The mystery of Mel Odom
Mar. 10th, 2007 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wombat1138You'd think that "Mel Odom" would be a unique, distinctive name, but I can't clearly determine whether there's just one (semi)public figure by that name or two.
My first introduction to Mel Odom's work was the cover art for Richard Adams' Maia, which I keep expecting to be reprinted in light of the success of Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel" novels. (Then again, my impression of the "Kushiel" series is incomplete at best, since I've only managed to wade through the first book, and that with copious skimming through the last half or so.) Later, he did the covers for some of Guy Gavriel Kay's books-- Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and The Lions of al-Rassan-- as well as various others, all in a very distinctive style which now carries through into the "Gene" collectors' dolls that were first released sometime last decade.
But also, within the past few years I've been seeing various pulp skiffy written by Mel Odom, who has a copious bibliography but no mention in his author's notes or his own website of a past artistic portfolio. Did he get born again and renounce his earlier, earthier works? What happened?
And now that I flail around for linkage mid-post, I finally find an answer (I think)-- there really are two of them: the prolific author who was born in 1957 and lives in Oklahoma, and the artist who was born in 1950 and lives in New York City. I've been wondering about this for so long that it's going to take a while for me to absorb this.
My first introduction to Mel Odom's work was the cover art for Richard Adams' Maia, which I keep expecting to be reprinted in light of the success of Jacqueline Carey's "Kushiel" novels. (Then again, my impression of the "Kushiel" series is incomplete at best, since I've only managed to wade through the first book, and that with copious skimming through the last half or so.) Later, he did the covers for some of Guy Gavriel Kay's books-- Tigana, A Song for Arbonne, and The Lions of al-Rassan-- as well as various others, all in a very distinctive style which now carries through into the "Gene" collectors' dolls that were first released sometime last decade.
But also, within the past few years I've been seeing various pulp skiffy written by Mel Odom, who has a copious bibliography but no mention in his author's notes or his own website of a past artistic portfolio. Did he get born again and renounce his earlier, earthier works? What happened?
And now that I flail around for linkage mid-post, I finally find an answer (I think)-- there really are two of them: the prolific author who was born in 1957 and lives in Oklahoma, and the artist who was born in 1950 and lives in New York City. I've been wondering about this for so long that it's going to take a while for me to absorb this.