Cover illustrations done by Tom Percival

Skulduggery Pleasant's cover is one of the first pieces of graphic work that I really admired.  I love how the text looks so imperfect but fits in so well. I like how the black and white spatters look as though it's been sprayed with a can of paint. The smartly dressed skeleton contrasts with the entire concept of skeleton being horrible and something associated with death and morbid things. I also like how it looks like he has clicked and conjured up the fire. The fire is the only bit of colour, which makes it more mysterious and makes the viewer more curious as to where it has come from. The block of  white at the bottom with four silhouettes looks effective because it continues the theme from the title. The concept is really simple but stands out.