Bitchin' Blog Posts
Cover Comparisons: JR Ward’s Black Dagger Brotherhood
by Candy | by Candy | June 10, 2008 | Tuesday at 11:15 pm | 53 CommentsSharp-eyed reader Sandia alerted us to the fabulously odd differences between the US and UK editions of the Jh.Rh. Whard Bhlahck Dhaggher Bhrotherhood series. Somehow, the US readership totally lucked out in the covers for these books. The UK…? We’re really sorry.
Sarah: The US Dark Lover cover: brilliant in its simplicity. Maybe she’s taking a bite out of his crime, or maybe she’s nuzzling his carotid, but the female position of power, coupled with the sword and the bleak red tones make this a cover done marvelously well.
And then the UK cover: we’re wet and very sleepy. Nothing is scarier or sexier than sodden, soporific swimmers. RUN, or they’re going to yawn at you. Eh. Maybe.
Candy: I do admit that I like the US version quite a bit. The tattoo, the power inversion (the woman is usually in the position of vulnerability on romance novel covers), the red monochrome, the fact that there’s no vampire titty in evidence—très sexy. (Would that there were such a power inversion within the story, but the heroine’s kind of a doormat of a Mary Sue. A doormat who experiences fabulous orgasms, of course.)
The UK version isn’t half bad. It’s somewhat cheesier, mostly because I don’t like the font for Ward’s name, but I like the female model’s sad, contemplative look. I’m not sure why she looks so mopey, though. Perhaps she’s mourning the mangling of “revenge,” “torment,” “sadist” and “fury”? Or grieving for the wanton slaughter of Hs?
Sarah: The US Cover: blue, ethereal, sexy, and somehow manages to make the Adam’s apple rather sultry.
The UK cover: What the crap is this? It could be a vampire novel. It could be a commercial for Cialis. It could be he just saved a bunch of money on his car insurance by switching to Geico. It could be she has no discernible body fat and a complete lack of underarm wattle. But whatever it is, the image composition is limp and ineffective, two words the Brotherhood would be mighty peeved to have applied to them.
Candy: The US Cover: same schtick as Dark Lover, and I still like it, for all the same reasons I like the cover for Dark Lover.
The UK cover: Generic and rather forgettable, but lookit, these are romance novel covers, and my standards are shockingly low. This cover isn’t making my eyeballs burn, and for that, it gets a pass.
Sarah: The US Cover: I confess I like the solid color with the soft focus necking couples better than the greyscale black and white photography, but it’s still pretty darn sultry.
But the UK cover? Not only have I seen that piece of stock photography before, but in terms of the scale of hawt, it’s like tea left on the windowsill all day. Still, it’s marginally better than the rest of the UK set.
Candy: The US Cover: Except for the fact that I want to say “OM NOM NOM NOM” every time I look at it, it’s OK. It’s starting to verge into generic romance cover with the sharper focus and the male in the biting position and a yuppie haircut.
The UK cover: The models look like they need a bit more food and a bit less working out, but this is true for most commercial models. Again, generic and unoffensive, but not especially memorable.
Sarah: The US Cover: Suntan lotion commercial!
Which goes perfectly with the UK cover, which features a Lands’ End swimsuit models preparing to go wild. Nice bathing suit.
Candy: The US cover transitions nicely into Romance Novel cheese. O-Face? Check. Dude nuzzlin’ on neck? Check. Wind-tossed hair? Check. Sunless bronzer all over this piece, son? Check. They like the sunless bronzer so much, they done poured it alllllll over the cover.
The UK cover, on the other hand, transitions nicely into JC Penney Sunday Coupon Page. Nothing says sexy like a wrinkly strap on a bra only your grandma could love.
Also: poor Ana Gasteyer. Her post-Saturday Night Live tenure has not treated her well.
Sarah: The US Cover: Nicholas Brendon necking a check. Nice.
The UK Cover: Emergency memo to art department! “Boner” is not the same as “boney.” “Vampire” does not mean he has puncture marks in his own cheeks. “Cystic Acne” does not say romance hero. And we won’t even mention the mullet.
But for the love of Escalade, the hero should not be thinner than the heroine. I’m well aware of the overpopulation of beefcake on the romance cover, but come on now. Too far in the other direction is just as bad. Especially when the Bhrotherhood is each and every one of them as big as a damn house.
