would be Painted.
Gonna be honest, I don’t like the 2000s covers at all, to me they looks like High School Health Class textbooks. But I love how much you love them. This was a great video!
Sidenote: I’m coming to really depend on your Saturday uploads, it’s great to get off work and pop on Man Carrying Thing on the drive home 👍🏻
They DEFINITELY look like health class textbooks! Yet I can't help loving them. Stupid childhood nostalgia, lol. And thanks man, that is so nice to hear. You and Shipwrecked Library are the two channels rn I gotta watch as soon as a video comes out.
This is so funny I literally wait for you both to post videos HAHAH it’s friendship
@@ShipwreckedLibrary well here we are, just look at the three of us, just standing around gushing about each other.
I love it!
@@FantasyTalk "Look at us. Just look at us." Lol. I love to see it
Yeah 2000 covers look lazy to me
9:46 I just noticed they actually all connect together, the covers, wow
I disagree with your opinion on both the 2000s era covers and the current era covers.
The 2000s era covers look like something I would look at in my high school library, and pass by without so much as a second thought. As for the current covers, maybe it's because I like minimalism to a certain degree but the current era covers however minimalist they may be, is a case of minimalism done right! The use of color and the font they used just pops off the cover, and the landscapes where it's completely empty minus whatever character, land mark, or ship they set the focus on, look vast and give a sense of mystery.
Another cover that does minimalism well in my opinion, also a dune book is the Dune BAM! Exclusive leather hardcover version.
My love for those 2000s covers says more about my own issues than their actual quality, lol. Part of me knows they're sort of lame -- but I'm too nostalgic for them. I just looked up the BAM cover and yeah! That one looks really great. I'm typically not crazy about minimalist designs, just because I feel like that's the overwhelming trend these days. But when it's done right, it can definitely stand out.
I saw the 2000s cover of Dune at my middle school library and I _did_ pick it up, and that's how I fell in love with it. They're obviously very "on a budget" and not imaginative, but there's something about the minimalism and formality of their design that suggests importance, like those Penguin classics paperbacks. It's low effort but effective.
The original cover is very impressionistic.
Also ... "This just looks like Pheonix, Arizona."
Hilarious and true.
YES, impressionistic would be the term I'd use if I knew anything about art, lol. Also, I'm from phoenix, so I couldn't help saying it!
I like the new style of covers, where you have a silhouette with art imposed inside them. I think they look classy. The art has this soft painterly style to it that I enjoy.
I'm so glad I found this channel
Reviewing every RMR OP1 video
My favorite Dune cover isn't even from one of the books. It's the box cover of the board game from 1979. It's an iconic piece and I'm actually surprised it wasn't repurposed as a book cover for one of the later printings. Whenever I think of Dune, that cover is the one that instantly comes to mind.
I actually just grabbed that game from my parents house and I have to say, you have a point.
Had to look it up, but yeah that's definitely one of Dune's iconic images/covers, I'm also surprised it was never featured on a book!
Which one, the one with the worm in the desert, or the cover with the worm in the city and some people casually hanging around?
I have a paperback with the 50th anniversary edition cover, where the silhouette of a worm frames a shot of Arrakis
The "Chapterhouse: Dune" cover it's suppose to depict a no-ship. Those who read the book know which one and where it is.
Yeah it's the no ship docked on Chapterhouse
My first Dune was the movie tie in cover. Now I have the Barnes and Noble Classic Edition leather bound. I had the rest of series with the covers from 8:07.
I’m a fan of the Folio Society edition of the book (regular, not limited edition). The slipcover has a cool swirling sandstorm in silver, the book itself has a metallic representation of Paul, and the art on the inside is stellar. After that one, I’m fond of the first edition.
I went for that particular one, too. If there is a better edition out there, I haven't seen it yet. Folio is excellent, and their Dune is amazing.
@@jasongsux3520 Folio Editions are great, just very expensive to buy brand new.
