Before the Harry Potter games, there were the Harry Potter movies, and before the Harry Potter movies, there were… the Harry Potter books. Whether you’ve devoured all seven novels in no time or don’t know anything about the original plot—ouch, it feels old—you’ve probably seen these legendary covers. Their author, Jean-Claude Götting, had drawn them with acrylic on paper, he remembers for BFM TV. Enough to amaze several generations of Muggles in France, before being replaced by new illustrations in 2011. Good news, the original covers are back in limited edition to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the saga! To celebrate, a ranking is needed: #7. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Also to be seen on Konbini Yes, in our ranking, the first volume is found… dead last. You will tell us that at the same time, there was nothing crazy to illustrate for this beginning of the saga, apart from Harry, Hermione and Ron… But all the same, with Hogwarts, there was plenty to do! We’ll make do with a greyish building, a tree from the Forbidden Forest… And Edwige. Not looking very serene.#6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Having personally been spoiled from the second page of this volume on the identity of this famous prince by a classmate from primary school, I do not have a good memory of it. Well, at least we have the chance to admire Albus Dumbledore one last time before we mourn him with all the tears in our body. We will miss his sparkling beard, his beautiful cape too… But we will come back for his charred blackened right hand.#5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The suspense is complete: we just want to open the book and find out more about this mysterious chamber. The glow of the “Lumos” nicely illuminates our Harry/Ron duo, casting their shadows on the reddish walls. A range of colors already more attractive than that of the first volume! It will also be one of the few perspective efforts on the seven covers and we can only salute it. #4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Little glow-up of the faces of our three gay lads since the first volume. The faces are much more detailed, enough to admire Harry’s sparkling eyes, more determined than ever. And then this tapestry of Phoenix behind does not go unnoticed: pretty ornament for the cobblestone that is this fifth volume – 984 pages in paperback edition, it marks forever.#3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Attention, there, we reached the top of the basket. Introducing “dark Harry” facing the sea — he should have grown up, face down, he could have died… Certainly it’s the grayest cover with volume 1, but frankly, these cliffs cut by the furious waves, that slap! Monet had better watch out. A very epic cover as we like at the height of this ultimate fight against the one-whose-we-must-not-pronounce-the-name.#2. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanSecond place on the podium goes to this beautiful midnight blue illustration—literally. Dream vision: Harry and Hermione having a hippogriffin ride… and then this gold/blue combo is just beautiful. We already feel transported in the air, a little breeze almost caressing our hat.#1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire50 shades of orange. Frankly, what a feast for the eyes, this volume 4… After the first three sad covers, in cold or dark tones, this fourth opus is the promise of a flamboyant story. Harry appears alone for the first time, without Hermione or Ron: we understand that the story takes a more serious, more serious turn. In the distance, still in the same bright orange tones, the four dragons of the Triwizard Tournament and the group of silhouettes below announce great adventures to come. Bright colors, crisp clues… It’s all there — and in large format, it’s even more impressive. For the most curious, we advise you to take a look at the other editions published around the world: the Japanese and Chinese covers are sublime , the Estonian version is an admirable minimalist feat… On the other hand, one wonders what happened with the noses of the characters in the Finnish version. Oh yes, and Harry Potter even exists in Breton. If we had fun classifying these front covers, we nevertheless condemn JK Rowling’s transphobic remarks against trans and non-binary people. You know that we have a Twitch channel? We’re live on Thursday morning to talk about the internet, come see us!
