Dharma Bums Jack Kerouac Penguin ISBN 0143039601 paper, 256 pages $18.50 (CDN)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover D. H. Lawerence Penguin ISBN 014303961X paper, 448 pages $17.50 (CDN)

Fans of graphic novels will be interested in the release of several new titles in Penguin’s Graphic Classics series (report via the millions). These reissues (which feature “French flaps, rough fronts and luxurious packaging”) show the importance of a fresh design when republishing back-list material — which in some cases may already be in the public domain. When a reader can choose between several different editions of a classic from competing publishers, they’ll usually go for the one which stands out from the crowd (and these covers should definitely do that).

My favorites of the upcoming releases are the two shown at left, both of which feature the work of Canadian artists (Seth’s cover of Kerouac’s Dharma Bums shows a hitchhiker displaying a sign reading “Nirvana”; Chester Brown’s cover for Lady Chatterley’s Lover illustrates a steamy passage from Chapter 15 — and makes Mellors look not unlike Brown’s take on Louis Riel). Both books are due October 31st, along with Rashomon, We Have Always Lived In the Castle, de Sade’s Philosophy in the Boudoir and Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow (the latter featuring cover art by Frank Miller).

These bring back memories of the Classics Illustrated comics I read when I was younger, with their fabulously melodramatic covers that made Dickens and Stevenson, Hugo and Melville seem cool. For those who have similar fond memories, there’s a great selection of those old Classics Illustrated covers here.

2006 marks the 60th anniversary of the Penguin Classics series, which began in 1946 with E. V. Rieu’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey (there’s a history of the whole endeavor here). They’ve done an amazing job of keeping their Classics line looking fresh and up to date over the years, and if you’ve decided that you’d like to buy in, you can purchase the complete collection — 1,082 different books as of 2005: 750 pounds, 77 linear feet of shelf space — from Amazon.com for a mere US$7,989.50.

You can check out some other examples of Penguin’s innovative designs, such as the striking type-based covers on their Great Ideas series (featuring titles like Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, and Seneca’s On the Shortness of Life) and the beautiful rainbow boxed-set of 70 Pocket Penguins they produced to mark the company’s 70th birthday in 2005. And there’s a book (naturally) which tells the full story: Penguin By Design: A Cover Story 1935-2005 by Phil Baines — which I suspect I’ll have to buy for myself. Soon.