Civil War Trade Dress

[torippu]

Is that what the cover design is called - trade dress? Whatever it is, the image on top + title of the book below it + A Marvel Comics Event below that + Blank space & then the barcode centered at the bottom. Is there a reasoning behind the waste of space?

I. DON'T. LIKE. IT.

I'd much prefer to have a normal cover with a Civil War blurb slapped somewhere on the cover. Does anyone like this design? Or am I just being an old cranky fanboy tonight?

Trip

[sschroeder]

The real estate used up by HoM regalia on some issues was already more than I'd like. And still they keep going, shrinking or obscuring more cover art. Essentially blanking half the cover to indicate an issue is part of this event doesn't make much sense to me. Why are they doing it? In what meeting did less Steve McNiven cover art seem like a good idea? It doesn't look bad exactly, but I'm hoping this is the extreme of design and brand identity over cover art for the foreseeable future. I am willing to let them get away with it once though, especially if this event is very good.

They could still devote even less area to actual cover art, so expect press releases spinning no cover art as an innovative and distinctive design development for a future event. :rolleyes:

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I like it. It reminds me more of novel covers that you might see on the bookshelves of your local Borders or somewhere. It's just a design element. It helps it stand out on the shelves better. You can't miss that large negative space on the cover from a distance, and it all ties it into Civil War very easily at a glance.

And, yes, that would be "trade dress," indeed.

In the end: Go google for "graphic design" and "negative space" and I'm sure something will pop up to explain it all better than I could.

-Augie

[pmpknface]

I hear both sides of this, but I've gotta go with not liking it more than I do like it. And I totally understand the concept of negative space, especially on covers. Guys like Dave Johnson and Tim Sale use it pretty well, for example. But in the end and in a lot of shops you don't even see the bottom of a comic, but only the top AND you're getting 1/2 a cover.

I think the IDEA was sound, I just think they lost a little in the execution.

[De Carabas]

Personally, I don't like it. I'm a whiny "I want my 70s & 80s cover designs back!" fanboy and not ashamed of it.

However, objectively, as the son of a graphic designer, I side with Augie. The design is shocking and it REALLY makes those books stand out. Remember that we are the educated, Ivory Tower few who read Previews, "Cup O' Joe", and various other sources. We know which are going to be the Civil War tie-ins. For the rest of the comic reading world (and sadly I'm sure it is the majority), these covers are going to be their crucial signposts.

Think of all the books you like that don't sell as well as you would like. *coughThingcough* How many times have you said, "If people only tried it, they'd discover they like it." Well, these bold covers are one step closer to getting that random pickup.

In one of the Bendis Tapes interviews on Word Balloon (curse whichever one of you it is that hooked me like a heroin addict on that podcast ;) ), Bendis talked about how he loves how large the Powers logo is on the books and how it makes that book stand out.

EM

[torippu]

The design is shocking and it REALLY makes those books stand out. Remember that we are the educated, Ivory Tower few who read Previews, "Cup O' Joe", and various other sources. We know which are going to be the Civil War tie-ins. For the rest of the comic reading world (and sadly I'm sure it is the majority), these covers are going to be their crucial signposts.
You make a really, really, really good point. Sometimes I forget that not all comic readers spend as much as time as I do soaking up all the pre-release information.

Think of all the books you like that don't sell as well as you would like. *coughThingcough* How many times have you said, "If people only tried it, they'd discover they like it."
How great was The Thing #7?

In one of the Bendis Tapes interviews on Word Balloon (curse whichever one of you it is that hooked me like a heroin addict on that podcast ;) ), Bendis talked about how he loves how large the Powers logo is on the books and how it makes that book stand out.
Sadly, I've fallen behind on the Bendis Tapes. Heck, I still haven't finished listening to the Joe Casey one or even started with the Kurt Busiek, Daniel Way & Axel Alonso ones from the past month. I did listen to both the Mark Verheiden & Greg Rucka podcasts this week while I was on the road.

[De Carabas]

You make a really, really, really good point. Sometimes I forget that not all comic readers spend as much as time as I do soaking up all the pre-release information.
It drives me a bit crazy sometimes. My library is flooded with teens, most of whom love manga and graphic novels. They view me as the wise old man at the top of the hill because I know about Crisis and Civil War, and I'm constantly telling them about CBR, Newsarama, etc. They are interested and they know how to use the internet, yet...

Gaaah!!

EM

[sschroeder]

The design is shocking and it REALLY makes those books stand out.
Maybe this design will work better for a book store display or for book spines on a shelf. However, when I was shopping for comics on Friday, Amazing Spider-Man # 532 was one of the harder to identify issues when scanning the rack. I think my eye went over it more easily because only the top half or so was visible, so I could not see the name and the issue numbers are in an unusual large white lettering that isn't immediately noticeable. I have no problem with Spidey's new costume, but that doesn't help identify the book either right now. It looked more like an Iron Man title. I doubt they were going for, what the heck is that, oh, it must be a CW title.

The 52 and Planet Hulk designs do a better job of quickly giving you what you need when you are shopping, for example, while giving an additional signal as something you might want to check out.

If this CW design is just something different for people who are going to find the right issues anyway, that's one thing. I still don't love it. But if it is supposed to make it easy for new shoppers, I'm not yet convinced.


Bendis talked about how he loves how large the Powers logo is on the books and how it makes that book stand out.
I didn't mind the latest Powers cover, which had some smaller images and unused space.

I'm warming up to the Godland covers. They don't have the typical large cover art, but there's still cool stuff going on and you can easily tell what comic it is.


My library is flooded with teens, most of whom love manga and graphic novels. They view me as the wise old man at the top of the hill because I know about Crisis and Civil War, and I'm constantly telling them about CBR, Newsarama, etc. They are interested and they know how to use the internet, yet...

Gaaah!!
Maybe you should have Previews for them to look over to see what's coming.