Cover Art: The Approaching 2nd Edition and Segments of Bob Drifter

I’ve been so excited to show you all these images. But first! A bit of back story!

A long time ago, in a desert far, far away…

A pair of friends met at a young age. One was named Matthew, the other Collin. Their friendship flourished over comic books (X-Force in particular). As they grew closer, they shared their dreams. One wanted to be a writer; the other wanted to be an artist.

Time passed, and they were separated, but they never forgot each other. Collin grew up to be an amazing artist for video games, and he even published a few comic books. When Matthew realized he was going to publish, he knew who he wanted to do his cover art.

A brief message over Social Media, and the friends were thick as thieves creating the work they’d dreamed of creating since they were kids. They’d stayed in touch, so when Matthew decided he wanted to re-release his first novel, he returned the the artist he’d first talked about working with so long ago…

Ok, seriously, that’s just about how it went. That said, I reached out to Collin because I believe in consistency. I knew I was going to re-release Bob in a few ways. The first would be the second edition of the complete novel. I also knew I was going to release each part (Bob is composed of three very distinct parts) to allow people to read smaller chunks with less immediate financial obligation. Collin was so gracious. You see, he’s getting ready to get married, and he somehow squirreled enough time between wedding plans and home renovation projects to create these new covers for the electronic segments of Bob’s little journey.

I’m proud to present them to you. (NOTE: These images are intellectual property of M.L.S. Weech. Any reuse or distribution of these images without his consent is in violation of his rights.)

Cover for An Unusual Occupation. Art by Collin Fogel.

The first part (for those who haven’t already read the book) is titled An Unusual Occupation. This is a bit of an homage to a popular book that inspired this one. I’m honored to say some have compared the two books quite favorably. This moment, like the image for the complete edition’s cover, is subtle but important. It’s a moment of choice for Bob. Collin did a great job of showing that conflict.

 

The cover art for Bob’s Greatest Mistake. Cover art by Collin Fogel.

 

Isn’t this one awesome?! Collin busted his tail on here trying to recreate this scene, which is the climactic end to the second part of the book. I especially love the blacksoul leaping from Grimm’s cloak.

The Cover for Something Always Remains. Cover art by Collin Fogel.

I really struggled between a few scenes here. But I felt that the final conflict between Bob and Grimm was just too good to pass up. This final showdown had a ton of buildup, so I felt it was right that this encounter be how the last chapter is presented. The detail here is awesome, and the sense of motion is perfect.

I can’t honestly express how happy I am with these covers. The manuscript is with Sara, my wonderful and overworked editor. I’m hoping to have it back from her by late August. Then it’s up to me to format and get it turned in ASAP. I’d like to get this done by November. That feels like an ambitious but achievable goal.  I’ll keep you all updated on that progress.

Please offer your opinions of these below. I’d like to know what those who’ve read the book think. I’m absolutely in love with these covers, and I hope you all love them too.

Thanks for reading,

V/R
Matt