|
What I created, in tandem with the publisher, was a visually distinctive
signature for the work of 28 different authors, so that Black Lizard books,
would always be a graphic standout on any shelf, and at the same time would accurately
reflect the
cover-art in the content of each story.
Black Lizard consisted of only four people, the publisher,
the editor, and
the secretary - all in Berkeley - I remained in San Francisco, as their
freelance artist/illustrator.
The stories, with visual assistance from these ‘classically American’
images, found a following in both the States and Europe. Thanks to the cover-art
and Barry Gifford, the editor for the series, the line was reviewed regularly in
Publisher’s Weekly. There were also reviews in The Village Voice,
The Washington Post, Variety, to name a few.
Time-out
in London devoted three pages to its top-ten crime/fiction
imports, and seven of the ten were Black Lizards. API and UPI did stories and
interviews with the three of us, and MTV awarded us "Best Book Covers of
1988."
We were however, like most small presses, undercapitalized. In the fall of
1990, "The Grifters," "After Dark My Sweet," and "Wild
at Heart" from Barry Gifford ‘s novel: were all being released as films:
Black Lizard was sold to Random House for the rights to the five novels, which
had been made into film.
All in all Black Lizard Books is one of those footnotes in one’s career
that will not be forgotten. |
studios
