Odd 1968 romance novel cover

James Gurney says:

If I had to give a prize for the most delightfully weird romance cover, it would have to go to "The Hungry Ones" from 1966.

Whatever his pickup line is, she seems to be taking him seriously. Should be an interesting date. What he hasn't told her yet is that she's got to fit into his VW with 19 of his friends.

The cover is the work of Elaine Duillo (b. 1928), a prolific and talented artist whose cover paintings defined the look of paperback books from the 1960s through the 1990s.

Like all of her contemporaries: James Avati, James Bama, Pino Daeni, Bob McGinnis, she was adept at crystallizing a book's appeal into an arresting image that made you itch to pick it up and start reading. As a woman working a field mainly dominated by male artists, she overcame many discouraging remarks and kept producing work of the highest caliber.

Amazon has one copy of The Hungry Ones available for $99.99.

Elaine's Romance Covers

• [Chuck]

   That cover just makes me want to scream, “RUN!  SHE HUNTS, BUTCHERS, AND EATS CLOWNS!”

  At least I think that’s what the premise of the novel is.

• [Golden Apple LS]

  It’s the big shoes she’s thinking about.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    And he’s thinking about the clown car.

  • [Sasha Margery Van Cott]

    You know what they say about men with big feet….

• [ROSSINDETROIT]

  Too bad it’s not a Harlequin Romance.  Would have been perfect.

• [Art]

  Oh, this clown is just so full of himself. 

  You can tell by the jaunty tilt of his cone hat.

• [PhosPhorious]

  “C’mon, Baby. . .  once you go Clown, you’ll always get down. “

• [BookGuy]

  He must have used some variation of Krusty’s line, “Hey baby, wanna get down with the clown?”

• [BookGuy]

  He must have used some variation of Krusty’s line, “Hey baby, wanna get down with the clown?”

• [Mark Dow]

  “Christ, what a clown.”

  • [Warren]

    Aye. My thought was, ‘Oh Jesus, not this clown again.’

  • [Warren]

    Aye. My thought was, ‘Oh Jesus, not this clown again.’

• [retrojoe]

  If H.P. Lovecraft wrote romance novels.

• [retrojoe]

  If H.P. Lovecraft wrote romance novels.

• [EH]

  I’ve seen that dude before: https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRcS1mNc6X2dg3SQiCiC6nVutHxaKFbctcbmw1btJITmkI2SfyRpg

• [Lefty 68]

  That Amazon listing is just begging for some customer reviews.

• [ruadh]

   This brings to mind Dana Gould’s Morrissey cover song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adcAX3yWXE8

• [Donald Petersen]

  an arresting image that made you itch to pick it up and start reading.

  No, this one just made me itch.

• [SomeGuyNamedMark]

  A young John Wayne Gacy does some book cover modeling.

• [Mister44]

  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.
  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.
  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.
  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.
  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.
  Can’t sleep… clowns will eat me.

• [rattypilgrim]

  It’s the clown shoes tattoos on his feet. Everyone knows they’re real babe magnets.

• [Stephen Marts]

  Looks like the Crimson Clown, one of the more interesting noir detective characters. I guess by the 60s he was reduced to hitting on chicks in groovy sweaters…

• [malindrome]

  “Okay, I’ll sleep with you … but only if it’s funny.”

• [irksome]

  I prefer a man with blood on his clown suit.

• [rochrobb]

  And the book about the consequences.

  • [Antinous / Moderator]

    I was thinking more along the lines of get the shovel.

• [Cowicide]

  Is that a horn in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?

• [jim mij]

  HAHAHAHA “The Hungry Ones” a Romance novel!  That like calling Debbie Does Dallas a teen comedy.

• [rattypilgrim]

  But the plot twist is she’s a serial clown killer. Spends a lot of time in Florida and never misses a Cirque du Solei when it’s in town.

• [pjcamp]

  Big feet, tiny . . . . 

• [patcahill77]

  This should totally have been the cover to Steven Kings “IT” :D