Lookalikes

Posted on by scott

A common phenomenon in publishing is the “lookalike cover,” which happens when two covers share the same stock photograph (or at least a very similar one).

Here’s an example from the first of my new Midnighters covers:


Note: This lookalike was first spotted by Pop Culture Junkie.

This isn’t such a bad lookalike, because the photos have been cropped, Photoshopped, and used in very different ways. Plus, it’s a fairly normal-looking stock photo.

But the crazier the photo, the more obvious the lookalike. Like this one that was pointed out to me recently (thanks, Eloise). It involves the Australian cover for Peeps and, um, the Bible.

Now what sort of Bible is that, you ask? It’s a coffee-table version with slick magazine-like layouts, that’s supposed to appeal to you slick young things.

As one might expect, The Bible: Illuminated was surrounded by a fairly boring controversy over whether publishers should try to make religious texts “cool” or not. Blah, blah, blah. Some people will like it, others not. For some, the juxtaposition of modern images with ancient texts will be brain-rattling, which is probably a good thing.

But for readers of Peeps, the cognitive dissonance should be especially intense. And that’s the fun part of lookalikes—when the same image works in different ways for two very different books.

Any more lookalikes out there that you guys have found?

Update: And it turns out there are more of these eyeball covers! Check them out on Pop Culture Junkie.

114 thoughts on “Lookalikes”

  2. That is the coolest looking Bible I’ve ever seen.

    I have that cover of Midnighters, along with the matching cover for The Secret Hour. They are my fave Midnighters covers and I really want to get Blue Noon with the new cover soon. I must complete my collection. 😀

    CLICK MY NAME!!! Read my blog. Vote in my poll.

  8. I love that Bible cover! I don’t see anything wrong with making it look cool. When you think about it, the Bible has a lot of juicy stories in it, fratricide, rebellion, and of course the apocalypse. It deserves to look sharp.
    The eye picture kind of looks like the cover for The Host.
    I love the new covers for Midnighters. Very cool. 🙂

  10. actually i was in boreders a few weeks ago and saw that bible and noticed that cover…i thought it looked like the cover of stephenie meyer’s THE HOST as well. not exactly the same picture, but same feel and look. But yea, i did notice its relation to peeps as well! wooo!

  11. I was in B&N the other day and I looked at a book cover and I thought I had seen that book cover before. So I ran around the store and found the other book and they both had the same picture of a girl walking in the snow.

    I also go around counting how many books have certain fonts, like Trajan Pro. And I count how many romance-y fluffy novels have the same curly cursive font. I’m such a graphic design nerd.

  12. Well, I probably wouldn’t have noticed the first pair if you hadn’t pointed it out.

    But, dude, that second picture for the bible?? What are they thinking? And, yeah, to whoever said it kind of looks like the cover of THE HOST.

  13. Yup–the cover of the forthcoming pretty terrific YA novel from Text, The Beginner’s Guide to Living (Feb 09) uses a stock photo very similar to the one used on the cover of Nadia Wheatley’s YA short story collection “Listening to Mondrian”. Same young man, same photo shoot (apparently), slightly different pose. I alerted Text but they weren’t worried, so if they’re not I guess I’m not!

  15. Hm…you could have some funny pranks with that! Personally, it’s all about content, but it is the cover that sells.

  16. I much prefer the use of the eye on the peeps cover. I don’t really see what it has to do with the Bible. But then again, I know nothing about the Bible except that there is a bit about everyone dying and that there is a snake… I still think it is weird that they are trying to make the Bible ‘cool’ though…

  17. thats way koolz, hey was any1 surprised y how much attention the new jk rowling book got, lyk no1 talked about it at all!!! I thot peepl wuld b mor exited about it

  19. Wow! I’m in a computer design class at school and i’ve started noticing all these different things. It’s really funny to see how many things are just copied.

