What's with the facial hair?

[emmagrant01]

I'm sure someone has posted about this already, and I just missed it.

When I was in a Borders store recently I saw the big HP&DH posters there, with the whole is-Snape-good-or-evil thing going on. Great and all, but... did I miss something? Why does Snape have facial hair?



And here's a close-up:



I haven't read the books for a while (and am too lazy to go upstairs and get them to see), but it could very well be that this is the way he was drawn in the books. It's just so far from both the fanon and film depictions of him that it's a bit shocking. I can't help but look at that and think, "That's not Snape." Not my Snape, anyway. :-P

Last chance to send me a valentine message!


I've been clicking on them all over my flist. Some of you will get double messages from me, probably. I apologize in advance!

Comments

[lunalelle.livejournal.com]

These are based on the GrandPre illustrations... I believe for HBP in the chapter "Flight of the Prince." I think he's had facial hair for all of GrandPre's illustrations.

I don't have my books either, so I can't confirm, but I seem to strongly remember it.

[cmere.livejournal.com]

Yes, he definitely has facial hair in the GrandPre illustrations. :)

[elychari.livejournal.com]

maybe now that he's no longer in hogwarts, snape didnt feel like shaving anymore.

[ahleeshaa.livejournal.com]

Hasn't he always been illustrated with facial hair in the books?

[house-illrepute.livejournal.com]

that's what i thought, too.

i could have sworn it, in fact.

[ias.livejournal.com]

Only in the US editions. UK editions do not have illustrations.

[kagyakusha.livejournal.com]

Because obviously "eVoL" people must have goatees.

*rolls eyes*

Can I just say that I have yet to see any professional HP art that didn't make me want to throw tomatoes at the artist?

[scribophile.livejournal.com]

lunalelle is right, that's how GrandPre has always drawn him. Honestly, I've never seen anyone else draw him this way, and I really dislike it. It doesn't make any sense at all for a Potions professor to have a beard, does it? =)

[vlredreign.livejournal.com]

He's always had facial hair in the illustrations. Strange that they don't have Alan Rickman sport it for the movies. As I recall, he looked pretty damned good in Die Hard and Robin Hood with it. *nods head*

[helens78]

That's basically my line of thinking on it. ^_^

[canellaphile.livejournal.com]

Ya, that's how I remember him in the little chapter drawings in the books. LOL - he's got that whole Hans Gruber!Alan Rickman thing going on.

[charlotteschaos.livejournal.com]

He's always had facial hair in the books! I remember being disappointed when Snape didn't have facial hair in the first movie, because Rickman is delicious with facial hair ;)

I have no idea why the choice was made for him not to. Probably too sexy :)

[fluffenbax.livejournal.com]

hasn't he always looked like that in the books?

[likeafox.livejournal.com]

He's always looked like that in the book. I remember, because in elementary school my friends and I laughed for a good month about it when we first got the American version of CoS.

Elementary school. Good sweet lord. It has been far, far too long since this series started.

[bekkio.livejournal.com]

I remember him playing with his beard during Occulmency lessons.

[phoenixacid.livejournal.com]

He wasn't playing with his beard - he was tracing his mouth (if I remember correctly).

[phoenixacid.livejournal.com]

I just don't remember him being described with a goatee (Karkaroff, yes) or a beard (Dumbledore) or something similar. He's pale, his skin's sallow, he has a hooked nose, his hair is black and greasy, and his eyes are black like never-ending tunnels. But no mustache!

[femmequixotic]

It's one of my pet peeves about GrandPre's illustrations. She's always drawn Snape with facial hair, despite the fact that nowhere in the books is he ever described with a beard or mustache.

As a Snapeaholic, it drives me up the proverbial wall. :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be really dumb blonde and go...

illustrated books? Huh? Harry doesn't come with illustrations...... does he?

[askani.livejournal.com]

they mean the drawing at the beginning of each chapter. :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

My copies don't have drawings at the beginning of chapters. Just numbers - you know, like 1.

;) I don't live in the US. I'm thinking it's a states thing.

[askani.livejournal.com]

i dont live in the usa either. :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

oh really... !!! But how do you know about the drawings then!?!?!? Do you have a Brit copy? Aust? US? oohhh the tension!! *grin*

No, srsly. How do you know? Just hearing other people?

[askani.livejournal.com]

im canadian. and my american friends have told me and ive seen the pictures posted when we get them for new books.

i also do have a couple copies of the us books that have them. i just thought everyone knew about them. learn something new every day. :)

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

totally learn something new every day :)

Thanks for the link!

