Bitchin' Blog Posts
Tramp Stamp: the Round Up
by SB Sarah | by SB Sarah | October 15, 2008 | Wednesday at 11:11 am | 36 CommentsEver ask yourself, “Self, are there nothing but tramp stamps, butt cleavage, and muffin top on display in the urban fantasy genre?”
Here’s your answer: the SciFi Guy has rounded them all up for a video illustrating the necessary elements to a true urban fantasy cover.
Can I just say, though, that tramp stamp and low-slung jeans aside, I actually like the naked back covers for a lot of the recent releases, including those for historical romances? A woman’s back never gets enough attention but it’s a beautifully sexy thing.
Thanks to Marta for the link.
Filed: Covers Gone Wild! (Non-Snoop Dogg Edition), General Bitching
Tagged: urban fantasy, muffin top, fantasy
Pearl said on 10.15.08 at 11:50 AM • [link]
OK, hilarious. What confuses me, though… is—honestly? How do you fight demons and various other things in such tight pants? I have to say: seems like you’re adding unecessarily to the difficulty. To say nothing about the possible pop-out above the waist… is that for distraction? Like in, 10 Things I Hate About You?
Woo-hoo, lookie here, demon/vampire/zombie, yeah! and then you slice off their head? or whatever…
eaeaea said on 10.15.08 at 12:22 PM • [link]
Why can’t we photoshop in the real world? *shoulders slump*
A sculpted back, muffin-top-less butt would be my fantasy…
Midknyt said on 10.15.08 at 12:47 PM • [link]
I’m sure the montage of women dangling in an unnatural position while being held by a man would be good for historicals.
In all honesty though, the tats on the girl in 1:08 (right after the really fake looking angel tat on the back) looked pretty tasty to me.
Spamword: Find13. Yes, I would find a woman with 13 tattoos attractive.
Leslie H said on 10.15.08 at 12:48 PM • [link]
The Antidote: Jim Butcher’s THE DRESDEN FILES.
A wizard with a big staff and a blaster rod and winged purple monkeys flinging incendiary poo.
Rock ON Mr. B !!!!!
ev said on 10.15.08 at 01:53 PM • [link]
Well, this is my second try for a post. grrr…
I can’t believe how many of those covers I own. So many of them look just alike- are they using one model and changing the outfits, I wonder? Sort of like a Barbie Doll?
Barbie Doll bookcovers. Now there is a thought.
That says it all…
Elizabeth Wadsworth said on 10.15.08 at 02:49 PM • [link]
Hear, hear! And Chris McGrath’s covers are things of beauty too. (Love the Jared Padalecki-look-alike cover models.) Also recommended—Rob Thurman.
Lizzie (greeneyed fem) said on 10.15.08 at 03:06 PM • [link]
The video actually made me look up a couple of titles. I don’t know if I’ll read them, but good covers do pull me in (I liked the P.C. Cast covers especially).
I wonder how many of those tattoos are part of the characters as written and how many are publisher additions—I know from reading the plot synopsis of Marjorie Liu’s The Iron Hunt (TBR!) that the full body tattoos are an integral part of the plot.
Sharon Cullen said on 10.15.08 at 04:30 PM • [link]
Or mini/micro skirts!
Julie Leto said on 10.15.08 at 04:41 PM • [link]
I love these covers. I own quite a few myself! And I think the covers rock. Girls with guns, women with weapons…yeah, I like ‘em. Might watch the video again just to get a few titles I missed!
karmelrio said on 10.15.08 at 04:42 PM • [link]
My first thought when I see all these tight leather pants? Bring on the Monistat.
Silver James said on 10.15.08 at 05:04 PM • [link]
I’m impressed! That video was very well done but I kept having to pause it to get a good look at each cover. Yeah. I’m old and slow. Gimme a break. I’ve only had one cup of coffee. Interestingly, he has a book in his review pile that’s in my TBR pile -
Fallen
by Claire Delacriox.
karmelrio, you cracked me up! Monistat. *gigglesnort*
ev, I wish I was technically savvy enough to do a YouTube of romance covers using Barbie, Ken and GI Joe! Duude! How awesome would that be. LOLLOL.
And last, Dresden is my hero. *heartthrob*
spinsterwitch said on 10.15.08 at 05:08 PM • [link]
The scifi guy is trying to figure out when the trend started…I’m guessing it was heavily influenced by Buffy & Dark Angel television series.
As for how you fight in such tight pants - they are probably stretch for the easy slaying of demons. I personally don’t get the itty-bitty skirts.
Word: small37 - yep those skirts are small.
Roslyn Holcomb said on 10.15.08 at 05:39 PM • [link]
@Lizzie, I’ve been puzzled by the Mercy Thompson covers for a while now. In the books she has one tattoo on her belly and ‘a few’ on her arms. Each cover gets more and more elaborate and in no way reflects the descriptions in the books.
rebyj said on 10.15.08 at 06:03 PM • [link]
Oh to have all those books on my bookshelf!! Saw a few I had but more that I don’t yet have.
Funny video.
And backs arent always sexy. I’m 4’10, there’s not enough back between my ass and my neck to be sexy LOL.
Cat Marsters said on 10.15.08 at 06:17 PM • [link]
They must be worn with matching underwear for the demon-fighting. Unless it’s possible to kill a demon with a glimpse of vajayjay. Maybe it is. I’ve never tried it.
Silver James said on 10.15.08 at 06:24 PM • [link]
*dies*
Oh the visuals that presented, Cat! Holy, flaming vajayjays, Buffy!
karmelrio said on 10.15.08 at 06:47 PM • [link]
Cooterflash - activate!