The 50th Anniversary paperback’s are GORGEOUS. Really wish we coulda heard your thoughts on em 👀
I didn't know I needed this video. You just continue to entertain AND inform XD
My first experience of Dune was reading my mum's old copies of the 70s covers. I love them so much and yes they're SO trippy!
Hahaha thank you!! So happy to be of service to the world!! And yeah, those 70s covers...they're just DUNE to me. So much fun.
You should see the Brazillian covers from Editora Aleph, these covers are amazing, for real
Hashahaha eu ia falar isso, eu acho que são os mais bonitos DISPARADO. Principalmente do Messias que mostra o salão azul do Muab Dib
I had no idea Dune was first released as a serial in a magazine! I really like the little factoids you sprinkle in throughout the video
Thanks! Yeah, that was interesting to find out -- dune publication history is pretty wild
6:26 That cover was also used on a paperback of "The Three Stigmata of Palmer of Palmer Eldrich" by Philip K. Dick.
I have sixteen Dune books and not a single one of their covers appeared in your video.
You should check out the English covers too!!
For me the brazillian cover editions are the most beautiful dune covers, it's artistic, minimalist and play really well together
I would love for you to do another version of this with international covers
Some of Marc Simonetti's work was used for some of the covers, I think for the Brazilian copies. I think it's great stuff, I especially love his Dune Messiah throne room scenes that he illustrated.
I have the SF Masterworks cover and its my favourite. I love it.
Same
I like the SF Masterworks edition with the Fremen walking in the desert on the cover.
I just googled it -- yeah, that one looks really good!
For me just just looking at the 80s covers made me want to finally finish Dune, like they're so weird
Haha good! I need to finish too, hopefully starting Children of Dune soon
@@ManCarryingThing Does the series stay good after the first book? Because I've heard differing opinions.
@@leonmayne797 I totally think it does. Though it becomes less action/plot based an more philosophical. Also one thing that kinda threw me off was the change of the writing style in the fourth book.
I think that most of the dislike comes from the fact that a surprising amount of people kind of miss the point of the first book and interpret it as something of a typical "hero's journey" type of story and see Paul as conventionally Christ-like (which is how the David Lynch movie portrays him). Dune Messiah dispels that idea very hard, very fast. It is much, much darker. Children of Dune is excellent and makes for a nice finish for a trilogy.
Then things take a wild turn in God Emperor of Dune. Things become far more philosophical.
I would say definitely read the first three. You'll end up with a more fully fleshed out idea of what Herbert was trying to say. Then dip your toes into God Emperor and decide if it's for you. You'll know rather quickly. I personally love it, but I absolutely concede that it is not for everybody. A beach read it most certainly is not.
@@TheMtGRogue the point of the second book is not the same as the first book. The first book is a somewhat typical heroes journey but the second goes on the depict what can happen once that journey is completed. Also I personally found the first three books to be much deeper reads than the fourth.
I feel so sophisticated rn. Pinky was up the whole time. lol. These were the best: 8:04 especially the bottom three and the top middle. They give you something interesting to look at, but also give you a snapshot of that world, not just a plain brown sky.
XD Glad I could bring sophistication to the topic, lol. And I agree -- those covers really transport the reader, plus give an idea of how imaginative the series really is
You should totally see polish version of Dune. Cover art is just insanely good. I think we got the best one
Absolutely incomprehensible creature, very nice. Thanks Siudmak
Why are polish covers always goated
How the hell is there no English printing with those covers. They're so stunning
Working in a library and coming across the last cover you covered lol - I gasped when I saw that book in my hands. On a screen it looks like so many tumblr posts, but in print it is gorgeous. The texture and shimmer floor me. Hollywood posters WISH they could have the bombast and restraint of Matt Griffin's cover art.
