Robinson Crusoe on Mars cover art

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Dave says

A great glimpse into the creative process from Criterion jacket designer Eric Skillman. In his latest entry he talks us through the creation of the cover artwork for the 1964 cult sci-fi Robinson Crusoe on Mars (starring Batman's Adam West).

[Art is by the wonderful Bill Sienkiewicz]

That second [illustration] was exactly what we were looking for. Draper's hunched over posture really gives the sense of struggle against overwhelming odds, and how can you not love Mona in the foreground? Since the jagged peak in the center was going to be pretty much obliterated by the branding and spine title treatment anyway, we figured we may as well lose it, and since Mona was already in her space suit, no need to keep Draper in his helmet. So we gave Bill the go-ahead to start painting the final illustration. Meanwhile, I decided to tweak the type a little bit, and eventually wound up here, which captured just a little bit more of the period look we were aiming for.

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