a critique site for book lovers, hosted by author Jude Hardin
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Not Everything Brainless is Dead by Josh Price
What's the genre? What is it you like or don't like about this cover? Does it make you want to know more about the book? Does it make you want to BUY the book? Discuss.
Without seeing it's a novel down there at the bottom, I'd have guessed this is a maverick business humor book... for dealing with government contracts could definitely be considered to match the title, for instance. lol
Author name, far too small
I see um, halos over heads, or speech bubbles for cartoons, a rabbit, a red creature, a pink creature a white creature and four green creatures, But they seem neither brainless or dead. I dont know what or who they are or what they represent
I like the black background and primary colors.... Like the huge font size of the words in the title, esp 'dead'. Not sure author's name oughtnt be in red too.
I think it is the primary colors, the multiplicity of them along with the stick figures that make it seem like it would also be a book for young children.
I wonder too, if i ought say on cover what kind of novel it is, so the cover's meaning is explained to the reader immediately
How about changing the title to Not Everything Brainless is UNDEAD? At least then we would know we're dealing with zombies. And if the book is intended for adults, you might also consider changing the name of your superhero. I mean, I get what you're trying to do (Kick-Ass, anyone?), but Captain Rescue just has a juvenile ring to it to me.
"Captain Rescue" and the color scheme tells me that this is MG. The little green zombies tells me that this is a Humor/Spoof Zombie Novel.
Because rudimentary stick figures were used, it makes me think that this is a book about a boy who draws Captain Rescue cartoons and his many adventures fighting zombies. So, the zombies aren't real, they are all in the boy's mind. The blue rabbit reinforces the feeling that these creatures are all imaginary.
As a thumbnail, the only thing readable is "Dead", the rest of the title is completely lost. The author's name is way too small. The font is a throw back to the 70's. It is also something I'd expect to see on a DIY manuals for home improvement.
This cover isn't quite there yet. It isn't drawing me in. Maybe changing the font would help.
Now, I'm going to read the comments and book description.
To me, the title implies that others are brainless too, not just dead guys. So I assume it is zombies and humor, because I'll be laughing at the antics of stupid people.
This cover makes me mildly curious so I'd probably want to read the description. If the description sounded fun I would download the free sample. If I liked that, I'd buy it.
I never buy a book purely based on the cover alone. Does anybody really do that?
"A Novel by Joshua Price" needs to be much bigger. I completely missed it until someone else commented on it.
The word DEAD annoys me. It's reminds me of a James Patterson novel or something with that great big DEAD on there in that blocky kind of font. Which is just too serious for funny zombies.
I think UNDEAD would work better though actually even in that font. Undead denotes zombies. Dead denotes "mystery" to me
And Joshua's name is way too small. It's more like a nonfic book with a name that small - like no one cares who it's by, just what subject it's about. That can't be good! :)
This one better be funny - Some goofy nerd who pretends to be a super-hero ends up morphing into a real zombie hunter. Which would be a cute premise. But the stick figures make me think this is a kids book, and I probably wouldn't pick it up.
I'm not posting anon because I want to - my wordpress url doesn't seem to want to take. So it's me, Dee (waves) I'll keep trying to get this to work!
Yeah, the book is basically a hilarious zombie-ridden superhero adventure detailing the misadventures of a bumbling crime fighter.
I might rethink the crayon brushed stick figures, since it's a little too gory to be a MG novel. I just thought that stick figures would exemplify the whimsical universe well.
I thought maybe I would resize my name and add something like "A hilarious zombie-ridden novel by Joshua Price", but that's a little long, so I'll give it some thought.
"A hilarious zombie-ridden novel by Joshua Price",
the words might not be quite right yet in your creative way of seeing, as you mentioned, but something like that on the cover would help a person like me, very much.
and it isn't too long to my eye, esp if you arrange it in two lines with your name on one and the bite (description) on the other line.
Now that I know it's about a bumbling crime fighter, I'd for sure read the sample and then go on from there.
hang in there. I think people coming here 'nekkid' to show their covers for critique, are cool.
dr.cpe, not a zombie, but how can one tell, really? hmmmmmm?? lol
And also, here's the description I have on the amazon site:
Captain Rescue and his arch nemesis are always at each other’s throats, but this time, Dr. Malevolent’s criminal caper goes horribly awry. The two are forced to put aside their differences and form an unlikely alliance to thwart mankind's undeadliest threat—zombies!
He may not be the smartest, bravest, strongest, or most capable super hero in the world, but by golly Captain Rescue always manages to somehow get the job done. His arch nemesis is the villain that every hero needs, the cynical criminal mastermind bent on stealing and conquering her way to the very pinnacle of super villainy.
When Dr. Malevolent decides to knock off the most prominent bank in the city, she gets far more than she bargained for, and over the course of the ensuing shenanigans, a zombie apocalypse is inadvertently unleashed upon their metropolis. The outbreak spreads widely, and the hero and villain embark upon a journey to discover who, in this universe or the next, would commit such a dastardly act.
