Sunday, January 30, 2011

Cover VS Cover: The Hunger Games


Cover VS Cover is a new feature I came up with because cover memes are so much fun, and I've recently become fascinated with the differences between US/UK, new/old book covers.  This week we're looking at international covers for the ever-popular, ever-awesome Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins, of which there are a ton.  I've tried to dig up as many covers as I could find-- if you know of any I'm missing, just drop me a comment and be sure to tell me what you think.

   US
I've always liked the US covers.  They have a very wide appeal and are undeniably cool. 

German
The German (the series is called Die Tribute von Panem there) covers are arguably some of the most unique.  They are very eye-catching, and I love the brilliantly sharp colors of the leaves and eyes.  

UK/ Australia/ New Zealand
The UK covers might actually be my favorites.  The logos on the latter two books are beyond cool.  There is also an alternate UK edition of the first book with Katniss featured instead of Peeta.

Chinese
Chinese covers tend to look like movie posters.  These are no exception.  I especially love the cover of the Hunger Games, what with the really vibrant gold.  Chinese Catching Fire reminds me of a Jurassic Park movie poster, what with the pterodactyl-like mockingjay and the outline of the jungle. :)

Swedish
I'm not a fan of the Swedish covers, not at all.  I mean, that's basically the same shot of the girl three times, just transposed onto a slightly different background.  I don't get the expression, and I don't get the spinning cube.  Maybe it's supposed to look like a network TV logo... any thoughts? 

Italian
Not sure if the other two books have been released yet-- couldn't find them anywhere.  This cover is sort of eerie, but not very 'Katniss', I don't think.  But hey, it's more fitting than the Swedish ones.

Japanese
The Hunger Games has officially gone manga!  I'd love to own this edition (what do you mean, language barrier?)  Yeah, this cover is a little dramatic and doesn't quite capture the real feel of the book, but it's definitely fun.

Russian
Not loving it, though I suspect this one is right up some certain Team Peeta people's ally. ;)  I think it's just a little too like the cover of a romance novel, without the universal appeal of many of the other covers.  Though the pose of the two models is perfect.

Whew.  So, in summary, we have 17 different covers from 8 different countries.  (So far. As usual, I'm sure there are plenty of covers that I've yet to find.)  I'm going to pick a favorite and I think it's going to have to be the UK set.  So what do you guys think?  Which country's design team has captured the feel of the series just so perfectly... and which haven't so much?  If you know of any other Hunger Games covers I've missed, just let me know!

14 comments:

Lucia (iLive, iLaugh, iLove Books) said...

I liked the German, US, and Chinese ones the best. The Italian one is pretty good, too. I love the eyes.

Mrs. DeRaps said...

I like the German and US ones the best...Some of the others are just too weird for me.

Rane Anderson said...

Thanks for posting this! It was great seeing the variety. I really like them all!

Anonymous said...

Wow. It's interesting to see the different countries take on the books.

Jasmine Cervik said...

LOVE the German covers! How awesome...The Italian one gives me the creeps, but in a good way! :)

Jasmine
The Reading Housewives

jenna said...

I'm a fan of the German covers! Thanks for posting this, I loved looking at them all!

-Jenna

Stephanie H. said...

I like the US and German ones. Don't really like any of the others except maybe the Italian cover. It isn't really Katniss but it is eye catching.

Jenny said...

Oh how fun! Thanks so much for posting these Kat, I love seeing all the different versions of covers and how the book is interpreted in the artwork. I think the German covers are my favorites, I love the bright colors and the simplicity of the design:)

Kat said...

@Lucia, Jasmine-- The Italian cover is growing on me, too! I'd love to own that edition. :)

Looks like the German and US covers are by far the most popular. Nobody else dig the UKs?

Liz said...

No, the UK's are not so good... the only ones I like are the US versions. ALl the eyes and faces are weird, and the Russian one is ok, but TEAM GALE FOREVER!
~liz

Anonymous said...

I like the US ones and the German ones. I'm from the UK and although I do like the second two, I don't think the first one (either version) matches them. It's like they decided to go one way, then when the second book came out, changed their minds but didn't alter the first cover.

One thing I HATE about the UK ones is the big endorsement by Stephenie Meyer slapped on the front. If I hadn't read the first one I would never have picked these up.

Unknown said...

I like the german and US ones. The other ones are just too wierd. I especailly hate the Russian one, because it doesnt really capture the whole of the sereies.

Kat said...

@pointyebt-- Oh yeah, I disliked Stephanie Meyer's quote being so front and center, too-- especially since her books are in a completely different genre from the Hunger Games. Name-dropping, much? But I like the UK covers, over all.

@ppbparker-- I don't like the Russian one, either... makes the first book look like a romance novel.

JieYu said...

There are two more types of covers here in Malaysia. One, the third book is exactly the same as the UK/Australia/New Zealand version, but the first and second are different. Second one, all of them have black backgrounds, with just a simple mocking jay pin on the front, no additional patterns, just a simple cover. I can't seem to find the cover on google images.

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