The Origins Of My Thoughts Regarding Design For TamTam Books

I am currently thinking about the design work on a future Boris Vian/Vernon Sullivan TamTam Books’ title “To Hell With The Ugly.” The novel is a twisted version of a Hardy Boys meets straight pornography with a side dish of HG Welles.

It sort of reads like a young boy’s juvenile fiction, but of course being a Vian book it is very perverse and funny. I found an artist who can do illustrations for the novel, and I showed her a ton of old Hardy Boys images. I will see her work later this month. But meanwhile I want to share my thoughts with you regarding the origins of my view regarding the design of this book.

Here are the end sheets for various Hardy Boys editions.








Also here are some early Hardy Boys’ book covers from the 40’s. I like them because of the sense of poetic violence and danger.