Ok but I have a soft spot for the second 80s covers because the spines line up nicely, they are the ones that my Dad had as a kid, and for his birthday a few years ago I found copies of the two editions that he was missing (Dune Messiah and Chapterhouse: Dune)
The UK 50th anniversary editions of Dune look fantasic and are some of my favourite book covers. Period
I randomly had a craving to see over dune covers, while also getting someones thoughts on them. I knew looking up reviewing dune book covers, I would find something and I did. sometimes you get lucky. can't wait to see the video
is it a photograph? i think it’s a tiny excerpt from the 1975 cover, the shape and colors blends in perfectly
Definitely agree that the 70’s Dune Messiah cover is a showstopper, I smiled when you were were hyping it up, it’s an image that I can just stare at for a long time because it feels so strange and otherworldly and beautiful and it feels like Dune despite looking very unique from most Dune media.
Also my edition of Dune is the 2000’s one and I actually like it. The black and the little bit of sand with the little people with their shadows cast on the ground, it gives you a tiny glimpse into the universe, and it also reminded me of the very black-and-gold look of the ‘84 film.
The 50th Anniversary edition UK is the one I have and I really like it. Not my favourite, but I think the font and colours really work.
9:40 is definitely my favourite, love the colours and how similar they are to each other
I love that the 80s ones at 9:50 have a continuous cover!!! that's so cool! Each one flows into the next!!!!!
9:45 I really like this set, and I've never seen them before.
Really cool how they all blend together into one scene.
My favourite is the 70's Bruce Pennington cover. I like all his art and covers from the late 60's and seventies and I've just ordered the poster of the cover for my wall.
I think that weird floating thing in god emperor is supposed to be Leto II’s super special extra fancy floating platform he uses to move around, no seriously they talk about that thing a lot. Tho that cover is horrendous
I appreciate the new minimalist covers (perhaps I'm biased because those are the ones that got me into the series), but for me I like that they lack detail, and allow a reader to form their own interpretation of what the characters and settings look like. They're more evocative of what DUNE is, then a realistic rendering. I feel like, had I read DUNE with one of those other covers, I'd kinda be locked into seeing things the way they're depicted on the cover, if that makes sense (that's not to say I think the Artwork is bad, I'd hang a lot of those Covers on my wall no question).
I think this applies to sci-fi/fantasy books in general, an overly realistic cover can diminish my enjoyment of a book. (I know this isn't the case for most people and that I'm very part of a minority)
I'm pretty well on board with what you said. I have the same editions you have with the cropped photos, they look great. Leto the giant worm penis is my favorite cover and my favorite book. I can say from experience that it catches attention like crazy. Big props on making him so phallic, it really draws eyeballs
I agree with 99 percent of your analysis. I think the new modern book covers are amazing but I also get why you thought it wasn't! Great video!!!
Thank you!! I understand the appeal of the newer books, for sure. I'm just too nostalgic for the older stuff, lol
Agreed, love the OG cover! Fun vid, thanks for making it!
I love this video concept! It would be cool to see you talk about all the different foreign Harry Potter series covers! There are a lot of them, all super different and very unique
I think the anniversary ones are better when you’re actually holding it than just looking at a picture of the front cover. There’s even more art on the inside covers that are very appealing and well made, and they still convey a lot of abstract mystery
My Dad kept a copy of the 1984 movie tie in Dune book. I like it, it feels alien with the blue moons, and it feels moody, which I like
8:38 I love this cover. It really calls a spade a spade. I imagine Frank Herbert looking at it and going "Huh I guess I really did make that dude turn into a giant worm."
i own the same one as you, the black sort of minimalist cover. i like it, i think its very classy like people will look at me and think 'hmm i wonder what she's reading, it looks so intimidating'
The current cover for Dune Messiah in particular is perfection to me
not even 1 minute in but WOW your editing is incredible I'm laughing so hard already
This comment makes me so happy! Thanks Mer :) This video took forever to edit but it was so much fun getting to see all that wild Dune art
Wow, I agreed with literally everything you said except about the 40th anniversary one: cos more then the art itself, the book is a sight to behold cos of its colors & texture. Even the art kinda works cos its a guy with a halo and a planet behind him forming an even bigger halo (the prophet whose legend grows even bigger than a frickin planet).
