Target Cover Competition - Group 3

[Paul Clement]

[Paul Clement]

This was quite a difficult choice.

Althoughn I'm not that keen on the Sea-Devils or Ultimate Foe covers, Attack of the Cybermen, Wheel in Space and Black Orchid all have rather nice covers. Of all the three of them though, Black Orchid just shades it for my vote.

[Pip Madeley]

Quite a poor round, really. Wheel could really have done with Troughton on the cover, and the Ultimate Foe really could've used the Valeyard/Doctor theme to great effect, a missed opportunity. Sea Devils isn't bad but Pertwee's likeness isn't very like, and I don't like the colours. Which brings us down to Black Orchid and Attack - the former isn't bad, but the latter looks more exciting, and has a nice colour scheme.

[SiHart]

I've gone for Wheel with it's shiny Cybermen. I don't really like Black Orchid mucj as the juggling balls look really silly, and The Ulitmate Foe is well painted but a bit dull (and hampered by being a second version of the cover when neither Michael Jayston or Lynda Bellingham would allow the use of their likenessess on the cover) and I've never really liked the dreary original Sea Devils cover, despite being a bit of an Archilleos fan. Attack is rather poorly painted I think.

Si xx

[Andrew Curnow]

Crikey, what a motley bunch. I've always disliked the cover to Wheel, because it just looks all wrong - the Cyberman looks like his costume is out of alignment, and looks more scruffy than scary, and added to that the Wheel doesn't look good either, because the dratted Cyberman is stood in front of it. A big old mess, frankly.

The Ultimate Foe is OK in terms of likenesses, but the content is dull, and as Pip says rather misses the potential that the story offers.

Ditto, Black Orchid is nicely painted, but is a very unexciting cover.

Attack of the Cybermen has a one-armed Cyberman, and looks like it was done using a pack of Crayons, and I hate it...

...which leaves The Sea Devils. Not Achilleos' best, and his likeness of Katy Manning isn't all that, but in this batch it wins out over its lacklustre competition!

[Dave Tudor]

I think all of these covers are pretty good in their own ways, but my vote goes for the eye-catching 'Black Orchid' cover - the stylised, almost art deco figure and TARDIS combined with the more naturalistic hall in the background (christ, I've turned into Brian Sewell!) make it a very striking image.

It's also, in my opinion, one of the best Target books of them all.

[Larry]

certaqinly don't like the sea devils cover as it just seems so plain abd almost child like in it's drawing but I have voted for Wheele in Space.

[Wayne]

Not a very inspiring buch. Sea Devils evokes lots of nostalgia, but my favourite is Wheel.

[Pip Madeley]

A tenner says Ralph votes for Sea Devils. Who's in?

[Ralph]

[Dirk Gently]

I like voting later because it means I can just agree with Dave & move on.

Black Orchid for me.

[Dave Tudor]

Bloody plagiarist!

[Stuart Wallis]

Apart from The Sea Devils, I like them all. I am however strangely drawn - I blame Picasso - to The Ultimate Foe.

[Andrew Curnow]

I am however strangely drawn - I blame Picasso

I love Stuart's posts, because they're so often full of little gems like that.

Although he still refuses to show us his new dress, tt!

[quatermass111]

Sea Devils - for purely nostalgic reasons. the early Target covers, if not wholly accurate, conveyed some sense of excitement within the covers... A far cry from Black Orchid!

[Stuart Wallis]

I love Stuart's posts, because they're so often full of little gems like that.

Although he still refuses to show us his new dress, tt!

Unfortinately the dress was designed by Picasso - proof that he should have stuck to drawing.

[Jonno]

I don't actively dislike any of these covers, making it the strongest round so far. Having dissed Achilleos's Weapon in an earlier round, I'm voting for his Sea Devils here, as it evokes nostalgia from borrowing the book with that cover from the library in the 70s/early 80s, and I was always miffed that when I bought it in the mid 80s I had to make do with the dreary new cover with a close up of a Sea Devil face.

Ralph laughed, but did he vote for it? We need to know!

[Ralph]

Ralph laughed, but did he vote for it? We need to know!

Come now, do I really need to answer that?

One cover struck me straight away and I voted accordingly

[cullsoft]

The Sea Devils cover oozes with exciting prospects, and so compared with the others wins the vote for me.

[Pip Madeley]

Come now, do I really need to answer that?

One cover struck me straight away and I voted accordingly

That's a yes.

[Nathan]

You knw I think I may be going off Achilleos!

I think it'll have to be The Ultimate Foe, but it isn't terribly exciting.

[Stuart Wallis]

Catherine Zeta Jones isn't the most exciting person in the world, but you wouldn't say no, would you?

Only if you would, you know where to send her...