Oakland's Scenic Tour

This evening I decided to checkout Oaklands "Scenic Tour", visiting the most impressive locations in the city.

Back lit by the setting sun looks okay, but I think in full light you can see the full splendour.

Actually, to be honest, the corner of Cooke and Boeing is right next to the Western Aerospace Museum, alongside some of the old airport buildings on Earhart; so there is some impressive stuff to see.

My collection (so far)

I owe you a list of publishers and artists. I will also list which has extra text and by who.

Strangely one of the least interesting covers it the lower right red oversized book. This is the graphic novel by Ian Edginton and D'Israeli, published by Black Horse. The book to the left of it contains the text and then a dozen essays by learned persons and science fiction authors.

My oldest copy is the Penguin, though I'm not sure how old it is.

The middle bottom was a bonus too, it has the original Pearsons Magazine edition, with illustrations, some essays and the full text of the Orson Welles production. The accompanying CD includes the full play, and interviews with Orson Welles and HG Wells.

The purple and green one in the top right is a reprint of the Edward Gorey illustrated edition.

As well as the books I also have the full Scarlet Traces, copies of all four movies, and I have the Jeff Wayne musical on tape, vinyl, CD and also the CD boxed set.

New cover for War of the Worlds.

This one is new to me, and I believe new to everyone. The book is printed to look aged.

Publisher Tor Doherty Associates, LLC. Artist Anthony Schiavino.

So this has all the classic elements. Houses of Parliament, with the tripod brandishing the heat ray. What makes it so distinctive, other than the aging? I think the hue of the heat ray, definitely green, but so powerful it is bleached to whiteness. This colour also looks very 1940's paperback. The second thing I like is the styling of the tripod. Yes, very classical ornate legs, hinting at Victorian styling, but something softer in the carapace. Could it possibly that it evokes the shape of the George Pal film version flying machines, whilst holding onto an almost organic tripod form?

The book has extra text by James Gunn. Intro, bio and afterword. The biography is not really illuminating, but the intro spent more time showing the inspiration to SF of later years than other intros do. They typically favour illustrating Wells humanitarian attitudes, and how they fit in the novel.

For reference I have added the previous image used by Tor. Sure, a powerful Tripod, but just a garish and annoying cover. I may add this to the collection one day, but I have limited space to keep them all, so...