I’m headed out to the Blue Mountains for a weekend of birthday fun, so there will be no Fan Art Friday this week. Instead, allow me to belatedly roll out the new Uglies covers!
They’ve been around on the internets for a while, but I haven’t shown them here. The new covers are finally leaking into stores, though, so now is a great time to show them.
Click here for the bigger and zoomable version.
Of course, whenever new covers appear online, they create dissent and controversy. Fans mostly don’t like new looks for books, because the old covers are the ones they’re used to. If you’re a fan, after all, that old look was probably the reason you picked up the books in the first place!
So really, the new covers aren’t for fans at all. You guys already HAVE my books, after all. These are for all the people who’ve never picked up Uglies because the old covers looked boring or stupid to them. Maybe they never even noticed the series on the shelves. It’s for non-fans (who probably don’t read this blog) that this new look exists.
So feel free to complain!
For me the Original Style covers are still classics, but I get why S&S has to hit the refresh button after, what, six years? And you have to admit that these new covers are very lovely indeed, and are unified in a way the Original Flavor ones weren’t. (Pretties had a different designer than the other three, in fact. You can tell.) The new ones also have a cool, clinical feel that nails a lot of what the series is about.
But I will take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Rodrigo Corral for his awesome work on the first cover of Uglies. Covers matter, and a lot of you, possibly many thousands, would never have seen the Uglies series without his strokes of genius. And that would mean less food, clothing, and shelter for me. And I like food, clothing, and shelter.
So, thanks, Rodrigo. The rest of you should click here for an archive of his other work. I think you’ll agree that the dude rocks.
First comment!
Not a huge fan of the new covers. They kind of creep me out. Especially the face on through the white on Uglies. *shivers* I can see how the books would need a new look though. 🙂
You’re right! One reason I picked up Uglies was because of the interesting cover.
But these new covers are pretty indeed.
Actually I really like these covers. I think they are much more in spirit of the series. And I love the titles. I will probably pick this up if it comes in a nice box set. lol. I’m a sucker for good covers.
I’m not a huge fan of the new covers. I LOVE the new Extras covers, but the other covers are weird for me :P.
I love these! They do fit together well. Plus, they’re pretty and nicely creepy.
The original cover of Uglies _was_ what caught my eye, but…I love the Specials one so, so much. I love it LOADS AND LOADS. The Pretties one, while cool having read the book, looks more like a Sarah Dessen novel (nothing against them– they’re just totally different from Uglies).
And the Uglies and Extras ones I also like a lot too– just the Specials one really affected me.
Also! It would appear I’m in the minority here but I really don’t like the original Uglies cover. It’s boring and it doesn’t say much at all about what the book is about. So yeah.
i actually discovered the seires because my school studied it back in year eight english. they still do actually. it seems to me that having a whole school study your books in english class is a pretty big achievement XD
I like the new Pretties one. And I’m iffy on the Extras one. But I hate the other two. <– True words, not holding back.
Cause I loved the flash tattoo on Specials, and now that you've changed it, it'll be pointless to come to the Literary Parade with that design on my face and…nvm. It doesn't make sense.
Well, I read the books because people in school said that they were good. And they really were. I remember at a book fair at my school when I was in 6th grade, I saw the Uglies being advertised on a book fair video (and I think Mr. Westerfeld himself spoke on the video. Or not. I don’t remember. I was doing homework.). I was busy, so I really wasn’t paying attention to the video, but I remember thinking that the Uglies was about robots.
I like the original covers better because they were true to the story. The new ones seem to portray, in my opinion, a different story. I believe some people will pick up the new book expecting one thing, but getting another.
However, I do think that the new covers will get more people hooked on the series who normally wouldn’t read the books originally because of the original cover. They’ll see the new cover and be attracted to it, so they’ll pick up the book and read it.
Okay (big suprise) I like these covers!! Like I know I totally complained about the Levi change. And the new Midnighters suck… The Tithe covers r HORRIBLE now… And I’m not a big person on changin covers, but….. I LIKE em!! And I totally dust start readin cuz of covers. I don’t know why I read Uglies in the frirst place (it wuz the first book by u I read) but i know I read EVERYONE else cuz of u, like Hacking Harvard and Tithe were in the back or ur books so I read em, then in the dedications, well all my fave authors r all like conneected. So, I will go to the store and buy these covers too, definately.. BTW the Pretties one is my ave, mainly cuz on Specials it’s a guy, like Zane (RIP)…… Thx Scottsters for bein you!!
I think the new covers are really eye catching – and if nothing else, I LOVE how they list the titles of the series across the top. What an interesting way to convey that this book is part of a series! The makeup on the Extras cover is to die for – I might just see if I can re-create that this weekend.
These are gorgeous! Very sleek and modern. Even tho I already have the books, I welcome this change.