    Kate-la Yeah i noticed that to. The people were 12 when the Harry Potter Books first came out have graduated college now. They were the biggest original fans. They’ve sadly moved on. I just am broke so havn’t gotten it but am really curious to see what it’s like.

  21. What makes me the happiest is seeing Alea (Pop Culture Junkie)’s name up there. She’s seriously awesome for this type of lookalikes thing 😀

  22. No, actually I’m sorry scott-sama, but I’m really unskilled in finding cool things like “lookalikes,” which have never been brought to my attention until now. Weird, though, the covers. 😉

  23. Thank you for linking to me! Lookalikes are so interesting to compare and contrast. I love seeing the same picture used in completely different ways as you said! And also thanks to people like Khy who help me find them! 😀

  24. lookalike covers…..odd, i’d have never noticed

    also that bible looks different, but pretty cool

    ~Aryll-wa

  27. Oooh… The look alike covers are real interesting. I didn’t think that the cover for the Midnighters and the other book look very similar though.

    The idea of snazzing up the bible is certainly pretty cool too. Anyone seen the LolCatz bible? It was actually a little bit easier to comprehend.

  31. New post! What an interesting post! It was the the PEEPS cover that caught my eye when I was in the library. I had to borrow it since it was a nice cover. =D

    I wonder why they like using the eyeballs picture as cover for all those books?

    When I saw The Host by Stephenie Meyer sitting on the shelf of International Bestsellers, I was shocked. I was wondering why on earth my Geography textbook is a bestseller until I saw that the book was actually a novel. Seriously, I still can’t believe how similar the covers are. You can take a look at my Geography textbook cover at http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e6/kagomegirl92/Eyeforgeography001.jpg . :p

  33. it surely snowed last night, but no snow day 2day!!!! darn, well @least……oh crap, i just remembered i have a quiz i forgot r study 4 UGH!!!!!=(

  34. Wow, that is just weird.
    And I just read a post about similar covers somewhere else the other day. The juxtaposition of these is especially odd though.
    I mean….the Bible? Peeps? Huh?

  37. I didn’t notice until last night that Something Rotten by Alan Gratz has an almost identical cover to the whole Dante Valentine series by Lilith Saintcrow. My friend (who owns the DV series) pointed it out to me.

    I just finished reading Something Rotten and it is really good. I highly recommend it. It’s based after Hamlet, but waaay more interesting. Ally Carter is doing an online book club, and there’s going to be a chat with her and Alan Gratz on the 30th. Just thought I’d mention it since everyone here is obsessed with reading. 😀

  40. LUCKY!!!!!!Kate-la, i wish i lived where u lived cause we should have had a snow day 2day &the roads were not plowed @all so i m guessing the city thought we were going 2 have a snow day!!!!! i was soooo mad!!!=(

  41. I was at Barnes and Noble and me and my friend found a book about how to use photo shop, and it had the same picture at the newer version of Touching Darkness, too.

    And while we’re on the subject of covers, the original Midnighters ones are so much cooler that the new ones.

  42. finished w/ my homework, but i have dance@ six, in 2 hours!!! friday we r supposed 2 get snow…..i m hoping 4 a snowday=D

  44. I’m BACKKKKKK! I missed coming on here so much! My computer went completely insane and I couldn’t figure out how to fix it! It made me so sad! I’ve missed so much on her, I was like having freaking seperation anxiety!

  46. i would freak 2!!! i would seriously go insane!!!=D
    okay, so on my way home from school 2day i forgot my book, so that means i was forced 2 do something else like look out the window(which i did)…….staring out the window was okay, but that’ not my point, this is: there was a street i just realized (even though i’ve lived in this house 4about 7years) it said Shay ct.(spelled exactally that way, no joke) i was excited cause it was very cool!!!=D

  48. Oh completely. Lol. Yeah, it really sucked. Ha, that’s cool! Sometimes you just have to open your eyes and there’s tons of cool things you’ll find.

  49. very true, i hate it wen im looking 4 smething, and it turns out its been lyk rit in front of me the whole time

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