Also, wish you'd post an update on what you think of the new Orion/Gollanz covers - I prefer those to the other "more minimalist" modern ones.
Just picked up a First Edition copy, I absolutely agree about the original hardcover being the best design, it just invokes a vastness that none of the others come close to and it transfixes me every time I see it on my shelf
It’s not covered in this video because it’s not a mainstream publisher, and they’ve only published the first book, but my favourite is SF Masterworks’. It’s just gorgeous. It’s got the yellow that lines up with all my other SFMs. Mwah. Beautiful.
Sad that you didn't get to see the Brazilian version of the covers, they're all awesome.
I picked up a hardcover back in 2021 with a nice pattern design on the cover. Very simple and it does the trick.
I agree with you about that 50th anniversary edition
i can see this becoming a go-to comfort video
I read the 80s Dune, just Dune. Man, I love that cover. The picture's lighting doesn't do it justice. You need to hold it.
Blue worms, I know, and I agree the rest are bad, but the first one is a sight to behold and a novelty to be held.
Favorite by far for me is the folio society edition. Si beautiful. Nice video
12:25 This collector's edition actually includes some really cool artwork both in the book and the other side of the jacket, which is what I think makes these editions of the first three books worth getting
The SF Masterworks Dune cover will forever be my favourite. It may have been an Australia only release, and thus didn't appear in the video, but hot damn, any time I see that cover on my shelf it makes me want to start reading.
I love the new covers, they’re minimalist but still evoke a very trippy quality to them, and they still have details. Like the Dune cover is the guy walking on the sand and in the background you can see the two moons of Arrakis, and on the side of the book they put dots there representing distant stars. Just, really good shit
There's a new generation of covers that came out this year by Hodder and Stoughton books, their design style is what convinced me to finally pick up Dune and I honestly view them as perfection. They have a modern minimalist style but still feel classic anr eye-catching enough to be worthy of Dune.
There's also a series of European covers that are in my opinion leagues ahead of any others.
The late '80s printings with the iconic font that you gave 5/5 are in my collection. Agree on your interpretation. I would just stare at the covers as a kid before reading them, and you could really disappear into them. The covers are as mesmerizing in their own way as the stories.
9:35 is the copy my dad had that I read, at least for the first book. It's gorgeous and was definitely compelling when I was a teenager looking at our bookshelf.
Regardless of the cover art for the special edition, the blue page edges are BANGIN.
"Does Moses make an appearance...?" That's basically the plot of chapterhouse.
I’ll never forget the version with nothing but the small rectangle of sand. That was my dad’s copy. It was so simple yet so infinitely intriguing.
I know this is pretty late, but you guys need to check out the brazilian Dune covers from "Editora Aleph". They are absolutely stunning and my favorite
That God Emperor cover looked great, it showed Leto 2nd in his cart on top of his wall roadway
Definitely like the 70s covers the most. The originals are okay, but the 70s just understood the psychedelic vibes of Dune without getting too cheesy.
Best Dune video I’ve seen. I realize I really don’t give a shit about other peoples options about Dune. Most of them seem to miss the point entirely and I find it really frustrating. However I love that your literally just reviewing the book covers. It’s really refreshing.
really love the ones we've got at the moment here in the uk
The 2000s Dune with the black cover and Dune: Messiah with the Green are the ones I have (both paperback) and what's weird is that Dune is taller than Dune: Messiah?? Unless there are two different versions of the series with the same cover design, it's kind of odd.
Edit: I really like the design though, it's minimalism done right.
The messiah 2010s cover is amazing. I really wish the others in the series ditched the wavy line format so that the artist could actually draw something
Really dislike the new release covers. I bought one of course...I had to :) but def feels very walmart/amazon
lol, that's how i'd phrase it too. I get the appeal though
I have always love the first edition cover from when I first saw it on wikipedia.
