The Spider, Hordes of the Butcher, paperback cover 1975

Robert Maguire made this paperback cover, "The Spider, Hordes of the Butcher," and it's a wild ride! Look at how the blue seeps and bleeds across the background, all loose and drippy. It's like he was wrestling with the paint, letting it do its own thing. Now, check out the hero's face. Maguire's built it up with layers of thin paint, almost translucent, giving him this ghostly sheen. It's not about hiding the process, but about showing it, letting the underlayers peek through. See the figure on the left firing a gun? The colour streaks outwards like a burst of energy, it feels so dynamic! Maguire's work reminds me a little of James Rosenquist, both playing with these larger-than-life figures and fragmented narratives. It’s all about embracing the unexpected, the messy, and the unresolved. That's where the magic happens, right?