The "Cosmic Cutie" (also known as "Jeremy Pacman[1]" in the UK) is the nickname for the small, green space-being which appears on the cover of the first American editions of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books. Publishers worried that American readers would not know that all of the differently-named books were part of the same series - or, as it is commonly known, the trilogy in five parts - and so the creature was added to distinguish the books as being from the same series.
The Cosmic Cutie was never directly referenced in any of the Hitchhiker's adaptions, however, it did appear briefly in the fifth episode of the television series, during a scene showing a Guide entry.
It also appeared on the cover of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy video game, the 1990s US VHS releases of the television series and related documentary, and on the cover of the 2017 Del Rey Books edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Reception[]
Douglas Adams expressed his displeasure with the added illustration and did not wish for it to appear on any future publications.
He is quoted as saying:
- "I HATE the little green blob and have spent years locked in arguments with my publishers with me trying to get rid of the obscene little thing. I've finally secured its demise with the new Ballantine editons[sic] of the soft cover backlist."[2]
However, Americans had become attached to it and the image continued to be added to American covers of the books. Garth Jennings, the director of the 2005 film adaption, honoured Adams’ wishes that the Cosmic Cutie should no longer be associated with Hitchhiker’s and did not include it in the film.
Fan theories[]
There has been some discussion on whether the Cosmic Cutie depicts something specific from the Hitchhiker's series, with some people suggesting that it is an illustration of the Great Green Arkleseizure or a planet from the series. Douglas Adams stated multiple times that he had "no idea" what the image was supposed to represent[3]. The Cosmic Cutie has never been officially credited as any specific entity from the series and is widely regarded as a random image of a planet making a face that serves as a mascot for the book series.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ Talk: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Wikipedia. 28 June 2005.
- ↑ Adams, Douglas. "Subject: alt.fan.douglas-adams FAQ". Retrieved 1996-07-01.
- ↑ "What is this green alien supposed to be on the American covers of the “Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”?". Stackexchange. 17 July 2019.
See also[]
- "Smiling green blob" discussion on The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Wikipedia talk page
- "Cosmic Cutie" on alt.fan.douglas-adams, retrieved 7 August 2009