This is my take without reading the other comments.
Zombies attack a Halloween party. It's touch-and-go, who's smarter, the living dead or the living dumb. The story is told and illustrated from the point of view of the imaginary friend of the child who was supposed to be asleep in bed while mom and dad, and their friends party.
I will be very disappointed if I am wrong about this. :)
On a meta level, this may be a work of literary genius disguised as the epitome of a bad self-published book. I will be very surprised if I am right about this. ;)
Actually, I really do hope my first guess is correct.
Ok, I giggled when I saw this one, since I knew what the author was going for, BUT...
Stick figures too small, and ALL of the art should have a chalkish look. The glasses, cape, hair, letters, and word bubbles do not, and it looks bad.
DEAD is too big compared to the figures. The rest of the title is badly aligned with the rest, and makes the rest of the words seem less important.
I like your new version better - MUCH better. However, a bunch of different fonts and colors screams AMATEUR!!! Everything except "Dead" should be the same font and same color. The layout of the title itself is wonderful, and you should keep it. There is too much space in your name. Go for a bigger font, and eliminate more space between the letters to keep the same width.
Lose the white border. Add other figures in again, but have the good guys hiding behind Captain, and add a BUNCH of zombie figures around.Make them smaller and darker when they're behind Captain and crew.
Oh, and captain shouldn't be drawn in all-nude, should he? ;) Maybe change the color of his body and leave his head in the nude color?
You made leaps and bounds with the second version. Keep going!!
The same night I posted that version, I also made this one, http://i.imgur.com/D8Zgi.jpg which I'm a much larger fan of. I think the slightly goofy zombie munching on an arm helps to convey that it's not intended to be a MG novel.
I'm stumped. Zombie adventure or political satire? Middle Grade or Adult? Business manual or coloring book?
ReplyDeleteOk, I'll go with zombie adventure spoof. But although I love the title, this is a little too cryptic to draw me in.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to say anything until more people have had a chance to post! But yes, it is a humorous zombie adventure.
ReplyDeleteWithout seeing it's a novel down there at the bottom, I'd have guessed this is a maverick business humor book... for dealing with government contracts could definitely be considered to match the title, for instance. lol
ReplyDeleteAuthor name, far too small
I see um, halos over heads, or speech bubbles for cartoons, a rabbit, a red creature, a pink creature a white creature and four green creatures, But they seem neither brainless or dead. I dont know what or who they are or what they represent
I like the black background and primary colors.... Like the huge font size of the words in the title, esp 'dead'. Not sure author's name oughtnt be in red too.
I think it is the primary colors, the multiplicity of them along with the stick figures that make it seem like it would also be a book for young children.
I wonder too, if i ought say on cover what kind of novel it is, so the cover's meaning is explained to the reader immediately
just my .02
thanks for letting us give our opinions
dr.cpe
Title says = YA Necrophilia - Er, I mean, YA Zombie Romance...
ReplyDeleteArtwork says = Daddy Daycare: The Novel...
Would I buy it? No, but that's because I don't know what it's about :P
"Captain Rescue" made me think middle grade. Zombies never even crossed my mind.
ReplyDeleteHow about changing the title to Not Everything Brainless is UNDEAD? At least then we would know we're dealing with zombies. And if the book is intended for adults, you might also consider changing the name of your superhero. I mean, I get what you're trying to do (Kick-Ass, anyone?), but Captain Rescue just has a juvenile ring to it to me.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete"Captain Rescue" and the color scheme tells me that this is MG. The little green zombies tells me that this is a Humor/Spoof Zombie Novel.
ReplyDeleteBecause rudimentary stick figures were used, it makes me think that this is a book about a boy who draws Captain Rescue cartoons and his many adventures fighting zombies. So, the zombies aren't real, they are all in the boy's mind. The blue rabbit reinforces the feeling that these creatures are all imaginary.
As a thumbnail, the only thing readable is "Dead", the rest of the title is completely lost. The author's name is way too small. The font is a throw back to the 70's. It is also something I'd expect to see on a DIY manuals for home improvement.
This cover isn't quite there yet. It isn't drawing me in. Maybe changing the font would help.
Now, I'm going to read the comments and book description.
To me, the title implies that others are brainless too, not just dead guys. So I assume it is zombies and humor, because I'll be laughing at the antics of stupid people.
ReplyDeleteThis cover makes me mildly curious so I'd probably want to read the description. If the description sounded fun I would download the free sample. If I liked that, I'd buy it.
I never buy a book purely based on the cover alone. Does anybody really do that?
"A Novel by Joshua Price" needs to be much bigger. I completely missed it until someone else commented on it.
First thought: Funny Zombies
ReplyDeleteThe word DEAD annoys me. It's reminds me of a James Patterson novel or something with that great big DEAD on there in that blocky kind of font. Which is just too serious for funny zombies.
