What’s that adage about books and covers?
For Harry Potter’s faithful fans, the release of cover illustrations inspires as much rejoicing as the announcement of a title or publication date in J.K. Rowling’s phenomenally popular series. The most avid among them scour the artwork for clues to the new book’s plot; U.S. publisher Scholastic, ever helpful, provides a virtual magnifying glass on its Web site.
Where and when does the confrontation between Harry and Voldemort – shown on the cover of the seventh and last volume, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” – take place? Why aren’t the mortal foes using wands? Is the color scheme significant? What’s that around Harry’s neck?
Mary GrandPre isn’t telling. “I’m sworn to secrecy,” the illustrator of all seven Potter books said from her home in Sarasota, Fla. “I have to just let you make your own conclusions until you read the book.”
Unlike most of Earth’s population, which must wait until 12:01 a.m. Saturday to read the final book, GrandPre received the manuscript several months ago. She set aside everything else and sat down with two highlighters – one for possible cover material, the other for chapter headings.
“I go through and see what I’ve got,” she said. “I read and re-read until I feel I’ve got a good visual understanding of what would make an exciting scene or a meaningful scene.”
GrandPre said she spent a week and a half reading and making notes, a week creating the cover, then another couple of weeks on the chapter headings.
“Every chapter heading is supposed to tell you something, to pull you in and tease you,” she said. “Not that you need them – it’s a little something extra.”
Melissa Anelli, Web manager of leading fan site The Leaky Cauldron, has pored over not only GrandPre’s artwork, but also the covers released by British publisher Bloomsbury.
“The British covers are more about a particular scene; the American ones are overall tonal stuff,” Anelli said.
Bloomsbury’s “Deathly Hallows” art, by Jason Cockcroft, is “like a little treasure hunt,” Anelli said. It shows Harry, Ron and Hermione surrounded by treasure. A sword-wielding creature – is it a goblin or perhaps a house-elf? – lurks behind Harry.
“It looks like they’re falling back,” Anelli said. “You can tell by their hair. This is how deeply we analyze these things!”
What strikes Anelli about GrandPre’s cover? The combatants’ expressions, for starters. Harry looks confident and determined – or “badass and unconcerned,” as Anelli put it. “But Voldemort is all concerned.”
The orange color palette, a departure from the cool blues and greens of recent Potter covers, also strikes Anelli as significant. “It’s a phoenix-related color scheme. Or it’s near dawn and the end of the series … . That kind of color represents the beginning of something new. There’s a hopeful feeling, nothing gloomy about it.”
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