Talk about a high profile gig—for the15th anniversary of the series, Harry Potter is getting new covers for the paperback versions by cartoonist Kazu Kibuishi. All seven books will be released in a boxed set in September. Mary Grand Pré’s iconic (and work for hire) covers will continue to be used on the hardcover and digest-sized paperback editions.
Kibuishi’s Amulet series is a strong seller for Scholastic so they’re keeping it in the family so to speak.
“The Harry Potter covers by Mary GrandPré are so fantastic and iconic,” said Kibuishi in a statement. “When I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn’t want to see them reinterpreted! However, I felt that if I were to handle the project, I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn’t, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle grade fiction. As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, ‘If I were the author of the books – and they were like my own children – how would I want them to be seen years from now?’ When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to feel. In a way, the project became a tribute to both Harry Potter and the literary classics.”
Kibuishi is also the editor of the fantasy-centric Flight anthologies, and you can see that sensibility in his cover of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Really, Flight?
He’s been producing his own long running graphic novel series for kids for years now and only Flight gets a mention?
Mentioned Amulet in the second paragraph. King Kazu!
Kazu Kibuishi u r my favorite writer nd I love ur books nd nice cover I like it I stumbled appon this during a project I’m doing for class it’s a project where choice my favorite author nd I’m supposed to do research about you.
Comments are closed.