Candy: The US cover: I like them so much better when I can’t clearly see the facial features. This guy is cute, but the patchy facial hair? Makes him look like he’s 18 or so, and about as threatening as a cooked noodle. And I’m all about the sweet heroes, really I am, but that’s just not the look that’s representative of the hypertrophied masculinity of the BDB.
The UK cover: Holy shit! That dude looks terrifying. He makes me think of leeches. Also, the spots on his face look like PLAAAAAGUE. Never have I felt the herpes emanating so strongly from a cover before. Look, when I say I want the male models to look a bit threatening, I didn’t mean “scare me with the possibility of contagious social diseases.”
Sarah: The US Cover is still rocking that sexy ethereal look that I think totally scores.
...while the UK Cover is continuing with the “Lands’ End Swimsuit models go wild” theme, this time featuring Heather Locklear in a nice halter top, possibly faille. Nothing says vampires like swimsuits, apparently. That must make them easy to spot in the UK. Man in a Speedo walking down Edgeware Road? He’s a vampire, looking for the werewolves in London.
Candy: US cover: Something about the lifeless, mannequin-like look on both models is freaking me out a bit, actually. Again, by romance novel cover standards, this cover ain’t too shabby, but these two in particular fall squarely in the uncanny valley for me.
UK cover: Um, I envy her sports bra? Otherwise, the two of them look about as vigorous as the models in the US cover, though this time it’s because they took too much Xanax before deciding to make out, not because they’re android experiments gone wrong.
Filed: Covers Gone Wild! (Non-Snoop Dogg Edition)
Tagged: j.r. ward, cover snark, cover comparisons, black dagger brotherhood
dillene said on 06.10.08 at 11:32 PM • [link]
Okay, so we’ve had lovers enshrined, awakened, revealed and unbound. What past-tense, passive verb shall next befall our hapless brotherhood? I’m really holding out for “Lover Audited” or “Lover Punk’d.”
PS- the dude on the latest cover looks like a caveman.
moom said on 06.10.08 at 11:39 PM • [link]
As my friend put it when I linked him the last cover ‘Man in a speedo walking down edgeware road is attempting to provoke Allah’ or at least Allah’s earthly servants.
Yeah, those contrasts are a bit wtf, and why couldn’t they afford actual live ones for the UK covers?
katieM said on 06.10.08 at 11:40 PM • [link]
I thought the last British cover featured two women!?! I’m surprised the US covers are better than the British. Usually the US has the sucky covers. Although, all the US covers are pretty much the same. The publishers found a formula they like and they are not about to risk a change.
Security Word: however71. Hmmm
Christine said on 06.10.08 at 11:41 PM • [link]
I actually like the UK cover for Lover Awakened better than the US one. The couple resemble Bella and Z more so. The guy’s profile is pretty hot. Way hotter than the yuppie hair cut dude on the US cover. That is so NOT a Brother look. No way.
karmelrio said on 06.10.08 at 11:56 PM • [link]
As a whole, I have to agree - the US covers rock. Ward lucked out in the cover dept. I’m not embarrassed to carry these books in public.
The UK cover of “Lover Unbound” makes me think ... “Lover Infected” or “Lover Anorexic.” WTF.
And the male model on the cover of the UK version of “Lover Enshrined” looks as badass as a pre-transition John Matthew. Very bony, very ethereal. I think I could take him - and I weigh 110 lbs.
Chicklet said on 06.11.08 at 12:03 AM • [link]
I’m really holding out for “Lover Audited†or “Lover Punk’d.â€
If they did that, I would actually read this series. *g*
Now, all I can think of is other possible titles:
- Lover Downsized
- Lover Electrocuted
- Lover Defenestrated
Mary said on 06.11.08 at 12:08 AM • [link]
The male model on the US cover of Lover Enshrined looks like he’s napping on the female model’s shoulder. Which leads me to a few questions. Is this supposed to scream SEXY to buyers? Or were they going for the “you’ve just sexxorred your man so good/hard/fast/insertyourownwordshere he’s out for the night” look?
kirsten saell said on 06.11.08 at 12:36 AM • [link]
To me, it looks like her back is to the camera, and her head’s been pasted on it backwards. Her throat looks more like a nape. Doesn’t it?
