|
|
Who's Who In the SBCU Update 2003
In his dreams Alan
Donald is a multi-award winning writer of comic books,
animation, theme park shows and rides, children�s books,
novels, television, internet animation and more.
In real life Alan
writes this column, which has been described as more than a
lifestyle than a weekly column. He used to write SBC's All The
Rage.
PAST
ARTICLES
What
Makes A Great Comic Cover? Tuesday, August
26
Respectable
US Comics? Tuesday, August 19
Is
Batman Gay? Tuesday, August 12
Exclusive
Contracts Tuesday, August 5
MORE |
|
|
What Makes A
Great Comic Cover?
By Alan Donald Print This Item
The Panel
gathers movers and shakers from across the industry together to
answer your questions!
Don�t miss out on your chance
ask the big guns a question or two, send them in now to:
[email protected]
Most of the Panellists
should be known to you but if not, don�t panic I�ve got a few
details on them at the end of the column.
This week�s
question comes from SBC reviewer extraordinaire Tim Hartnett.
Tim says he was thinking of �the generic Marvel policy�with all the
"in-your-face" style things and painted covers� when he posed the
question. The question is:
�What do you believe makes a
good comicbook cover? Is the �in-your-face� style better than the
�story-telling� style with its fun quotes?�
Mike Collins:
�The first comic that got me reading US comics was Captain Marvel
#25. A cover replete with shocked poses and dramatic captions. It
practically shouted at me off the spinner racks-- 'Buy Me! This is
going to be amazing!!'
DC stuff didn't interest me as they
had all seemed to have (tho' beautifully drawn) 'calm' Nick Cardy
covers. Didn't look like much was going on inside.
Early 70s Marvel was full of sinuous layouts--
usually Gil Kane or John Buscema, that just dragged me in. My
all-time favourite cover is Doctor Strange #4 (couldn't find a copy
to scan, sorry) just stunning stuff -- really made me want to read
the story.
The question is really, would those type of covers
work today? I don't think so: we've moved on from what we perceive
as aesthetically pleasing. Not that I mourn the passing of my Mighty
Marvel style, any more than I miss the way movie posters were
designed. There's a style that suits a time.
There are covers
that have grabbed me recently- I thought the TANGENT covers that
Rian Hughes designed were great: they said 'It's comics, but not
like you remember!'. Great stuff. I've been very impressed with the
last few on Hunter, the Books Of Magic book. A fantastic design
sense, eyepopping visuals, the new 'dress' work on Fables, too.
Again, they made me want to read those comics, or at the very least
get them down off the shelf which is -after all- the point of a good
cover.
I think comics covers should reflect current design
sensibilities, but not lose the point of what they're promoting.
Recent 'Hulk' and 'Daredevil' covers are great pieces of art but
(for me) don't sell the book to the reader. I don't get the thinking
behind them, sorry.�
Axel Alonso: "A
good comic book cover is one that it gets your attention, plain and
simple. Whether it knocks you out visually, or just makes you think.
There's no winning formula or superior approach. In a pinch,
however, throw a monkey on the cover. They're are real
crowd-pleaser."
