Star Wars: Scourge Cover Art: Hutt Free

Today SUVUDU.com posted the cover art for Jeff Grubb's new Star Wars book entitled "Scourge."  Due out on April 24, 2012 in paperback and ebook formats.

We have scene a move away from the Bantam Era novel covers, which has involved a variety of different styles for recent Star Wars book releases.  This new style of novel has delivered some very amazing looking covers such as the breathtaking Knight Errant cover to the Mara's giant floating head on the cover of Choices of One.

Star Wars: Scourge is giving us a very interesting wrap-around image on a paperback novel with a bright white background.

Keep in mind that there will be both spine text and back cover text which was not included with the cover art image.  

In addition to the front cover reveal, I thought you might like to see Larry Rostrant’s full image of Mander Zuma. The art will wrap around the spine and onto the back of the book, spine type and back cover copy will be added later.

 
I actually love the angled title and author text.  "Scourge" is done in interesting colors and textures.  I like the Jedi action pose of Jedi Archivist Mander Zuma.  But I just don't think this cover hits the mark. 

Two things bother me about this cover art. To get into what bothers me, lets take a look at the book's blurb:

In the heart of crime-ridden Hutt Space, a Jedi Scholar searches for justice.
While trying to obtain the coordinates of a secretive, peril-packed, but potentially beneficial trade route, a novice Jedi is killed—and the motive for his murder remains shrouded in mystery. Now his former Master, Jedi archivist Mander Zuma, wants answers, even as he fights to erase doubts about his own abilities as a Jedi. What Mander gets is immersion into the perilous underworld of the Hutts as he struggles to stay one step ahead in a game of smugglers, killers, and crime lords bent on total control.

Finally we see the Hutts feature prominently in the Expanded Universe again.  Jabba the Hutt is one of the most recognizable aliens from the Star Wars franchise.  Instantly when you see a Hutt you think of Star Wars and of Jabba.  Yet on the cover of this "Hutt" book we don't have any Hutts or anything that hints at Hutt involvement.  I have a hard time believing that an image of some anonymous Jedi would grab the casual readers or browsing shoppers attention more then a big ugly looking Hutt on the cover. 

You could even simply put the large silhouette of a Hutt on the white background behind Zuma would even be cool.

The other issue I have with the cover is that the description of the book tells us that Zuma is basically a Librarian.  While Librarians are cool, the image on the cover doesn't indicate someone who is lacking in Jedi fighting abilities.  The Jedi in the image is in a very martial pose. 

There should be sole slightly humorous inclusion to indicate that this is a Jedi more used to studying then fighting.  A stack of datapads, a pair of bi-focal, etc.  I expect someone who looks like Indiana Jones when he is in Professor Jones mode or like Noah Wyle's Flynn Carsen character in the "The Librarian" series. 

The cover art by Larry Rostrant isn't horrible, it would be a great preliminary cover, but to me it just seems to be missing something. 

SOURCE: Suvudu.com