The Covers of Frankenstein : Paul Buckley

As Penguin’s Art Director, Paul Buckley has overseen some of the best illustration and book design on the market, at an amazing rate of some 600 titles per year. Now, with the new Penguin Horror Series curated and introduced by multi-tasking director Guillermo del Toro, Buckley steps up to the plate as illustrator. The deluxe hardcover collection includes works by Edgar Allen Poe, H.P.Lovecraft, Ray Russell and others, notably Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Buckley’s illustrations use a woodcut effect and distressed covers as if the books, like the classic stories themselves, had been around forever and heavily consulted. Buckley’s Frankenstein uses the movie Monster for it’s iconic power. The Karloff face has nothing to do with the book’s actual monster, but it is instant recognizable, spelling “Frankenstein” louder and clearer than any other design anyone could come up with. 

An interview with Paul Buckley in Print magazine.

A Q&A, with examples of Buckley’s work on The Casual Optimist.

Paul Buckley’s fabulous Flickr gallery.

Related:
Frankenstein cover by Dan Clowes for Penguin Books