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The following is a cover gallery of the [[Black Company series]] novels and omnibuses, organized chronologically and by language. It showcases the wide variety of cover art, the long publication history of the series, as well as the diversity of languages into which the novels have been translated.
 
The following is a cover gallery of the [[Black Company series]] novels and omnibuses, organized chronologically and by language. It showcases the wide variety of cover art, the long publication history of the series, as well as the diversity of languages into which the novels have been translated.
   
Many of the artworks seen below were commissioned specifically for their Black Company publications. These include the novel covers in English, French, Serbian, Finnish, and the recent Spanish editions published by Montena. However, other covers featured "recycled" artwork that had appeared on prior, unrelated novels by different authors sometimes decades prior. Those include the novel covers of AST's first Russian editions; the Lithuanian editions; all but one of the first print run of the Polish editions; and, 8 out of 10 of the Spanish editions published by La Factoría de Ideas.
+
Many of the artworks seen below were commissioned specifically for their Black Company publications. These include the novel covers in: English ([[Keith Berdak]], [[Nicholas Jainschigg]], [[Raymond Swanland]]); French ([[Didier Graffet]], [[Johan Camou]], [[Slava Gerj]]); Serbian; Finnish ([[Petri Hiltunen]]); and the recent Spanish editions published by Montena ([[Adam S. Doyle]]). However, other covers featured "recycled" artwork that had appeared on prior, unrelated novels by different authors sometimes decades prior. Those include the novel covers of AST's first Russian editions (e.g. [[Luis Royo]]); the Lithuanian editions (e.g. [[Frank Frazetta]]); several Bulgarian editions (e.g. [[Ken Kelly]], [[Rowena Morrill]]); all but one of the first print run of the Polish editions (e.g. [[Oliviero Berni]], [[Michael Whelan]]); and, 8 out of 10 of the Spanish editions published by La Factoría de Ideas (e.g. [[Jim Burns]]).
 
Notable artists whose artwork has been reused includes:
 
* Jim Burns
 
* Frank Frazetta
 
* Luis Royo
 
* Michael Wheelan
 
   
 
== English: U.S.A. first publications ==
 
== English: U.S.A. first publications ==
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</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 
=== Slava Gerj covers (reprints) ===
 
=== Slava Gerj covers (reprints) ===
The publisher J'ai Lu is refreshing the covers of the novels with new artwork by [[Slava Gerj]]. The ISBNs remain the same as when the novels had originally appeared with Johan Camou's art, shown above.
+
The publisher J'ai lu has refreshed the covers of the novels with new artwork by [[Slava Gerj]], replacing the prior art by Johan Camou shown above. However the ISBNs and publication dates remain the same.
 
<gallery position="center" hideaddbutton="true">
 
<gallery position="center" hideaddbutton="true">
 
Slava Gerj Jai lu The Black Company front.jpg|''[[The Black Company|La Compagnie noire]]''
 
Slava Gerj Jai lu The Black Company front.jpg|''[[The Black Company|La Compagnie noire]]''

Revision as of 21:57, 1 January 2020

The following is a cover gallery of the Black Company series novels and omnibuses, organized chronologically and by language. It showcases the wide variety of cover art, the long publication history of the series, as well as the diversity of languages into which the novels have been translated.

Many of the artworks seen below were commissioned specifically for their Black Company publications. These include the novel covers in: English (Keith Berdak, Nicholas Jainschigg, Raymond Swanland); French (Didier Graffet, Johan Camou, Slava Gerj); Serbian; Finnish (Petri Hiltunen); and the recent Spanish editions published by Montena (Adam S. Doyle). However, other covers featured "recycled" artwork that had appeared on prior, unrelated novels by different authors sometimes decades prior. Those include the novel covers of AST's first Russian editions (e.g. Luis Royo); the Lithuanian editions (e.g. Frank Frazetta); several Bulgarian editions (e.g. Ken Kelly, Rowena Morrill); all but one of the first print run of the Polish editions (e.g. Oliviero Berni, Michael Whelan); and, 8 out of 10 of the Spanish editions published by La Factoría de Ideas (e.g. Jim Burns).

English: U.S.A. first publications

Novels (1984 – 2000)

The first 6 novels of the series were published in mass market paperback format by Tor Books and featured cover artwork by Keith Berdak.

The 4 novels of the Books of Glittering Stone were first published in hardcover format by Tor Books and featured cover artwork by Nicholas Jainschigg.

Omnibuses (1986; 2000 – 2002)

Shown here are the first omnibuses of the series, published by the Science Fiction Book Club in hardcover format. These were made available only to SFBC members and received very limited distribution. (For the English-language omnibuses that are still available, see the "English: still in print" section below.)