AHHH!!! I saw these in the store this weekend and had like a freak attack in the middle of the aisle!! 😀 Got soay crazy looks but I don’t even care!!!
I like the new covers, but I think the old covers are better because it kinda shows the changing from Uglies-Pretties-Specials, but I agree that the new covers show the clinic sort of feeling that the books have.
I really like the new ones, maybe ’cause I’m a med school student so they go with me 😛
But the first ones were also very pretty, except Pretties the original, I didn’t like that one
Wait I mostly just wanna say I love the nail polish on the Uglies cover..
I love doing nail polish like that, with everything a different shade of the same color ahahhaa.
I do really like these covers though, yum
Hmmm. Kinda creepy looking. Maybe I can finally convince my friend to read the series now. The old covers kinda scared her out of reading them. (That and my terrible ability to summarize.)
HAPPY B-DAY SCOTT-LA! (It’s the 5th in the states. Not the 6th.)
=]
I’m a big fan and I definitely love all of them 😀 I wish I could have them in my shelf too xD mom wont buy the whole series again though ):
Thumbs up!!
I really like the fashion in which the titles of all four books are written across the top. Very stylish.
I love the specials cover. I mean the other ones are good but I like the specials more.
I really like all of the covers except the Specials one. It doesn’t really represent that book for me. I like how the extras book still has the computerized eye thing like the original though. And the Pretties cover is very representative of the book.
My favorite thing has to be t he titles though, how it lists each book and highlights the actual title. I wish this was done with more book series’ because I sometimes find a book I like but there is no distinguished part on the cover letting me know if the book is a single, first, or sequel. Like I admittedly read “The Last Days” before Peeps because I didn’t find anything that told me it was a sequel on the cover. Haha.
I actually love these covers, especially the editing done to Extras and Pretties. The other two are creepy (which is a shame because Specials will forever hold a dear place in my heart for obvious reasons), but it works for Uglies. Quite chic, I must say. I LOVE the highlighted titles, as well. Tis inventive and new. I’m not sure if I like the old ones or the new ones better now XD
I actually do like these covers, especially how they match and how they apply to each book. However, I will of course stick to my love of the original covers. 🙂
PS. Happy birthday! Mine’s on Monday. 😉
PPS. That fanart of you that you posted is awesome! Steampunk Scott-la is steampunk.
My teahcer reccomended Uglies to me… so I didn’t get it for the cover.
I admit, I love the old covers but these are cool too… Now I have an excuse to buy a second set of the books!(YAY!)
PS Happy late birthday!
I think these are creepy. I really liked the first one because,you know, I just did. Personally, I didnt pick it up because of the cover, though.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Scott-la 🙂
i do have a strong attachment to the original covers, however i’m pleasantly surprised at this re-vamp re-done version. it does unify the stories and they’re kinda cool in a futuristic eerie sort of twilight-zone way.
my favorite is specials- i looove the spinal cord
Wow! I’m a bit torn of these, because they have their advantages and disadvantages. One good thing is that they are more modern, eerie, and surge looking, but a problem with them is that they will probably appeal to more female readers rather then males, whom I can’t see toting around a book entitled “Pretties” with a pair of legs on them. Last year, the girls in my class were going through an Uglies obsession phase, where everyone was reading and loving them. The boys were like “what’s an Ugly?” and “what’s a Pretty?” and teasing things like that, because they didn’t know that Uglies is about so much more then pretty people. So that’s why I’m not sure about these.
They look amazing to me though! Uglies and Pretties are great. I’m not too crazy about Specials though, but at least it has a boy on it. Extras is by far my favorite! It’s much better then the old cover for it!
And the highlighted title thing? I absolutely love it, it’s so unique and appealing!
1) HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!!!!!!!! =) =)
2) New covers aren’t as bad as Leviathan redos! Kudos to the artist who redid this series!
Happy birthday, Scott! *brings in virtual cake*
Haha! 🙂 Well, I REALLY WANT to read Uglies and I PROMISE when I get all of the weird stuff out of my life, I’m going to devour them 😀 I kinda like the new covers. They’re more mysterious than the previous ones. 🙂
I haven’t been a fan of the trend of decapitating cover subjects, limb-only shots etc. The new Uglies covers is an example of how that type of shot can work because of how well it ties in with the story. Especially the legs shot with the surgery markers on it… that’s pretty much brilliant. All of them are good. It feels fresh, too. It’s not the tired shot of a girl’s feet or just a fragment of her body.
I may agree that I am not as fond of the new covers as the old ones, they just seem to have too much white space I guess, but I do like how “uglies,” “pretties,” “specials” and “extras,” are each faded out, only coloring in the book that it is. I wonder what the spines of them look like, because that will also be a factor in grabbing attention when the books are shelved.
