RED PLANET

Here's my cover art for Robert Heinlein's classic RED PLANET. The finished trade paperback was just released this week at bookstores everywhere. Ballantine/Del Rey published this spiffy new edition and you can see the cover and read an excerpt here. When you visit that link, note Dave Stevenson's typography on this cover. It's simple, but very effective and modern. I really like the way the type counterpoints with the illustration.

Younger sf readers, Heinlein enthusiasts, and fans of good old-fashioned Golden Age space romps should check this out. It's still one of the classics.

Elf Fantasy Fair 2007

I've officially accepted an invitation to be a guest speaker at Elf Fantasy Fair 2007. The incredible thing about this event is it happens at Castle De Haar in the Netherlands! Utrecht, to be exact, April 20-22. They're expecting approx. 22,000 attendees next year, so it's a massive event. My fiancee Traci is all excited and it'll be her first trip to Europe. I don't know how much of the continent we'll get to see this time around, but hopefully we'll do a stop in London for a day or two.

The folks at Elf Fantasy Magazine published a cover feature on me earlier this year, and their magazine is a first-class, gorgeously-produced affair. Their operation is based in the Netherlands, naturally, and they're the same folks that organize this massive festival which is a cross-genre, cross-media fantasy/goth fair. That's the best way I can summarize what this is, as I'm still learning about it myself. I'm really looking forward to it. Feast your eyes on photos like these and you'll see why.

BUD PLANT'S INCREDIBLE CATALOG

The good folks at Bud Plant Comic Art recently mailed out their September/October 2006 issue of BUD PLANT'S INCREDIBLE CATALOG. I was happy to see that COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO is not only a Highly Recommended selection (see page 13), but also featured on the inside back cover. Thanks to Bud's marketing goddess Carolina Stewart, all copies of COVER STORY purchased from BPCA feature a free, exclusive signed bookplate. So check it out, while copies last. Many thanks to Bud, Carolina, and all at BPCA for promoting COVER STORY in their catalogs and at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

STAR TREK TURNS 40

I went to my neighborhood comic book shop the other day, and John Minton handed me a brand-new paperback copy of CRUCIBLE: McCOY/PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS by David R. George III. I didn't even know the book was out yet. Pocket Books is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of STAR TREK in grand style and George has written an epic McCoy/Spock/Kirk trilogy. PROVENANCE OF SHADOWS is the first release and I did the triptych art for the covers. Collect 'em all. :)