Covers of the Week #92: Robert McGinnis Covers

Legendary artist Robert McGinnis created many dazzling romance covers. Here’s a Covers of the Week to highlight some of his artwork.

Artist: Robert McGinnis

We’ve shown off many Robert McGinnis covers in past book reviews and previous Covers of the Week posts. However, somehow, we’ve overlooked dedicating a Covers of the Week for his artwork alone. So we’re rectifying that with these stunning romance illustrations.

For over five decades, McGinnis has been creating some of the most distinguished paperback book covers. He started with pulpy detective fiction like Perry Mason and Mike Shayne mysteries. He also helped to establish the femme fatale look for the Saturday Evening Post. And, of course, his romance covers made him a premier artist of the genre.

At almost 100 years old, McGinnis is a living legend—not just in romance but in numerous fields of art. His work has ranged from iconic movie posters, such as James Bond films, Barbarella and Breakfast at Tiffany’s, book covers, which include many memorable ones for pulp fiction in addition to romance, and gorgeous fine art paintings.

McGinnis’ artwork has been extremely influential and helped shape the paperback art scene from the 1950s to the present. 

The Covers

From his sexy Avon covers to his later stepbacks for Diamond Publishers, Robert McGinnis was an innovative pioneer for romance illustrations. For the week of Monday, February 27, 2023, to Sunday, March 5, 2023, our Covers of the Week showcases some amazing covers by McGinnis.

An Apology to Our Readers

First, an apology. We’re sorry that this post was published at 10:30 a.m. today with no images. We’ve been experiencing some technical difficulties this past week due to a plug-in incompatibility with our coding capabilities (or lack thereof).

To make up for our goof, we’ve highlighted 6 covers rather than the usual 4.

Your Opinion?

So, what do you think of this week’s theme of Robert McGinnis’s covers? Do any of the covers stand out to you as a favorite?

Do you have a recommendation for a future Covers of the Week theme? Let us know, and we’ll try it out.

As always, please drop a comment, and let’s talk romance.