English: U.K. (1992)

The 3 Books of the North were published by Roc for sale in the United Kingdom in 1992. Like the first American editions, they were printed in mass market paperback format and featured the same cover artwork by Keith Berdak, although the stylized lettering of the titles were changed.

Russian: North-West (1993 – 1994)

The first 2 Books of the North were translated into Russian by North-West (Северо-Запад / Severo-Zapad) but were "pirated"/unauthorized editions. They both contained original interior illustrations by the cover artist, V. Asadullin. These are not the same Russian translations which were published later (see below) by AST.

Polish: first publications (1993 – 2002)

The 10 original Black Company novels were translated into Polish and published by Rebis. Also included in the gallery below are the 2 newer covers that were included in the republished editions of the first two novels.

Artwork by Michael Wheelan

Russian: АSТ Dragon Age Chronicles (1997 – 2001)

The 10 original Black Company novels were translated into Russian and published in individual hardcover format by AST as part of the Dragon Age Chronicles (Век Дракона Хроники) series. The translations of the first two novels here are unrelated to the unauthorized translations published several years prior by North-West (see above).

Lithuanian (1997 – 2006)

The Lithuanian publishing house Eridanas only published the first 8 novels, with She Is the Darkness (Tamsa - tai ji) being split into two books, as shown.

French: L'Atalante

The French publisher L'Atalante published the 10 original Black Company novels in a higher-quality paperback format ("broché"). These were later republished by J'ai Lu (see the "French: J'ai Lu" gallery below) in smaller ("poche") paperback editions.

Novels (1998 – 2006)

All artwork by Didier Graffet:

Omnibuses (2005 – 2008)

German: Blanvalet (1999)

These German translations of the Books of the North, translated by Heiko Langhans, are out-of-print:

Czech (2000; 2006)

The Czech publishing house Brokilon only published the first 4 novels of the series. The 3 Books of the North were published in 2000, followed by Shadow Games (Hry stínů) six years later.

Hungarian (2000 – 2001; 2006)

Russian: АSТ Golden Fantasy (2000 – 2001; 2008)

The 10 original Black Company novels were republished in Russian by AST as part of the Golden Fantasy series (Золотая серия фэнтези / Zolotaya seriya fentezi). Unlike the prior editions (the Dragon Age Chronicles [Век Дракона Хроники / Vek Drakona Khroniki] shown above) from the same publisher, this series presented the first 8 novels in 4 pairings. The first 2 pairings were republished in 2008 with alternative covers as noted:

Spanish: La Factoría de Ideas (2001 – 2015)

The 10 original Black Company novels were translated into Spanish and published by La Factoría de Ideas.

Bulgarian (2002 – 2014)

The 10 original Black Company novels were translated into Bulgarian and published by Лира Принт (Lira Print).

French: J'ai Lu novels

The French publisher J'ai Lu republished the 10 original Black Company novels that had previously been printed by L'Atalante (see the "French: L'Atalante" gallery above). Whereas L'Atalante published them in a higher-quality paperback format ("broché"), the J'ai Lu editions are smaller ("poche") paperback editions.

Johan Camou covers (2004 – 2011)

The first print runs of the novels published by J'ai Lu featured the cover art of Johan Camou:

Slava Gerj covers (reprints)

The publisher J'ai lu has refreshed the covers of the novels with new artwork by Slava Gerj, replacing the prior art by Johan Camou shown above. However the ISBNs and publication dates remain the same.

Serbian (2005 – 2008)

English: still in print (2007 – 2018)

Artwork by Raymond Swanland:

Russian: АSТ Dragon Age 2 (2008)

These Russian hardcovers were part of AST's Dragon Age 2 series (Век дракона 2 / Vek Drakona 2). They are repackaged editions of the same translations which had appeared in the publisher's Golden Fantasy hardcover series (Золотая серия фэнтези / Zolotaya seriya fentezi). Furthermore, each title within had been published individually as part of AST's older Dragon Age Chronicles hardcover series (Век Дракона Хроники / Vek Drakona Khroniki), all shown above.

Polish: still in print (2009 – 2019)

The Polish publisher Rebis republished the 10 original novels in omnibuses, using the same artwork by Raymond Swanland from the corresponding American omnibuses. They also translated and published Port of Shadows in 2019.

Romanian (2010 – 2011)

The Romanian publishing house Millennium Books only published the first 2 books of the series.

Brazilian Portuguese (2012 – 2014)

Persian (2014 – current)

French: J'ai Lu omnibuses (2015 – 2016)

Finnish (2015 – 2017)

German: Mantikore (2015 – 2017)

Russian: Азбука omnibuses (2018 – 2019)

Spanish: Montena (2019 – current)

Polish audiobooks (2019)

European Portuguese (2019)