I read my father's copies of the novels, they were all the ones from 8:00, except for Heretics. That one was the one from 9:30.
My first copy of dune was the mass market paperback version of that 25th anniversary cover. Still my favorite
My favorite is still that second serial cover, with the sandworm. That right there is Dune to me.
The ones at 8:10 were my first copies. I finally got a full set of them for my Dune collection
I've always loved Bruce Pennington's _Dune Messiah_ cover. Glad to see you give it 5/5.
We need a sequel video where you look at covers in different languages. They can be WILD
i actually really like the art of paul on arrakis on that last book cover but now i can't unsee the dinosaur themed text lmao
Yeah, wish they did the new dune logo on there instead. DUnc•
I reallly live the 2nd cover one!
8:23= I live in Phoenix AZ and I remember reading that edition of Dune and thinking:
"This looks like downtown, by the big bus stop on Central!" LOL
Just came across your channel, this is great. The hamster tube/cover mashup nearly made me spit out the Doritos I was eating.
I found your videos because of Dune. Just watched the film on friday. Had great time.
I also love those unusual Indigo & orange covers from Berkley. They were kinda an experiment from when the Trade Paperback was a new format & publishers were really just trying to figure out how they worked. The newly commissioned art was to make you feel like they were all new (and I *believe* they were updated/corrected texts - but mine are packed away somewhere so I can't check.) and a set - Get 'em ALL!
They didn't sell that well because all your SF books were paperbacks - so where do you put these? On the *REGULAR* book shelves? Are you MAD!
The first one is amazing.
Also, I have a similar attachment like yours toward the 2000’s Dune ones for an old edition of Dubliners, witch isn’t that good but I love it for the sentimental value because I first read the book with that edition.
I finally got the last of the "'70s" cover ones for my collection!
My favourites are definitely the new ones. The modern version of Dune Messiah is beautiful
So I have the 45th/50th edition one (whatever that last one is), and I will say it hits different in person.
With just a picture it totally does come across as kinda bland and flat, but the actual cover catches the light in really interesting ways that really makes the image pop.
Plus the back has a really cool night picture, and the actual hardcover underneath the jacket looks pretty class.
Totally agree on the more minimalist new ones though. I like them, as they are visually appealing-but they don't scream "dune".
Eh, I don't know. It just feels like by swapping up the name it could be a nice cover of almost any book.
I really love the 2019 deluxe edition, the last one you had looked at. Why? Because when you have that giant hardback monstrosity in your hands, it has so much texture, vibrancy, and shine to the dust cover. It's almost metallic, and the photo doesn't do it justice. Also, the entire interior of the sleeve has a really gorgeous painting, with unique paintings on the inside of the front and back covers of the book itself. In addition, the edges of the pages are a turquoise blue, really making it pop.
Super late to the conversation but the Romanian Dune armada covers are the only reason I started the series and I love them with all my heart. Probably because of the bright colours on the dark background, they just get your attention and draw you in. That’s why I like the modern english covers more than older versions as well.
The Alex Trochut design is wonderful, even if only for the font.
Giant slinkies, giant slinkies everywhere. And I had no idea there were so many cover variations. 😳
Omg whoever imagined sandworms as slinkies had too much power in publishing during the 80s, haha. There is WAY more cover art out there but...I was starting to lose my mind
That metal sphere is supposed to be a representation of the vessel that the bene gesserit used to deposit the remaining worms of Arrakis on the planet of chapterhouse.
The 70's paperback of Dune with the Fremen on the right hit me with a wave of nostalgia which is weird because I have no memory of ever seeing that version before.
Also I'm disappointed that the website wasn't up to date with the 50th anniversary paperbacks because I think they may just be my favourites of all time.
I figured it out, my Oma had those editions on display in her house.