Nadia said on 06.11.08 at 12:40 AM • [link]
The dude on the cover of the UK “Unbound” looks like he’s giving her a raspberry on the neck. Perhaps that helps bite-marks heal quicker? Hmm. But he’ll be perfect for Lover Exfoliated.
amy lane said on 06.11.08 at 12:43 AM • [link]
Shouldn’t the anorexic social disease guy have a skull trim and be on the cover of Lover Awakened? Just sayin’...
(btw? I’m gonna need therapy now that I’m thinkin’ ‘bout vampires in speedos… thanks. Thanks so much.)
Meljean Brook said on 06.11.08 at 12:45 AM • [link]
The UK stock photo for Lover Unbound was, IIRC, the original photo they were using for US Lover Revealed (but then they realized a bunch of other people were using that same photo, so they changed it. I primarily remember it because the chick had fangs, and they looked great (better than the second version of LR’s cover)). The US version was zoomed in, so you didn’t get the pits on the guy’s face.
I don’t mind the UK covers; they’re still better than other covers that have been featured here. Overall, though (except for the weird mannequins in the last US cover) I do prefer the US versions.
Meljean Brook said on 06.11.08 at 12:47 AM • [link]
That’s what it looks like to me, too. I don’t think the tattoo-design and the flat color beneath it is helping; there’s no suggestion of a chest, so it just looks like a back.
fiveandfour said on 06.11.08 at 12:56 AM • [link]
My family and I had a debate awhile back about which was the female and which was the male on the US Lover Eternal cover. They finally got me straightened out. I wasn’t sure if it was just me that had that issue and liked the cover even though both parties appear relatively androgynous.
That guy on the UK Lover Unbound makes me think heroin addict. Regardless of whether it’s drugs or disease, that ain’t a good place to take your audience’s thoughts when attempting to lure them in for a purchase.
I always find it interesting that books for situations like this get different covers in the first place. I mean, my assumption would be that the UK is culturally close enough to the US to be able to use the US cover and achieve the desired sales when we’re talking about a series on vampires. (So far as I know, when a movie’s promotional materials are created, the same ones are used internationally and that seems to be working all right.) I suppose the only way to know would be to poll UK inhabitants and ask them which they prefer. As a USer, I can say I definitely prefer the US covers more. Or perhaps copyright issues come into play? Though again, seems like if a cover could be designed for international use from the start, that kind of thing wouldn’t be an issue.
Claudia said on 06.11.08 at 01:01 AM • [link]
Put a wig on the UK V and you have Phury in all his junkie glory :D I hate the US LEn cover. Cormia looks like a mannequin and Phury screams “70s porn star”/apeman to me.
Actually, I’m curious why Lisa Gardner’s blurb changed only for LU. Is the series still new after six books?!?
Erastes said on 06.11.08 at 01:21 AM • [link]
Perhaps the marketing teams really have it right, because as a Brit, I do like the UK non-Vaselined covers better
Esri Rose said on 06.11.08 at 01:32 AM • [link]
Actually, movie posters usually are different for different countries. I think everybody’s art department wants to get their hand in, or something.
“Uncanny valley”... Thanks for my new term of the day!
The very first cover really did it for me. After that, the impact was lost. Go figure.
Esri Rose said on 06.11.08 at 01:33 AM • [link]
Oh, and Nadia, way to go on “Lover Exfoliated.” I’m still sniggering over that one!
plaatsch said on 06.11.08 at 01:55 AM • [link]
something about the lights and shadows and cheekbones on the US Lover Enshrined cover makes me think of Frankenstein’s monster in Young Frankenstein (Frahnk-en-steeeen!)
All of them are pretty much six of one, half dozen of the other IMO. Except the dozy chick on the UK Dark Lover (zzzzzz) and then it took me a few minutes and closing one eye then the other to even figure out where the people were in the UK Lover Eternal. Sort of a Rorshach approach?
kirsten saell said on 06.11.08 at 02:04 AM • [link]
Yeah, and her clavicles look more like scapulae.
Laura Vivanco said on 06.11.08 at 02:21 AM • [link]
I’m with Erastes on this: I’m from the UK and I also prefer the UK covers. I think it might have something to do with the colours and the fact that the UK covers aren’t divided in the middle, but I also prefer the people on the UK covers.
willaful said on 06.11.08 at 02:43 AM • [link]
As if I wasn’t having enough issues with Furry, that newest cover shows him as looking about 14 years old.