[askani.livejournal.com]

someone below linked to this: http://www.leakylounge.com/index.php?showtopic=25646&st=20&p=852266&#entry852266

[brumeux77.livejournal.com]

U.S. edition has little pictures at the beginning of each chapter.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhh - makes more sense now ;)

[sciencegeek.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's a US illustration thing? Because all these comments on illustrations is confusing me, and in Canada I think we get the UK versions...and there are definitely no pictures in them! Anyway, I've never pictured Snape with facial hair in my head, so it's a bit weird looking to me. Plus, I don't think it's mentioned in the book...

[askani.livejournal.com]

it is for the usa versions but photos have been posted before of the drawings as we get them for the new books. im canadian as well and ive seen them. :)

[spinfrog.livejournal.com]

I don't remember Harry ever thinking about Snape's bears in the books, but I suppose he can still have one..

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Bwahaha! Perfect.

[caitlen.livejournal.com]

HAHAHAHAHAAH

Awesome!!!

[swizzasnake.livejournal.com]

I was leaning more towards Ming the Merciless, myself... but that's frickin' PERFECT! hahaha

[twigged.livejournal.com]

They should have made him clean shaven in the "innocent" sticker, and with the ev0l goatee in the other one. :D

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

Awww, people are dissing the GrandPre illos, but I kinda like them. I totally get my mental image of Tonks from her - not at all svelte, but with big hips, and kinda boyish in her dress. The movie Tonks looks too girlie. I've always liked her Harry, too.

[carvedwood.livejournal.com]

I like them, too. In fact, that's where I got my own mental images of Snape, Remus, Sirius, Mad-Eye, Tonks, and Kingsley from. (But I don't like her image of Harry.) In my mind's eye, Snape's always had a beard, and Remus has longish hair.
Emma, Mugglenet has scans of the chapter illustrations, if you want to flip through them. It's under Books > Image Media > Chapter Pics, and Snape is shown in PoA, ch 14, and HBP, ch 28.

[carvedwood.livejournal.com]

Oh, and OotP, ch 24, where he's arguing with Sirius.

[littleroo27.livejournal.com]

I managed to find this post, which shows a couple of Snape pictures from the US Harry Potter books:

http://www.leakylounge.com/index.php?showtopic=25646&st=20&p=852266&#entry852266

[alex-s9.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry, I'm not put off by facial hair, but the phrase Friend or Foe makes me think of this Russian girlsband Tatu... Not a good connotation.

[aoi-shu.livejournal.com]

because Alan rickman starred as RAsputin hahahaha
http://yacht.zamok.net/DV/Potter/Posters/Rickman/rasputin.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin

see the similarities? MWHAHAHAHAH...ehem^^;
this looks ridiculous^^...

[flowercup.livejournal.com]

Well here in Brazil the books don't have pictures inside, I didn't even knew about them. But that poster is ugly!! The drawing, the colors, those white glows everywhere, and the typography( is that the word?)!!Just argh!
Hm..you don't even know who I am, but really love your stories and will leave a proper review later^^"

[wintermoon3.livejournal.com]

too many initials. I saw the HP & DH in this post, and my immediate thought was "There are promotional posters with Harry and Draco?? Cool!"

[sagcat.livejournal.com]

I like the Grandpre drawings, and while I never actually pictured Snape with a goatee, her drawings never struck me as odd because they are just one artist's take on the character.

Also, I loathe Snape (ducks from the rotten tomatoes) and I love goatees, so I wouldn't put him in one. (Personally, I wear a goatee so that no one ever can say they mistook me for the good twin.)

Snivillus in my eye has a greasy, zit covered chin. Sorry brit-pickers! - spot covered chin. Blackheads all over him. He's never been in a relationship, and never knew a single thing about looking remotely attractive. He's vile. His meanness shows in his ugly face. (note - this obviously doesn't apply to Alan Rickman who is an attractive guy.)

So a goatee for Snape would necessarily mean he was conscious of his appearance. He only knows one motivation in life - lust for power over everyone around him. Desire to wield that power to make everyone feel as small as he always felt. He gave up attracting people with things like grooming a long, long time ago. Probably about the same time Lily rejected him and went out with someone who was attractive and cool.

But hey - he got his revenge - he got Lily and James killed. And then he spent a good portion of six years tormenting/abusing their one child.

[sulky-rhino.livejournal.com]

Umm, he looks a bit like Karkaroff from the film. :P

[mermaidqueen.livejournal.com]

He's always had facial hair in GrandPre's illustrations. I remember reading OotP and one chapter (I think it may have been Occlumency) there was a drawing of him for the header. He looked just like that and completely different than I choose to imagine him.

Is that really the book cover? Something of that variation?