Sunday, March 10, 2019

Cover Love - Sea Monsters


I love sea monsters. Just imagine you are sailing on a crystal clear sea, or perhaps things are getting rough and the salt spray drenches you as the waves grow higher- and suddenly there is a cry from the lookout. "Kraken!" The word every sailor in a fantasy world fears most. And you mouth a prayer as the tentacles begin to rise... 

One of the more chilling moments in Fire and Blood by George RR Martin concerns a kraken rising from the deep.

"The waves rose higher than our masts, and there was thunder all around, and lightning such as I had never seen before, great cracking bolts that burned the eyes. One struck the Autumn Moon and split her mast from the crow's nest down to the deck. In the midst of all that madness, one of my hands screamed that he had seen arms rising from the water, the last thing any captain needs to hear."

"I saw the Autumn Moon founder with my own eyes. One moment she was there, broken and burning, but there. Then a wave rose up and swallowed her and I blinked and she was gone, quick as that. That was all it was, a wave, a monster of a wave, but all my men were screaming 'Kraken, kraken!' and not a word I said would ever disabuse them."

"To a man, they were convinced they had seen a giant kraken pull Autumn Moon beneath the sea. Had I given the command to sail on, they would have fed me to the waves and found another captain." 

Or they can be, you know, kinda silly. 

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These are some of my favorite covers with sea monsters.  


Easily my favorite- I love the leaden skies, the gray water, and of course the sinuous coils of the serpent. 

The Voyage of the Basilisk (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #3)

The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” (The Chronicles of Narnia, #3)

Star Born

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Does a T-rex count? I don't know. 

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Boris Vallejo 20 Tarzan And The Forbidden City Cover

And because comics are books too (sort of)

Fear # 9 by Gil Kane & Frank Giacoia

Marvel Comics' Worlds Unknown #1, featuring, "He That Hath Wings."

Monsters On The Prowl #16 (1972).  Cover art: John Severin.  Publisher: Marvel Comics.  The Best UNDERWATER Comic Book Covers.  A collection of some of the top underwater comic book covers ever created - album by BATCAVEDWELLER!

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #54 (2015).  Cover art: Dario Brizuela.  The Best UNDERWATER Comic Book Covers -  A collection of some of the top underwater comic book covers ever created.

Jungle Girl Season 2 #2 (2008).  Cover art:  Frank Cho.  The Best UNDERWATER Comic Book Covers -  A collection of some of the top underwater comic book covers ever created.

Romantic Story #92 (1968). Cover art: Unknown -- The Best UNDERWATER Comic Book Covers -  A collection of some of the top underwater comic book covers ever created.


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Mark Schultz — Xenozoic Tales

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31 comments:

  1. the most striking monster I've come across recently is the one from Aquaman at the end and the thought of Julie Andrews voicing the character gets me every damn time.

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    1. Ooh I haven't seen that yet, now I'm curious!

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  2. There is some beautiful artwork for some of these! Love the old timey feel to so many of them!

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  3. There is something both beautiful and terrifying about the sea. Love the artwork on these and I am especially digging that little red fella.

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  4. So many great covers! I love The Voyage of the Basilisk 😁

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  5. Sea monsters are fascinating! The Scooby-Doo cover is adorable!

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    1. I loved the Scooby cover. It's not even a monster (well I guess a shark that big COULD be) but I had to include it!

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  6. Wow, who knew there were so many sea monster covers? I love the colors on The Voyage of the Basilisk.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I like that one too. And there was a treasure trove of covers- I had to fend em off with a stick!

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  7. And now, I'm definitely never going on a cruise xD

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  8. I love sea monsters too. And Godzilla always wins in my book. :-)
    sherry @ fundinmental

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  9. I'm not super comfortable with large bodies of water and I think all of these covers have just explained it! That whole big unknown where anything could jump out and get me!

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  10. I don't know where you find all of these, but they are so much fun. I've always loved the cover of Voyage of the Dawn Treader and those Edgar Rice Burroughs' covers make me want to read more of his stuff. :)

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  11. What a great collection of covers! Loving the artwork and am impressed actually because I had no idea there were so many sea monster covers out there. Cool post!

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  12. Very fun post! With the ocean as vast and deep as it is, it wouldn't surprise me if there were creatures like that out there!

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  13. Okay look these are cool and all, but you missed THE most important sea monster of our time. https://i.imgur.com/scyhLjX.gif

    And you bet your ass I just made that GIF so I could post it here. Also, you're welcome.

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  14. Tarzan being underwater just doesn't sit well with me. LOL.

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  15. I also love sea monsters, they're the best. I love that first Dragon one, too, it's the perfect illustration. These are all awesome, what a fun post idea!

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  16. Great Choices! I like the Andre Norton and Tarzan covers :D

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  17. Great choices! I love the cover of The Voyage of the Basilisk. :)

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  18. The cover of Voyage of the Dawn Treader really takes me back. I remember that one well from childhood.

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  19. Sea monsters are the coolest things ever to read about! Whether it is sharks, megalodons, squid, krakens, eel hybrids, slimy things, crabs, crustaceans, I just love reading about them!

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  20. Oh, yeah, I love sea monsters. 👍👍👍✨

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  21. There should be more krakens in books. What even is that gif of the King Kong thing??? Lol. These are some awesome covers! You're right, this is a fun topic. Sea monsters are terrifying but cool. Although it's funny there's one with a dinosaur because I just had a nightmare last night that I was trapped in my house but in an air bubble at the bottom of the ocean, and there was a t-rex outside ramming into the house trying to get in. It was so weird, I have no clue why there was a t-rex under the ocean lol.

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  22. Some of them are silly but they are awesome at the same time. I loved Godzilla growing up and although it is corny with the graphic stimulation of today it's still amazing!

    Mary

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