The Famous Five - Rate the uncredited cover

[Katharine]

Yes that's quite good.

[Barnard]

Much more realistic. Worth at least 7/10.

[Lucky Star]

That German cover is quite good and the Chucklers Weekly cover is great. I'm not that keen on any of the others though. As John Pickup said one of them is definitely Thunderbirds 2 and the the other looks like a scene from The Martian Chronicles.

[John Pickup]

I like the German cover too.
As for the Chucklers Weekly, which must be one of Pete's famous spoofs, George looks about 50 suffering from a bad case of wind.

[Boodi 2]

Which is the German cover? I think one of them is Danish and actually looks quite good 6/10. Not so keen on the Chucklers' weekly , except for Timmy (3/10)

[Wolfgang]

If you're talking of the Cover by the Grafisk Forlag, it's not German but Danish. The drawing of the children could be inspired by the two Danish Famous Five films.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Ugh - why does the ground look parched and toxic? 2.5/10 from me. It's not a bad scene but the colour spoils it.



This is zany and over-the-top, including the spaceship-style plane, but then that's what comics (or magazines featuring picture-strips) are all about! As a picture-strip interpretation it's extremely eye-catching, though the two men in the background look rather odd as they're just one colour. 5.5/10 from me, though I wouldn't like to see artwork like this on the cover of a novel.



Quite atmospheric but the background looks like ice and snow - not caves! 5.5/10 once again.



Dramatic and exciting. 6/10. I think you're right that the drawing of the children might have been inspired by the two Danish Famous Five films, Wolfgang.

[Viv of Ginger Pop]

I like covers that are distinctive, and we know Billycock Hill as the story with the test-planes.

It was published in 1957 when the UK and USA were testing all sorts of weird and wonderful aircraft. The test pilots like cousin Jeff were heroes.

https://www.pinterest.com/mikesturdevan ... f-the-50s/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is a Meccano Magazine cover, also from 1957

http://meccano.magazines.free.fr/html/1 ... 02_fc1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Viv

[Nick]

1986 Hodder & Stoughton, illustrations by Jolyne Knox, cover uncredited (*)

I’ve always had a nostalgic soft spot for this cover despite it not being the best of the 83 Knights. It was the last FF book that I ever bought on the last family holiday that we had as kids. I’m not sure what has happened to the colours on this particular print, the original gave a vivid impression of a scorching hot afternoon but this some doesn’t look right.

[pete9012S]

It may be my fault for enlarging the pic so much Nick.
The smaller images in the cave are much crisper:



https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... php?id=209" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Nick]

Do you fancy making a few more posts Pete? Really enjoyed this thread

[pete9012S]

I'll have a bash Nick - and please feel free to post a cover yourself if you find any you want to share here.

[Nick]

I’m absolutely useless at adding pictures, I had to get Mrs Nick to do it on the TV location thread

[pete9012S]

No problem Nick - whilst I'm searching out another cover this article may be of interest:

Enid Blyton book illustrations through the ages – in pictures
Illustrator Alex T Smith takes us on a fascinating tour of Enid Blyton book cover art from the 1940s to the present day.

https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-b ... rough-ages" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[John Pickup]

Interesting to see those varied covers, Pete. I was drawn to those early 1960s Armada covers when I could afford to buy them with my pocket money. The Adventurous Four was the first book they published if I remember correctly.
Sheila Bewley's illustration for Five on a Treasure Island I hadn't seen before. It's quite dreamy, I like it.