Fantastic Four 200 Vote Now!

[Red Oak Kid]

Now your voice can be heard in the great "Who Drew the Cover of FF 200?" debate.

Are you tired of listening to a few four color eggheads pontificate on who did or did not draw the cover of FF 200? Well now, with a single click of your mouse your voice can be heard above their nerdy rantings.

And all votes are strictly confidential. No one except duly authorized members of the Federal government who only want to protect you from terrorists will know how you voted. Got a problem with that?

I didn't think so.

Be the first kid on your block to vote!

http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q144/redoakkid/ff.jpg

[InfoBroker]

Wait a minute, where's the option "Isn't Kirby the name of a a vacumn cleaner?"

-jb the (Or don't us nerdy ones get to vote here?) ib -

[Red Oak Kid]

Wait a minute, where's the option "Isn't Kirby the name of a a vacumn cleaner?"

-jb the (Or don't us nerdy ones get to vote here?) ib -

Everyone knows there is only one King, eh Komrade?

[MWGallaher]

I voted for Kirby-drawn/redrawn by Marvel/Sinnott-inked. My theory is that Kirby turned in a cover that employed the standard amount of art space Marvel used at the time. Then when the over-the-logo blurbs were added, Kirby's original didn't fit. Marvel lightboxed it, scaling the figures down a little bit and tracing them, then filling in additional imitation Kirby-tech in the area to the left of Reed. Off to Sinnott, who wasn't aware of the reworking that had been done.
I could be completely wrong, but that scenario (or something close to it) seems reasonable, and explains the part that bugs me the most: I think Kirby's design instinct wouldn't have led him to put that much (essentially) dead space to Reed's left.

[Red Oak Kid]

In an ironic twist of fate, Mark Evanier has a page devoted to Alternate Covers.

I thought what he says here is interesting:


Cover Stories

I added a new section to my website a few months ago and forgot to tell anyone about it. It's called Alternate Covers and it's about how comic book companies will sometimes have a cover drawn for a book and then before it goes to press, someone in the office will say, "Jeepers, that sucks" (or words to that effect) and they'll have it retouched or completely redone. Right now, I have sixteen examples of this up, all from Marvel. Others from other companies will follow and of course, if you have an example to share, get in touch with me.

In each case, I'm theorizing as to why the alteration was done and — who knows? — I may even be right in some cases. It's usually a guess and not always a sound one. Years ago, I came across a case where a cover had been redrawn and I developed an intricate but overwhelming theory as to why, having to do with figure placement and conveying the essence of the story within. Finally, I had the opportunity to present it to the fellow who'd made the decision and I expected him to say, "My God, that's exactly what happened. It's like you were in the office spying when I gave the order to have that cover redone!" Instead, he said, "Well, what really occurred was that the day the issue had to go to press, no one could find the cover we'd had drawn..."




Check it out at newsfromme.com

[InfoBroker]

I voted in the same category MW and I also have the same concerns with the poorly balanced composition, amidst all my other concerns with this cover.

The bad composition throws the whole design off, and like you, I think it starts with the three "double" captions at the top causing rescaling as you mention and/or clipping at the bottom. Everything slides down from there.

Here's the version from Joe's sight, sans the Mile High label, which further distorts the problem.

http://www.joesinnott.com/images/ff200comic.jpg

Now add to that the awkward (and I strongly assume) redrawn Doom, which I also triggers a redraw of Reeds left arm, (which is so awkward, it is the thing that bothers me the most about this cover), and the composition gets strained even more.

-jb the ib -

[InfoBroker]

That's the first time I've seen the second cover for FFAnnual #1. But the reason there is no all-new label on it, is because it reprints the first ten or so page origin from FF #1.

Besides the clutter problems that Mark mentions, I'm guessing they didn't want Spidey so dominate on the cover. It's a very brief retelling (this time with Jack doing the artwork) of the encounter Spidey has with the FF from Spidey #1. For perspective, Spidey #4, 5 and 6 were on the racks the summer this annual came out. The clamor and popularity of Spider-man was instantaneous.

Stan even mentions in a letters page (I think Spidey #4) that the bullpen was doing everything they could to get Spidey in both the Strange Tales and FF annuals that summer.

-jb the (wishes he wasn't allergic to Spider-mans in 1963) ib -

[InfoBroker]

Interesting what Mark has to say about Thor #141.

I can still remember my reaction to the actual printed cover when I bought it off the newstand (at Interstate Bookstore) in 1967. It seemed quirky, and then I discovered that all the images were from the interior and that made it even quirkier. but I agree with Mark that it turned into a decent cover.

Marks comments about poor figures, poor composition, and other short comings about the "one that didn't make it to print" are similar in nature to the short comings I find on the cover of FF #200. Different times, periods, editors and situations, but some interesting parallels.


-jb the ( or maybe Marvel lost whatever cover Jack had done for Thor 141, and the possibly Vince Colletta construct was done in a rush to meet a deadline as well) ib -

[Red Oak Kid]

Interesting what Mark has to say about Thor #141.


-jb the ( or maybe Marvel lost whatever cover Jack had done for Thor 141, and the possibly Vince Colletta construct was done in a rush to meet a deadline as well) ib -

I would have included "we lost the original" as a choice if I had seen Mark's column first.

But can there really be any mystery as to why the original cover of Spidey 35 was redrawn for the American market:

http://www.povonline.com/alternate/Alternate10.htm

[InfoBroker]

None at all.

What's interesting, is Tom Brevoort includes that alternate cover at the back of the paperback Masterworks editions that were distributed around the time of the second movie.

-jb the (sometimes I have that same body angle problem playing World of Warcraft) ib -

[Red Oak Kid]

Here's the version from Joe's sight, sans the Mile High label, which further distorts the problem.

http://www.joesinnott.com/images/ff200comic.jpg


-jb the ib -

Showoff!

I looked high and low for a better scan but had to settle for a Milehigh.:evilangry

[InfoBroker]

Sorry, but it just happened to be at Joe's website, and it really did show a very clear image of the signature.

Hey maybe we should turn this thread into a "How many different websites can we bandwidth steal the cover to FF #200 from"

-jb the (then again, maybe not) ib-

[Red Oak Kid]

Sorry, but it just happened to be at Joe's website, and it really did show a very clear image of the signature.

Hey maybe we should turn this thread into a "How many different websites can we bandwidth steal the cover to FF #200 from"

-jb the (then again, maybe not) ib-

LOL.

Technically, I didn't steal mine. I downloaded it to my harddrive from ebay and then uploaded it to my Photobucket page.

ROK, you coppers ain't pin'in nothin' on me.

I shoulda been a lawyer......