British actress Diana Rigg stars on this Flickr sourced cover of 1968’s Lijken in Actie, which was a Dutch translation of John Garforth’s The Laugh was on Lazarus, a novel derived from Rigg’s hit television show The Avengers. She played the indomitable Emma Peel, who kicked ass with great counterculture style while partnered with the older and more conservative Patrick Macnee. The lettering that says De Wrekers, is not the title. That translates literally as “the avengers,” so it’s just letting book buyers know they’re looking at an adaptation of the show. The title is at the bottom.
This was the second of four Avengers novels by Garforth. As befits a show that had grown more fantastical each year, the story here deals with people being raised from the dead for nefarious purposes. You’ll notice that the cover is signed. Dick Bruna is attributed with its creation, because by 1968 we’ve entered the age where graphic design is occasionally being considered creditable art. The most artful part of this is actually his signature, but okay, nice work. It’s hard to go wrong when you start with an unbeatable photo of one of the most popular television spies of the era.
