Best Detective Stories of Cyril Hare

Selected and Introduced Michael Gilbert.
Illustrator: Alan Aldridge.

Alan Aldridge (1938-2017), is a celebrated English graphic designer, artist and illustrator. He created the cover art for Who’s second album A Quick One. Moreover, he held the position of an art director at Penguin Books. His densely-packed illustration revitalized the paperback publisher’s business and culminated in skyrocketing sales.

1960s and 1970s, the two decades are marked as the instrumental years in shaping the graphic style for that generation and Aldridge’s contribution played a pivotal role in this progress. Besides designing numerous science fiction books, his song lyrics illustrations for Beatles made a big impression on music industry and designing. His illustrations also appeared in a history of British and American comic art, titled The Penguin Book of Comics and the children’s book Ann in the Moon. His work had certain key features such as a flowing, cartoony style and soft airbrushing. This style was very much in accordance with the widespread psychedelic style at the time.