You do make a valid point regarding drawing in new fans who may have not been interested in the old covers, AND revamping the Uglies mania! That is all that matters.
Go Uglies =]
I like the really colorful barbie-covers.
I had to order the books because the bokstore didn’t have them in english (I don’t like translated books when I understand the originial language) and was expecting the even older ones.
So when I got the books I got really excited because DAMN are they pretty in my bookshelf!
….And those of us who live for fanart friday will just have to grin an bear it. *sigh*
…..But….what about early release! D:
Or is this just an excuse for not finding any more leviathan artwork….of which is so bountiful, your excuse would be invalid. XD
I love the old covers 🙂 , they each show a girl that is related to the story, thats what made me pick up the books. But now these covers just look. . . well creepy scary 🙁
Well, you nailed me, huge Uglies series fan and do not like the new covers. Hopefully this will create more Uglies fans.
But happy birthday 🙂
Hey Scott! Happy birthday! I hope you get uber amounts of cake!
I was just wondering: where in the Blue Mountains are you heading to. I ain’t stalkerish or anything, just excited that you’re going to be so near!
Thanks! And have a good time!
(I haven’t read the Uglies series, and I reeeaallly want to, but for what it’s worth, the covers look quite intriguing!)
I actually LOVE these new covers!
The new ones are definitely eye catching…I almost bought them before I realized I already had them. Totally cool looking. Have a nice b-day retreat, Scott-la!
AHH! I totally want these! They are AWESEOME!
But, considering I have all the original covers, and they are signed, i think ill stick to those.
Darn.
The new covers are pretty intense. The Pretties one looks like a surgery thing, pretty creepy so well suited for the book.
And speaking of talking about books has anybody read The Forest Of Hands and Teeth? Well I did and I didn’t realize until I finished, but Scotts comment was on the cover!
Actually, when my friend first picked up Uglies in the bookstore way back in 2006, I thought, “That must be one of those books like Gossip Girl because of the cover.” And then she read the summary and said it looked good. And she HATES books that focus on romance – so I took the book and looked at the summary too. Boy was I wrong in my cover-guessing!!
So, I think new covers could get a new range of people interested. 🙂 Because people (no matter what they say) judge books by their covers. Though these covers wouldn’t really strike my fancy, I wouldn’t think they were romantic cliches. Ha ha ha ha ha~
I really love these new covers. I borrowed a copy of the first book (the old cover) from a friend a few weeks ago and could not put it down. I started reading Uglies without really looking at the cover and got a pretty strong mental image of Tally. I think that’s why I’m a huge fan of these new covers, because they leave a bit more to the imagination. I like the design of the old covers, too, but these have a creepy, detached quality to them with all of the white that I really dig.
Thanks for these awesome books! Reading them is a sort of treat to myself for finishing my last classes of grad school and having time to let myself get engrossed in fiction and I think this series was the perfect choice.
The fact that the eye on Extras has NO veins AT ALL kinda freaks me out…
I like how they have the titles in order and highlight them. I like ’em!
I love the new covers, beautiful they captavate you!!
I love the new covers! They’re beautiful in that holy-eff-what-is-*that*?! kind of way. I’ll admit that I picked up Uglies because of the cover, but I didn’t read it because of them. I read it because of the tidbit on the back and the first sentence. I try not to judge books *solely* on their pretty covers, because I can’t think of a book that didn’t have a pretty cover.
The new covers are OK, I guess. The old ones were cool because if you lined them up from first to last, they would show a mouth, eye, and ear. The fourth one…I can’t remember what was on it….
i still like the old uglies cover better, the pretties one was kinda ehh, but i LOVE the old specials one:O but out of all of these i like the pretties one the most(gonna head out and buy it xD) everything else is ehhh. the new uglies cover kinda creeps me out xD
In my opinion, I enjoy both. I will buy these, if only to say that I have both the old and the new, but also to be able to enjoy how far you have come Scott. To be published alone is a big honor. To become a best-selling author is rare. And to have your book covers redone to refresh the series is even more rare. I think I enjoy both the old covers and the new ones. I like on these covers though, that they make you think. Whats under that cover, or Who is under that cover? Why is she having surgery? What in the world is on his back? And man does that eye look cool. I wonder what it can do? I also would like to think that in the first cover its (spoiler) Shay because she was turned first. In the second, that its (spoiler) Tally because of her “Bubbly stage”. In the third, ( spoiler) I picture it to be either Fausto, Tachs, or Ho, as specials with their newly attached skintennas. In the fourth, its obviously (spoiler) Ada, as in the first. But I love both. They give off two different feelings that reflect on your book perfectly. I think that some will be outraged over them, and others will love them, but I am just glad that my favorite books are continuing to live on; in new covers and old.