Rick
Shea: �Although I do appreciate some of Marvel's
"poster-style" covers with iconic images, I'd much rather see them
return to the "story-telling" style where you can tell when
Spider-Man is fighting Doc Ock or Sandman that month. Every single
Punisher or Spider-Man cover is interchangable and it's definitely
not helping to keep our younger readers' interest. Even though most
kids seem to wander straight towards the back issues when they're
looking for Spider-Man or Hulk comics, they're usually more apt to
pick up a book with a cover that features their favorite villain
rather than another cover with Spidey overlooking the city or
web-swinging yet again. Jim Lee's Batman covers have been pretty
iconic as well, but at least they feature a pretty good hint at what
goes on in each issue. Featuring Superman and Batman fighting on #
612 helped me sell dozens of extra copies and got a ton more people
into the series with that issue. Anyone looking at the covers to
Spectacular Spider-Man # 2 or 3 will have no idea that Venom is
inside. Same goes for some of the generic flying Superman covers,
but they're a lot less frequent. If you have a great idea for an
iconic cover once in a while like those great Kaare Andrews' Hulk
covers, that's one thing, but don't overdo it. If anyone else can
tell one Punisher cover from another, they should get a
no-prize.�
Devin
Grayson: �The best comicbook cover makes use of all the
graphic and textual strengths that none of the other covers happened
to use that month. Additionally, it will prominently display a
couple of catchy male names on it, like "Geoff Johns" or "Brian
Michael" or "Warren Ellis." If you really want it to pop, it's going
to have to say ISSUE #1 in a corner somewhere, and Julie Schwartz
once started an intriguing rumor that gorillas never hurt,
either.�
Bill
Rosemann: �Like movie posters, novel covers and record art,
the comic book cover has evolved over the years. Back in the day,
when comics battled for readers' eyes on a wire rack that fueled
impulse purchases, you had to use every trick in the book and show
something striking -- usually the hero in jeopardy (or marrying a
gorilla) -- to grab their attention and money. Now, in a direct
market driven industry with an older audience (peppered with
media-savvy younger readers) who knows what they're going to buy
before they even step into the store, you need to deliver an iconic
image that looks great while still holding on to a bit of that 'Holy
shit! What's that?!' feel. This isn't to say you shouldn't
incorporate elements of the story within, but now you really need to
deliver a clear, powerful image that readers' would also like to
hang on their wall. Take a look at modern movie posters (from "Jaws"
to "The Hulk") and you'll see what works: a strong shot of the main
character that also sets a mood and gives the audience a hint of the
wonders they'll find inside.�
Alan Grant:
�There is no recipe for a great cover. a crap artist can ruin a
great cover design, a great artist can turn a crap cover design into
gold. When people start looking for formulae, the comic book
business falls on its ass.�
Terry
Moore: �A good comic book cover is anything that catches
your eye and makes you pick the book up. Whatever it takes, muscles,
cleavage, a naked duck, a classic grimace... anything. Just please
for the love of God and the future of my children pick this book up
and give it a try � that's all we want. What I hate is when you see
a gorgeous cover you want to buy but the inside looks like it was
drawn by a monkey's left foot. Like Alex Ross doing a cover for a
Dilbert collection or something. We should legislate who is allowed
to approach his throne... no riff raff. (*snotty
sniff!*)�
Peter
David: �Whatever sells the book.�
Lee Dawson: �I tend to like
the storytelling style. I like to get a taste of what the story is
about or the feel of the comic on the cover rather than an empty
piece of flash. Being in marketing, I understand the reason behind
the flash covers, but they tend to all look the same when lined up
on the shelf. I guess it's my fondness for Golden age style covers
revealing itself...I can look at those all day. But I guess in the
end what makes a good comic book cover is whatever makes the most
people notice and pick up the book, and ultimately buy
it!�
Shawna
Ervin-Gore: �The elements that make a comic-book cover work
are different case-by-case, depending on what kind of comic it is.
In some cases, I really love cover designs that use word balloons
and evoke more classic comic-book designs of the past. But something
like that wouldn't necessarily work on most independent,
non-superhero comics, and it wouldn't be my first choice for
something quiet, or scary, or for a more emotional story. Basically,
I don't think the medium of comics necessarily calls for a specific
type of design. Good design is good design, comics or not. Other
things, like logo placement, DO become more important, just because
of how comics are sold. A lot of shops still use stadium-stacked
racks that only show the top of a book, and if the covers are
designed so that the logos are not at the top, you have no idea what
comics you're looking at. It's pretty unfortunate that the
logo-at-the-top has come to be such a standard, since it really does
limit the artist's ability to compose interesting or innovative
cover art.�
Craig Lemon: �Something that accurately represents
the contents of the comic would do. Something by the artist who
actually draws the contents so you're not suckered into buying a
book with "just" the cover by a hot artist.�
Tim
Harnett: �One of the most important aspects of any comic is the
cover: it's the first thing a reader sees. Recently, the comic world
has gone the unfortunate route of in-your-face, "iconic" covers with
little extra words or dialogue, and most often not related to
the story. As a long time collector, this sudden lack of imagination
has certainly made an impact on me over time. Just look at any cover
from today and compare with one from ten of fifteen years ago, and
decide which you'd rather buy---the "look" of comic racks has
certainly become boring, for lack of a better term. Perhaps the
worst example of this are the covers on Marvel's Ultimate line, with
little variation between them. I find this generic approach to be
rather unengaging; a good cover gets the reader excited about what's
in front of them---it welcomes them to read the book.
