James Avati: King of Bookcovers

James Avati put the pulp into pulp fiction. In the late '40s and early '50s, paperback books made leisure reading cheap and convenient, while writers like Mickey Spillane, Erskine Caldwell, and James T. Farrell brought a new realism to the literary scene. Publishers rushed to take advantage of cover art, both to summarize the book's theme and lure readers casting an eye over shelves of paperbacks. Avati almost single-handedly invented the genre of pulp paperback cover art. His subject was usually the eternal lack of connection between men and women, conveyed with an Edward Hopper-like existential loneliness and a whiff of earthy sex. James Avati: King of Bookcovers offers an appreciation of this landmark artist, who, today, is a wiry, elderly gentleman with a sly, self-deprecating sense of humor. Avati describes his Princeton education, and early work in advertising, creating storefront displays filled with a sense of drama. The ideal illustrator, Avati worked quickly and on a budget, often using family and friends as models, in addition to actually reading each book and attempting to summarize the theme and drama of the story on the cover (J.D. Salinger apparently was not a fan; after Avati illustrated the paperback edition of Catcher in the Rye, Salinger demanded that his future book covers remain blank). When the documentary focuses on Avati's work it's on solid ground, but the program is weakened by irrelevant diversions on the artist's health and personal relationships, plus a silly assertion that Avati, Princeton grad and family man, was somehow living a pulp fiction hero's life. Recommended, with reservations. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)