I enjoyed doing the gag covers better than the story ones because they were usually simpler. A cover based on an incident in the plot took a great deal of staging to tell a little story that was still part of the book. And it had to make sense on its own.
“I also won one from the emperor of Japan, with a prize for the arts. That's important.”
“No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been original.”