Cora said on 06.11.08 at 02:44 AM • [link]
The Ward covers are not Piatkus Books’ (UK publisher of Ward and lots of other US romances authors) best effort, but in general I prefer UK covers to their US counterparts. The Piatkus covers for the J.D. Robb books are stunning and they have done a fine job with most Roberts novels as well.
Plus, UK covers are generally matte, which is much better than that annoying glossy finish on many US covers, which only gets covered in fingerprints anyway.
Carolyn Jewel said on 06.11.08 at 03:22 AM • [link]
Well, I’m not a Brit. So is it a surprise that I like the US covers best? I think the UK covers are uniformly awful. Do we have a large enough sample of Brits to say there’s a cultural think going on here?
Piper Struemph said on 06.11.08 at 03:28 AM • [link]
Does anyone else think Ted Dansen was the model for Lover Enshrined? Something about this cover has screamed Cheers at me since I first saw it…
Kay Webb Harrison said on 06.11.08 at 03:40 AM • [link]
The next BDB book is “Lover Avenged”; it promises to be Rehvenge’s story; it is due out in mid-2009.
jocelynnesimone said on 06.11.08 at 05:26 AM • [link]
Chicklet,
You got me thinking…
-Lover Circumsized
-Lover Decapitated
And the US cover, LE, girlfriend looks like she’s been doing too many shoulder shrugs with the 20lb weights. She’s totally got a case of Hulk-neck going on. Of all the covers, it’s definitely my least favorite.
jocelynnesimone said on 06.11.08 at 05:28 AM • [link]
I guess I should have specified Lover Enshrined rather than just using initials since their are two LE books in the list.
ev said on 06.11.08 at 05:46 AM • [link]
Lover Emasculated?
Joanne said on 06.11.08 at 06:00 AM • [link]
Is that Heather Locklear on the UK cover of Lover Enshrined?
Claudia said on 06.11.08 at 06:36 AM • [link]
I bet Rehv can lift 20lb weights with his barbed wire…
Tamara said on 06.11.08 at 07:50 AM • [link]
HOWL!
I nearly choked on my decaf latte, when I read that. Utterly terrifying the cover is…
Jenyfer Matthews said on 06.11.08 at 08:05 AM • [link]
I like the color wash and the font on the US covers better, but otherwise I could go either way. Though the UK cover for Lover Unbound - what’s with his lips? The big MWAH! not so sexy….
Marianne McA said on 06.11.08 at 09:30 AM • [link]
I’m from the UK and broadly prefer the UK covers. I like the font ‘J R Ward’ is written in, but it makes me think YA, where the pictures say adult. I haven’t read the books, because of the pnames, so I don’t know if there’s a reason they’ve chosen that font.
(In a Blind Taste test, passing 15 year old daughter preferred the UK covers. Perhaps they know what they’re doing…)
December Quinn/Stacia Kane said on 06.11.08 at 09:41 AM • [link]
I’m an American in the UK, stuck with those horrible UK covers (and we don’t have LEn yet, not until tomorrow. I assume; that’s what the bookstores tell me anyway, but it looks like somebody’s got it, just not any stores near me). Ugly models, cheesy poses. I can’t even look at the cover for LU. I’ve stuck a Post-it over that guy’s horrible face.
So yes, maybe they do know what they’re doing. Living here for almost three years has not made me any more inclined to like their covers. I assume it’s something bred from childhood.
YorkshireLass said on 06.11.08 at 10:06 AM • [link]
I’m a Brit and I prefer the US covers. The acne guy is rather disturbing - what is he doing to her neck - kissing, sucking? His lips look like the end of the Noo Noo! In general I prefer not to have a full face shot on covers. I have my own ideas as to what the H/H look like based on the description in the book and I don’t want to see a cover model which may or may not fit what’s in my head. The UK Butch/Marissa cover is like like. Butch looks like I picture him on the UK cover but not the US and Marissa on the UK cover, is not how I picture her at all, except for the blonde hair.
Alexandra said on 06.11.08 at 03:25 PM • [link]
Look at the LKH covers it’s the same.
RStewie said on 06.11.08 at 04:10 PM • [link]
Lover Related…it’s a love FORBIDDEN!! V leaves Jane for Payne!
That’s all I got this morning.
Nifty said on 06.11.08 at 04:33 PM • [link]
The only (US) BDB cover I really didn’t like was the one for Lover Enshrined. I thought the female on the cover looked too plastic, like she’s been airbrushed to within an inch of her life…or made of glass. It’s all just way too perfect, too smooth.
