Comments on: The Face of a Hero

By: annaR

annaR — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:45:38 +0000

I actually thought Johnny Lee Miller was a good fit as EMMA’s George Knightly. After having been put off by seeing Mark Strong play him in the earlier version, I had thought I’d never find my perfect Mr. Knightly but Miller came pretty close. With his slightly receding hairline I thought he seemed more mature rather than less.

Then there is Captain Wentworth of PERSUASION. I wonder if I’ll ever find a right fit there. Don’t get me started on Ciaran Hinds in his rages and while Rupert Penry-Jones has a pretty face, he is all that is wooden as an actor. We’ve had a couple of good Darcy’s like Firth and Rintoul, so why can’t we get a good Wentworth?

By: Ell Ashley

Ell Ashley — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 19:20:44 +0000

It seems to me that actually seeing the pictures is limiting in a way – I guess it closes off possibilities. At the same time, some characters are just hard for me to get a grasp on, and then I appreciate at least a hint at what the author was thinking.

I guess we all hate the cheesy covers. I don’t understand why some of the models they put on can’t actually be 38, or however old they’re supposed to be. Why can’t they show people who are attractive without looking like Barbie and Ken?

By: Kaetrin

Kaetrin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:21:25 +0000

I’m mostly with you Rike. Although Colin Firth is my Mr. Darcy because he was the first one I saw. If I see the picture first it doesn’t bother me so much, but if the picture is not what I expected, that can jar. Mostly I don’t envision a face either, it’s more a body shape with a shadowy face. The only time I remember actually envisioning an actual person, was in Nora Robert’s Northern Lights – Sheriff Nate seemed a lot like Nathan Fillion to me and the character fitted with others he’s played on TV and in film. (It worked for me anyway!) But, mostly they’re just faceless and I prefer it that way.

By: Diana

Diana — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:11:11 +0000

I dislike headless or faceless torsos on covers. There’s something that bothers me about reducing a person to a torso or a back. I’d rather see a whole person with a face. I’m pretty good at rejecting the image altogether if it doesn’t work as I visualize the character. Same reason I don’t mind seeing the author’s vision and I’ll even fess up to having liked a few video book trailers. Trailers done for Leslie Parrish’s Black Cat series and Karen Rose’s Vartanian series are quite well done and I didn’t have to erase any of the visual images. As long as the cover model is visually appealing to me I can live with it. If not, then erase erase. Always have to mentally shave mustaches found in books from the 70s.

I rarely cast but I’ve got a few. I’m sorry, but Pierce Brosnan IS Roarke and I will not entertain any argument Eve is a model I saw in a magazine and I don’t know her name. As soon as I read Karen Rose’s description of blonde and buff Daniel Vartanian, actor Kevin McKidd poppped into my head and stayed.

By: RfP

RfP — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:18:01 +0000

I don’t generally visualize characters, and I dislike covers that impose specific images (especially monstrous muscles or simpering). But on this, YES:

“my Mr. Darcy is far more David Rintoul than Colin Firth”

David Rintoul’s appearance and performance correspond to the Darcy of my imagination. That doesn’t happen often; the setting of the Lord of the Rings films is the other instance that comes to mind.

By: Elaine S

Elaine S — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:59:03 +0000

I don’t need or get a clear picture of faces of characters as I tend to be more attracted to their personalities and attributes such as kindness, intellect, humour, etc. I loathe the cheesy covers that we sometimes get. The Fabio type covers are so obnoxious that I think they help contribute to the general denigration and dismissal of the romantic genre. A cover without people on it is often better. I did think, however, that the covers on the Georgette Heyer re-releases were good where there were covers that looked like period paintings – much better than the covers on the old versions I have on the keeper shelf from the 1970s.

By: A S

A S — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 02:11:55 +0000

I thought everyone visualized the characters when they read! For me, I visualize everything the author describes including a clear picture of the characters. I don’t think I would be able to enjoy the stories at all if I couldn’t visualize them clearly, especially the faces. I never rely on the covers to help me visualize the characters especially since they rarely fit the author’s description (the curvy heroine who is pictured as a size zero in the cover always kills me!).

By: LeeB.

LeeB. — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:05:53 +0000

Yes, I agree about not liking the pictures or videos that authors provide on their websites. My imagination can create faces from the authors’ words.

By: Susan/DC

Susan/DC — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 01:04:52 +0000

I do visualize characters, usually not in great detail but with enough specificity that I can tell whether the cover model is right or wrong based on my image of the hero or heroine. Like others, I do not want the characters to be described in exhaustive, and exhausting, detail. Cover models usually don’t make much of an impression, but a model with a face I don’t care for can sorta, kinda get in the way. I then have to expend mental energy (of which I have only a limited amount) to push that image away and replace it with one I like. My favorite covers tend to have people who meet *my* definition of the H/H, but tastes vary (an immediate example is that I liked Joseph Fiennes as Shakespeare, although I totally agree with Nana about Gary Oldman), and I think it’s often safer to have a partial portrait, either bottom of head only or character seen from the back, rather than a whole one for that exact reason.

By: Leigh

Leigh — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:45:56 +0000

I don’t visualize the faces at all. I do like to have a brief description of the characters. I don’t enjoy the pictures and u-tube videos that authors are doing now. . Half the time, I don’t think that the individuals that they pick are attractive. Leaving it to the readers imagination is so much better. We each have different ideas of what is attractive and what isn’t.

I also hate reading about body issues. ex. my thighs are too big, I am bald, etc. The author doesn’t have to go on and on about how gorgeous they are, but then again, I don’t want to read about how their big nose overpowers their face.