THE FANTASTIC ART OF RON TURNER

Written by Turner’s long-time friend and agent John Lawrence (1944-2023), this is the first-ever comprehensive biography of the wild and unique science fiction book cover artist. Artist Ron Turner (1922-1998) was a British master of science fiction book and magazine covers, and a comic strip legend. In a career spanning five decades, he provided illustrations for hundreds of classic SF paperbacks, numerous periodicals and some of the UK’s most fondly-remembered comics, his strip work taking in everything from Doctor Who’s Daleks and the Supermarionation shows of Gerry Anderson to 2000 AD’s Judge Dredd. It presents a wealth of his incredible and highly distinctive work, all reproduced with unparalleled quality. I'd compare him to comics' own L.B. Cole, for his distinctive colors and unique outlook on his subjects! I love (and collect) his 1950s-era paperback covers, they are unmatched for inventiveness. - Bud Telos Publishing’s Stephen James Walker says: "I’ve been a huge admirer of Ron Turner’s work ever since I saw his brilliant contributions to TV Century 21’s 'The Daleks' strip in the mid-1960s, and I’m pleased and proud to have been able to edit and design this title as the latest addition to Telos’s growing range of superb coffee-table art books. The author, John Lawrence, sadly passed away in 2023, before he got to see the results of all his hard work, but I feel sure this will stand as the definitive account of Turner’s life." Noted British science fiction authority Philip Harbottle, the author’s friend and literary agent, and also a friend and professional associate of Turner’s, adds: "This amazing book offers not only a biography of Ron Turner, but a full bibliography, and gives behind-the-scenes information available nowhere else. John writes from the heart, and in revealing his unflagging admiration for Turner’s work, also reveals much of his own life and character. It is a wonderfully warm human document celebrating the artist’s life and career, showing Turner’s dogged commitment to artwork of the highest quality. This is a must-have book for all science fiction book and comics fans and collectors." You may recognize the name Gary Carter, former Overstreet Advisor and long-time editor of Comic Book Marketplace. Gary is also a huge fan of pulp and sci fi art, and it turns out he has a large collection of Turner's vintage work from the 1950s and 60s. I only turned on to it recently myself, and I know our customers are often not as interested in British illustrators they have not heard of before. So I mention Gary's and my enthusiasm for his work, as part of my effort to convince you this guy is worth your attention. We did the same for Reginald Heade, another brilliant British illustrator that was/is not well known in the U.S. but now many art fans are aware of his fine work, thanks to two books collecting Heade's work, also published by Telos. - Bud Here's Gary Carter on Ron Turner's work: His work is brilliant… at that same time an odd enigma… a goodly percentage of his sci fi work (at least what I’ve seen and studied) is truly unique in style and execution. It’s as detailed and brilliantly imaginative (sometimes better) than many of his contemporaneous US counterparts! Then there are some of his covers that are clearly designed for a more juvenile audience, perhaps (and as an intentional act) promoting the seemingly juvenile storytelling on the inside… His “life-savers” palette of colors is infused with a wonderful translucent quality rare in the panoply of American contemporaries -- in short, when you see a Turner cover painting with its style, composition, color, and interpreted “futuristic technology”… it is as  instantly identifiable as Frazetta or Valigursky or Blaisdell or Drigin, etc. I have been waiting for this book for decades! I can’t wait to buy it! - Gary Carter, Comic Book Marketplace