Cassie said on 06.11.08 at 04:57 PM • [link]
Holy freakin’ crap, that OM NOM NOM NOM link is addictive. Why must you torment me with the linkage????
On another note, those UK covers are pretty scary. I can’t say it as funny as all the others here, but wtf is up with that skinny dude? Ew!
Teddypig said on 06.11.08 at 05:58 PM • [link]
Lover Bequeathed
Proving that no one tells J.R. Ward how to write her books B and V’s women are sacrificed by the bad guys and B and V are left to console each other in their time of need. A handwritten note left in a diary reveals they had not fooled anyone.
karmelrio said on 06.11.08 at 07:28 PM • [link]
That would be ... very hot.
And sad! Yeah, sad…and hot.
mirain said on 06.11.08 at 07:29 PM • [link]
Vampires have to go around in speedos because it is hard to tan at night. They have to maximize their vitamin D absorbtion.
holly said on 06.12.08 at 12:20 AM • [link]
I know the thread is dead but Oh My Lord - I made the mistake of reading this at work (I have my own office but I keep my door open and we can all hear each other) - I choked on my ice, snorted iced tea through my nose, and did that awful half bark/half snort thing you do when you realize you’re laughing out loud and you shouldn’t be.
On the one hand, I think this series is some of the silliest stuff I’ve ever read; on the other, I devour each book in one day and I do love me some Vishous.
Lucy said on 06.12.08 at 05:04 AM • [link]
I guess I’m in the minority but I think the UK cover of LU is hawt. I love the kissing the neck and how they appear to be actually sexing it up.
StephB said on 06.12.08 at 12:43 PM • [link]
The worst international cover comparison is the UK cover of Colleen Gleason’s The Rest Falls Away...the American cover conveyed the setting and the plot just perfectly: a woman in a corset hiding a stake. The UK? Two 21st-century-looking people, naked, with no stakes or any other paranormal indicators in sight. It could be anything. And I would never have guessed, looking at it, that it’s a historical romance.
ev said on 06.12.08 at 05:09 PM • [link]
I finally had a chance to read the comments and really look at the covers. I like the US ones best (a little prejudiced maybe), but I think it is because I like the continuity of the theme. The dagger, the monotone colors. And no herpes.
Although I can’t get the picture of a guy in a speedo running down the road looking for a werewolf.
Emily said on 08.12.08 at 03:13 PM • [link]
im a Brit and i think the UK covers are AWFUL and cringeworthy. I always purchase the US versions (which i love), even though they’re pretty hard to find and considerably more expensive. but i tell myself its worth it than having to look at the nasty UK covers everytime i want to pick them up to read.
plus the US covers just draw u in, i like the glossiness of them u dont get a lot of UK books like that. and the covers are very sensual, i love the models, the camera angles, the blurred effect, and the colour & font themes. it works well for a continuing series & they’ve just about done everything right with the US covers. my fav has gota be lover awakened, i really like the colour & the guy is hot, exactly how i imagined zsadist to be.
for me, the UK covers look tacky and very common of romance novels. alllll romance novels here have models in those kinds of positions, there’s nothing mysterious or thrilling about the picture that makes u want to pick up the book if u saw it on the shelf in a shop. plus i dont like the dark, bland effect, the not so good looking models, the embarrassing poses that dont really imply anything about it being a paranormal book (it just looks like a saucy romance which the BDB series is sooo much more) and the fact that JR Ward’s name is 5 times bigger than the title of the book.
Sophy said on 11.20.08 at 04:30 AM • [link]
oh wow. the UK cover for Lover Unbound gives me the giggles… it looks like the male model is blowing raspberries on the female’s neck…
acne free in 3 days reviews said on 01.31.09 at 03:18 PM • [link]
my assumption would be that the UK is culturally close enough to the US to be able to use the US cover and achieve the desired sales when we’re talking about a series on vampires. (So far as I know, when a movie’s promotional materials are created, the same ones are used internationally and that seems to be working all right.)
arthritis in dogs said on 02.09.09 at 06:37 PM • [link]
I made the mistake of reading this at work (I have my own office but I keep my door open and we can all hear each other) - I choked on my ice, snorted iced tea through my nose, and did that awful half bark/half snort thing you do when you realize you’re laughing out loud and you shouldn’t be.
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