I think UNDEAD would work better though actually even in that font. Undead denotes zombies. Dead denotes "mystery" to me
And Joshua's name is way too small. It's more like a nonfic book with a name that small - like no one cares who it's by, just what subject it's about. That can't be good! :)
This one better be funny - Some goofy nerd who pretends to be a super-hero ends up morphing into a real zombie hunter. Which would be a cute premise. But the stick figures make me think this is a kids book, and I probably wouldn't pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI'm not posting anon because I want to - my wordpress url doesn't seem to want to take. So it's me, Dee (waves) I'll keep trying to get this to work!
Yeah, the book is basically a hilarious zombie-ridden superhero adventure detailing the misadventures of a bumbling crime fighter.
ReplyDeleteI might rethink the crayon brushed stick figures, since it's a little too gory to be a MG novel. I just thought that stick figures would exemplify the whimsical universe well.
I thought maybe I would resize my name and add something like "A hilarious zombie-ridden novel by Joshua Price", but that's a little long, so I'll give it some thought.
"A hilarious zombie-ridden novel by Joshua Price",
ReplyDeletethe words might not be quite right yet in your creative way of seeing, as you mentioned, but something like that on the cover would help a person like me, very much.
and it isn't too long to my eye, esp if you arrange it in two lines with your name on one and the bite (description) on the other line.
Now that I know it's about a bumbling crime fighter, I'd for sure read the sample and then go on from there.
hang in there. I think people coming here 'nekkid' to show their covers for critique, are cool.
dr.cpe, not a zombie, but how can one tell, really? hmmmmmm?? lol
And also, here's the description I have on the amazon site:
ReplyDeleteCaptain Rescue and his arch nemesis are always at each other’s throats, but this time, Dr. Malevolent’s criminal caper goes horribly awry. The two are forced to put aside their differences and form an unlikely alliance to thwart mankind's undeadliest threat—zombies!
He may not be the smartest, bravest, strongest, or most capable super hero in the world, but by golly Captain Rescue always manages to somehow get the job done. His arch nemesis is the villain that every hero needs, the cynical criminal mastermind bent on stealing and conquering her way to the very pinnacle of super villainy.
When Dr. Malevolent decides to knock off the most prominent bank in the city, she gets far more than she bargained for, and over the course of the ensuing shenanigans, a zombie apocalypse is inadvertently unleashed upon their metropolis. The outbreak spreads widely, and the hero and villain embark upon a journey to discover who, in this universe or the next, would commit such a dastardly act.
Cute. My guess is that it's superheroes vs. Zombies, for kids. I like the cover, though I'm not sure how a zombie story for kids would go over. ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is my take without reading the other comments.
ReplyDeleteZombies attack a Halloween party. It's touch-and-go, who's smarter, the living dead or the living dumb. The story is told and illustrated from the point of view of the imaginary friend of the child who was supposed to be asleep in bed while mom and dad, and their friends party.
I will be very disappointed if I am wrong about this. :)
On a meta level, this may be a work of literary genius disguised as the epitome of a bad self-published book. I will be very surprised if I am right about this. ;)
Actually, I really do hope my first guess is correct.
No no, I think your second guess is spot on.
ReplyDeletegreat sense of humor Joshua. A gift as important in an author as that of writing.
ReplyDeletedr.cpe
Hah thanks, I do pride myself at being quite humorous when needed and a lot of times, when not.
ReplyDeleteI decided I would figure out how to use adobe illustrator and I came up with this:
http://i.imgur.com/5QY41.jpg
Ok, I giggled when I saw this one, since I knew what the author was going for, BUT...
ReplyDeleteStick figures too small, and ALL of the art should have a chalkish look. The glasses, cape, hair, letters, and word bubbles do not, and it looks bad.
DEAD is too big compared to the figures. The rest of the title is badly aligned with the rest, and makes the rest of the words seem less important.
I like your new version better - MUCH better. However, a bunch of different fonts and colors screams AMATEUR!!! Everything except "Dead" should be the same font and same color. The layout of the title itself is wonderful, and you should keep it. There is too much space in your name. Go for a bigger font, and eliminate more space between the letters to keep the same width.
Lose the white border. Add other figures in again, but have the good guys hiding behind Captain, and add a BUNCH of zombie figures around.Make them smaller and darker when they're behind Captain and crew.
Oh, and captain shouldn't be drawn in all-nude, should he? ;) Maybe change the color of his body and leave his head in the nude color?
You made leaps and bounds with the second version. Keep going!!
Jenna
@lundeenliterary
www.lundeenliterary.com
The same night I posted that version, I also made this one, http://i.imgur.com/D8Zgi.jpg which I'm a much larger fan of. I think the slightly goofy zombie munching on an arm helps to convey that it's not intended to be a MG novel.
ReplyDelete