Anaquana said on 10.15.08 at 06:51 PM • [link]
Roslyn,
From what I have heard, the cover tattoos on the Mercy books are there to give you an idea of what the book is about. They’re not meant to be a representation of Mercy’s actual tattoos.
And seriously? Designed41 is my spam word I kid you not.
Jennifer Armintrout said on 10.15.08 at 06:56 PM • [link]
Hey, I saw one of my books on there! Neato!
I do tend to snark covers (including my own), but I think it’s really important to remember that it’s the publishers who are trying to make all the books look exactly the same… not the authors. If you’ve never gone through an art department process before, it’s not a pretty thing. They will usually bring up two or three different books they want to make your book look like… this is the end result. The obnoxious thing is that to some readers, a similar cover means the content inside is also exactly the same, or worse, that the content inside is a rip off of another author’s work.
Evie said on 10.15.08 at 07:02 PM • [link]
I second that! Where do I sign up?
Lane said on 10.15.08 at 07:21 PM • [link]
They are really funny all piled up like that. But I have to say, as a trend, it’s been a pretty successful one—or so I judge by the sheer number of tattooed, bare-backed women on my bookshelves! I assume spinsterwitch is right when she links it to Buffy. As a fan of that show, I moved right into this style of books with glee.
I didn’t really get tired of the covers until Jenna Black’s The Devil Inside, when I realized that the pants were getting so low there was a danger of butt-crack on my covers. Still loved the book, though.
Kaite said on 10.15.08 at 07:34 PM • [link]
They must be worn with matching underwear for the demon-fighting. Unless it’s possible to kill a demon with a glimpse of vajayjay. Maybe it is. I’ve never tried it.
Erm. You can find images of women displaying their ladybits carved into lintels of medieval churches and other buildings, as human genitalia (you’ll see some peeners in the carvings, too) WERE considered protective against demons.
Oh, the joys of PBS! You can learn so many things on public television! :-D
Laura said on 10.15.08 at 07:39 PM • [link]
It doesn’t seem to work on paparazzi, though, alas.
Kaite said on 10.15.08 at 07:39 PM • [link]
Just so you know I ain’t lying…. Sheela na Gig—http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheela_na_Gig
(password: stop68—yeah, kids, stop 68! Go right on to 69!)
Victoria Dahl said on 10.15.08 at 08:47 PM • [link]
Sheela-na-gig? Also the name of a great PJ Harvey song!!!
“Look at these, my child-bear-ing hips!”
Now I understand better what it’s about. Thanks, Kaite!
Brandi said on 10.15.08 at 09:17 PM • [link]
Ever read the original story for “Rawhead Rex”?
Roslyn Holcomb said on 10.15.08 at 09:19 PM • [link]
Ah Anaquana, that makes perfectly good sense. I still haven’t a clue what ‘bone-crossed’ will be about, but the tattoos are definitely representative.
ev said on 10.15.08 at 09:20 PM • [link]
Speaking of cover art I just found out that Michael Whalen, who did many of the original covers for The Dragon Riders of Pern books, also did some of my favorite album covers. Like Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell.
I love cover art and could decorate with just that in my home. Some of it is just so damn good.
design18- I wish I could design 18 of anything
Madd said on 10.15.08 at 11:10 PM • [link]
There is nothing the magic hoohaa can not accomplish! If it is capable of banishing a hero’s inner demons, who not actual physical demons?
It’s crazy how many of those covers look alike, but I like most of those books so ... meh.
phadem said on 10.15.08 at 11:10 PM • [link]
That was a great vid! While LMAO I got some great reading recs too. Oh SciFi Guy, I heart you.
When he pointed out the undone jeans, I was at the very least grateful there were no undies flashing too. And when the arrow helpfully grows to point out all that stuff, priceless.
Jennifer Armintrout said:
Oh, this is so true across the board in pretty much any creative field, process, fistfight, you name it.
Marta Acosta said on 10.15.08 at 11:39 PM • [link]
Thanks for posting the link!
Here’s my shout-out to SciFi Guy: he’s a man who is so secure of his masculinity that he’s not afraid of books with girls on the cover. Also, he’s got a terrific blog and really in-depth, smart reviews.
As for the covers, I’d happily swap out one for the borrring, blah cover of my second novel with one of these. I think I’m going to give my heroine a lurid hootchie tattoo and some slutty piercings so I’ll get a cover that will attract some attention for my fourth novel.
SciFiGuy [Doug Knipe] said on 10.16.08 at 01:10 AM • [link]
I have to say I am overwhelmed by the response to my vid. Did it just for the fun. Thanks to everyone that dropped by and checked it out. And I have read everyone of those titles featured and yes a good many of those heroines do sport tattoos in the story so I guess a little exaggeration by the art department is to be expected. Any suggestions on missed covers or additions are welcome.
Thanks for the kind words Marta. You rock!
Del said on 10.16.08 at 05:17 AM • [link]
my spam word is develop69. maybe it’s trying to tell me something.
i love a sexy back, male or female.
CC said on 10.16.08 at 05:40 AM • [link]
I know these statues of the women and their extraordinary vajayjays- one of them was the magic statue in Jo Beverley’s Forbidden Magic.
J.C. Wilder said on 10.16.08 at 03:31 PM • [link]
I’d rather have more tattooed Barbies than oversized Mantitty. But thats just me… :)
jim said on 02.08.09 at 07:55 AM • [link]
you have to love tatoos they are so great. only if you have a few. when you get to many it is bad.
rate my cam dance
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