Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life

Peter Stanbury designed Graphic Novels: Stories to Change Your Life, a book written by Paul Gravett for Aurum Press in London. The cover is by the American illustrator and comic-book artist Daniel Clowes. Daniel provided a photocopy of the line illustration which had been mislaid and Peter recoloured it as it had originally appeared on the german edition of Daniels Clowes collection of short stories Caricature.

The cover is a portrait of the petulent Theda, from the first story “Caricature”, and many people ask the question what that black mark under her eye means.
Why is it there?

At the Twin Lakes Craft Festival, caricaturist Mal Rosen is called a genius by Theda. “She was no prize… ratty ‘punk’ hair-do, second-hand clothes… just awful! But what can I say? Her taste was impeccable!”

Of Theda’s eye Mal asks, “Did your boyfriend give that to you?”
“I don’t think so! In his dreams maybe!” She replies with a laugh, as she wipes away the black make-up.

The image raises all kinds of questions about character and circumstance, and that made it perfect as the cover of a book about answering them—with graphic-novel stories that might change your way of life after you have read them.

In America the book is called Graphic Novels: Everything You Need To Know.