Col Cameron Col Cameron i(A70615 works by)
; Died: Ceased: 1999
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Cameron was one of the most prolific of Australia's paperback cover artists during the 1960s and 1970s. His covers were integral to the success of Horwitz's line of war paperbacks during that era. His stark and often disturbing images effectively captured (and sometimes even surpassed) the thrills articulated by the title, and promised within the pages of the book.

Before starting with Horwitz in the early 1960s, Cameron worked as an illustrator for the Bulletin. He was offered a position with Horwitz by the company's art director, Ron Smith , and produced his first covers for J. E. Macdonnell's naval dramas. However he later moved into the more violent and savage Nazi/Japanese paperbacks, producing more than a hundred in this genre. According to John Harrison (Sin Street Sleeze, q.v.), Horwitz editor Roy Fuller would simply suggest a basic concept or theme for the cover and Cameron would be left to create the appropriate image. This would usually take the artist between a week or two to complete and Fuller would often have Cameron working on two or three covers at once.

John Harrision further notes that while Cameron's work is appreciated amongst the rather small band of Horwitz devotees, his art has yet to find any real widespread acknowledgment within the pop culture art community. 'Fortunately,' he writes, 'a lot of Cameron's original paperback art has survived.'

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Last amended 28 Jun 2018 14:20:50
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