My
personal idea of a great cover is one which indirectly expresses the
themes of the story, without giving too much away. One of the best
covers I've seen in awhile is Tom Raney's cover to Outsiders #3. In
the foreground, Joker is holding a knife to Lex Luthor, while
Nightwing and Metamorpho are in the background having a
conversation: "The Joker is killing Lex!" "Should we care?" While
this scene does not actually occur in the comic, it lays out the
basic idea: the Outsiders will be helping out Lex Luthor admist the
threat of the Joker. Besides being graced with the gorgeous detailed
artwork of Tom Raney, the cover does its job as what a cover should
be. The fact that it steps outside the box and uses word balloons in
this "dark" era of comics makes it all the better.
I
generally think the comic covers of yesteryear were brighter, more
fun, and did the job better. And who can forget the little extras,
such as the former "heads" on Marvel's covers, or the layout of the
date and price. It is certainly my hope that publishers will try to
be more creative with their covers in the future.�
Markisan Naso: In my opinion, good comic
book covers are covers that are DESIGNED and not just drawn or
painted. Rarely do we see artwork integrated with unique text
treatments or other creative elements. Most of the time we just get
a money shot of Wolverine popping the claws or Spider-Man swinging
happily through the city. The problem is that while many covers are
often very well drawn (Adam Hughes' work on Wonder Woman
comes to mind), they are still very typical in the comic book world.
So much so in fact, that there aren't a hell of a lot of comic books
that stand out on the shelf these days.
For a brand new
comic I think it's absolutely crucial that the book attract
potential readers. One of the best ways to do this is by offering
something unique on the cover. It's the first thing that people see
when they browse through a comic shop or book store. And whether you
are a seasoned comic reader or someone new to the genre, you are
much more likely to pick up a new book off the shelf and flip
through it if it looks interesting. I think there are a few examples
of kickass cover design work out there. The Filth is solid.
Kaare Andrews Hulk covers are outstanding creations. But I
think the best covers can be seen every month on Wildcats Version
3.0. It's obvious that a lot of thought and effort is put into
each one. Here's the cover from the new trade paperback:
The fact is, a monkey can
commission a piece of art and slap it behind a logo. The comic book
industry needs to get editors and designers to work more with
artists on presentation. With a bit more effort I think covers can
be vastly improved.
Alan Donald: �This is a tricky
one. I really hate it when the cover art bears no relation to the
work inside. I don�t mind it being by a different artist but they
really have to be of complementary styles, you can�t have Brian
Bolland on the outside and Kelly Jones on the inside, for example.
Preferably it should be the same artist, though after all if they�re
not good enough to be on the front they shouldn�t be inside (though
of course they may be pressed for time).
For their time
there was nothing to beat the 1940s and 50s Batman covers with their
huge images of hulking bad guys and the Dynamic Duo cringing in
fear. The same goes for a lot of the Marvel covers in the 60s but
nowadays it is all change.
A cover needs to be striking,
dynamic and different. It needs to relate to the story and the art
inside but more than anything else it should entice readers to buy
the book and not make them feel cheated when they do.�
Summary: �A cover should be striking, have something
to do with the story inside and preferably be drawn by the same guy
who does the work inside or so says our Panel. What do you think,
let me know your feeling on the Panelogy forum.�
This Week�s Panel: Alan Donald (columnist, SBC),
Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Alan Grant (Batman, Judge
Anderson), Bill Rosemann (Publicist, Crossgen), Devin Grayson
(Nightwing), Craig Lemon (SBC review editor and Will Riker to Jason
Brice�s Picard), Rick Shea (top retailer), Axel Alonso (big gun
Marvel Editor), Mike Collins (2000AD, Star Trek) and Peter David
(Captain Marvel, Supergirl).
Next Week�s Question:
� Why is there not some form of basic health insurance for 'work
for hire' employees (like there is for the exclusive contract
employees) and what should these employees do about
it?�
Previous Questions: Check out the message
board where I�ve put up a list of every question the Panel has faced
so far (neatly linked to the column it appeared in) to inspire you
and let you know what to avoid.
SBC reserves the right to
edit questions for reasons of consistency and
inclusivity.
Have the Panel
gotten it right? Have your say on the hot topics of the day at
the Panelology
message board.
.php)
news
| reviews
| interviews
| small
press | boards | advertise
| privacy
| contact | home |