A Book of Contemporary Nightmares by Giles Gordon (ed.)

Florian Hardwig — Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:01:02 +0000

Contributed by Florian Hardwig

Source: richarddalbyslibrary.com Richard Dalby’s Library. License: All Rights Reserved.

Thirteen terrifying tales to chill you today – and haunt you tomorrow

The gruesome cover art by Les Edwards is supported by the claustrophobic tightness of all-caps Windsor Elongated. The narrowest member of the Windsor family is used with EndcapS.

This compilation was edited by Giles Gordon and features short stories by Brian Aldiss, Patricia Highsmith, Francis King, Penelope Shuttle, William Trevor, Michael Moorcock, William Sansom, Angela Carter, John Sladek, Peter Redgrove, Joan Aiken, George MacBeth, and Barry Unsworth.

[More info on ISFDB]

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Transmaniacon by John Shirley (Zebra, 1979)

Florian Hardwig — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 14:19:00 +0000

Contributed by Florian Hardwig

Anonymous was a common type choice for science fiction covers in the 1970s. Here the top-heavy all-caps face can be seen in use on the cover of an early novel by John Shirley:

When I was really young I wrote a book called Transmaniacon main premise was – a guy wore the transmaniacon device, which enabled him to release hidden well-springs of “suppressed anger” in those he met. It was assumed those hidden wellsprings of fury could be found in anyone, somewhere hidden. This gave him the power to psychically manipulate crowds of people in certain ways – which is a hint about twentieth century history.

When the book came out in 1979, Shirley (b. 1953) was also a member of the Portland punk band Sado-Nation.

[More info on ISFDB]

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Fighting Fantasy gamebook series (Laurel Leaf/Dell)

Florian Hardwig — Tue, 04 Sep 2018 20:33:06 +0000

Contributed by Florian Hardwig

1: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1983. Cover art by Richard Corben.

When Laurel Leaf, an imprint of Dell, published the US version of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain in November 1983, they adopted the book’s typographic identity featuring Bradley, which had been introduced with Puffin’s original UK edition the year before, see this post.

While Puffin changed to different cover typefaces for the subsequent books in the Fighting Fantasy series, Laurel Leaf stuck to Bradley for the complete run of the series. The Americans didn’t squeeze the letterforms, and also went less heavy with the caps: Author names as well as articles and prepositions in the titles are set in mixed case — Deathtrap Dungeon dispenses with the caps craze altogether — for a slightly less outlandish look.

The C gets the same simplified treatment as in the UK. Additionally, I and T (in non-initial position) exhibit alternate or altered forms that work better in all caps. From issue 5 on, these subtleties were forgotten, though. Now C, I and T show exclusively the standard letterforms.

2: The Citadel Of Chaos by Steve Jackson, 1983. Cover art by Richard Corben.

3: The Forest Of Doom by Ian Livingstone, 1984. Cover art by Richard Corben.

The Titannica Fighting Fantasy Wiki on the US edition:

The gamebooks featured a new cover design with the first eleven books using a generic white background, whilst books 12 through 21 had a generic black background. Initially the gamebooks had completely new cover illustrations, by Richard Corben (The Warlock of Firetop Mountain to Island of the Lizard King) and R. Courtney (Scorpion Swamp to Freeway Fighter), until 1986 when with Temple of Terror the original Puffin Books cover illustration were used till the range ended with Trial of Champions. During this run House of Hell was retitled House of Hades.

4. Starship Traveller by Steve Jackson, 1984. Cover art by Richard Corben.

5: City of Thieves by Ian Livingstone, 1984. Cover art by Richard Corben.

6: Deathtrap Dungeon by Ian Livingston, 1984. Cover art by Richard Corben.

7: Island of the Lizard King by Ian Livingstone, 1985. Cover art by Richard Corben.

8: Scorpion Swamp by (the other) Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1985. Cover art by Richard Courtney.

10: House Of Hades by Steve Jackson, 1985. Cover art by Richard Courtney.

12: Space Assassin by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1985. Cover art by Richard Courtney.

16: Seas Of Blood by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1986. Cover art by Rodney Matthews.

18: Rebel Planet by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1986. Cover art by Alan Craddock.

19: Demons Of The Deep by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone, 1987. Cover art by Les Edwards.

This post was originally published at Fonts In Use

Les Edwards at Fonts In Use

A Book of Contemporary Nightmares by Giles Gordon (ed.)

Transmaniacon by John Shirley (Zebra, 1979)

Fighting Fantasy gamebook series (Laurel Leaf/Dell)