(Art by Victor Mosquera)
As the year comes to a close I like to embark upon one of my favorite annual traditions: a review of the genre book and magazine covers that caught my eye and that I consider favorites for the year. I would not be able to successfully complete this venture without the hard work done over at SF Signal. Every month SF Signal compiles and posts an art-heavy post featuring the various science fiction, fantasy and horror stories slated to be released that month. Even in weaker months it provides a visual feast of genre art.
It is never easy choosing favorites, and even with efforts to pare down the list, this has proven to be a long post, albeit one filled with gorgeous cover art.
My standard disclaimer is that I am not an art critic, an artist, or one who has artistic talent. I simply know what I like, and can occasionally craft a statement explaining why I believe I connected to that piece of work. There are constants who tend to show up every year on my list. It makes me happy to know that art attributed to artists I admire are prolific, resulting in new pieces to consider each year.
I am always interested in your opinions on the covers I have chosen, as well as any nominations for ones you feel should be on the list.
