Covers not being done by interior artists

[jeffbcc]

At Big City, I have a philosophy that retail covers should be done by the interior artist. I guess I just felt it was a little deceptive and also disrespectful to the artist who does the majority of work. I do get our variant covers done by other artists as a special thing for the fans and retailers.

The problem is this: I have been told by the retailers, other artists and consultants that while this is a noble concept the readers want the covers to be done by big names and other than the interior artists. I talked to the head of creative control at our company and he feels like it might be selling out and to just give it some time. We are currently preparing our monthly diamond ads for the June ship date and could use some advice.

This is not an attempt to promote our books. It just so happens that this site gets a lot more traffic and I’ll probably get more honest opinions.

Thanks

jeff

[Winslow]

I DO know there are fans that buy comics JUST for the cover art. That's THE reason there's variant covers.

Personally, I'd let your creators (writers and artists) decide. If they want a big name artist to do a cover, and they think it will help move their product, then whatever "bangs their guns."

If they think it compromises the integrity of their art, then let them veto the idea.

[Slackjaws_ate_my_brain]

I prefer it if the covers and interiors are done by the same artist. Nothing used to bum me out more as a kid than if a comic had an amazing looking cover and sub-par art in the actual book. Having a different artist do the cover, to me, is almost like false advertising.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

i remember as a kid buying a comic because of an awesome cover and then feeling pissed when the interior art was different a few times, but that's why they say not to judge a book by it's cover.

lesson learned.

[lboinyamouf4sho]

I prefer it if the covers and interiors are done by the same artist. Nothing used to bum me out more as a kid than if a comic had an amazing looking cover and sub-par art in the actual book. Having a different artist do the cover, to me, is almost like false advertising.


yeah but if you're already familiar with a series it is kind of cool to have a guest cover artist.

[Stressfactor]

One of the things I ADORE about the current "Booster Gold" series is, not only are the covers being done by the interior artist -- they actually also reflect the story INSIDE.

I honestly do miss the days when the cover was an advertisement for the story -- a teaser. All too often the guest artist cover is an awesome pin-up, but its got nothing to do with the story inside. I'm kind of tired of that. Pin-ups are for art books, or special pages in the back or something. I'm tired of the pin-up cover.

[jeffbcc]

I support what you're saying. I use the term "Crap-filled Twinkie" when there is a great cover and the inside art isn't even close. The problem is that a cover done by a well name artist may sell a couple thousand more copies. As an independent, that's the difference between making or losing money.

I've always believed that if the artist isn't good enough to do the cover he shouldn't be doing the interiors but i could be wrong that's why I'm asking you guys. It's good to see that at least I'm not alone.

jeff

[Khan Zor-El]

As a comic book reader, I hate variant covers, it was really bad in the 90's seeing covers "A though G". Now I just buy the cover that I like the best, regardless if it's a low print run or a "Dynamic Forces" or "Wizard Exclusive" or not. I think the interior artist should do the cover. I find it almost insulting when a publisher cranks out variant covers, but in an Indie's case, why not just have the guest cover artist pencil the entire issue as well?

[Brandon Hanvey]

I'm more of a fan of the interior artist doing the cover since it tends to be more representative of the story inside.

A cover is mostly about catching the eye of a person who knows little to nothing about the story inside. By having different art on the cover, it can turn off some new readers who expect one thing and get another.

But this is mostly because I tend to read more auteur comics when the whole book is done by one person

[Ryan Day]

As you say, every little bit helps. If you can get a recognizable name working on your book, even if it's just a cover, then that's a few hundred, maybe a few thousand, people who will potentially notice your book that might not have otherwise.

I don't think it's particularly wrong, either. Some artists do great covers. Some artists do great interiors. Being great at one doesn't make you great at another - there are different skills involved.

It doesn't have to be a matter of your interior artist being "good enough", either. You could have a great interior artist, but if, to be completely hypothetical, Brian Bolland offered to draw the cover for you, you'd be insane to turn it down, and your artist would have to be a raving egomaniac to take offence. If you have the opportunity to make your book better, you've got to go for it.

I'd agree that you should ideally find someone whose style at least complements the book, so there's not a huge disconnect.

[TROUBLEZ]

When I was a kid I hated those comics with a great cover by one artist, and not so great interior art by another. I still hate it.


Me personally, I usually won't buy books like that. I hear great things about the Catwoman series, but I need to enjoy the art to enjoy the story, and I'm not a fan of the current artists in Catwoman. So as much as I like Adam Hughes art, I haven't bought an issue.

But now, comic readers are used to cover artists, and from what I've read at the DC boards for example, they are expecting it. So it'd probably be a good idea to try a special cover artist, if nothing else, it would get someone who might normally not pick it up, to flip through it.

[Yodazone]

I dig variant covers by "celebrity" comic artists but not when they leave out the interior artists chance for the cover treatment.

For example, the new "Bat Lash" series from DC Comics. It's awesome. Drawn with great detail by John Severin. But the regular covers for the whole 6 issues are drawn by Walt Simonson???

He's got nothng to do with the interior artwork at all and John Severin's artwork surpases what's on the cover. That kinda stuff sucks.

Here's the regular Walt Simonson cover to Bat lash #1 and the low print variant cover by John Severin:

Severin's got more detail and promises the same artwork inside the issue.

Which cover would fans prefer to see on their issues?

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/5982/batlash1um5ss2.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5707/batlashcv1variantex4lm0.jpg

At least leave the "celebrity" artist names for variant/lower print covers but give the interior artists the regular cover treatment!

(DC gave John Severin's variant cover the 1 in 10 per copy treatment making it even more rare for fans to get)

:eek:

[Captain Jim]

At Big City, I have a philosophy that retail covers should be done by the interior artist. I guess I just felt it was a little deceptive and also disrespectful to the artist who does the majority of work.

I applaud you for this stand. You're not the first to take it, though. This was one of the policies of the late, lamented CrossGen Comics that I so admired. Mark Alessi used to call the other approach "bait and switch," and I agreed. CrossGen took this so seriously that, if the interior artist was later changed after the cover had appeared in solicitations, they recommissioned a new cover.

Unfortunately, in their latter days when "the writing was on the wall," they later went on to violate this policy.

I say, stick to your guns.

[jeffbcc]

All weekend at FX Orlando, I've been posing this question to readers, professionals and the artists at Big City. The question is does significantly more reader help the interior artists more than less readers and their own cover. The majority of the readers want a high-end cover that holds greater value. The retailers want to sell more copies and our artists have given us their blessings.

We're always asked what is the difference between us and CrossGen. I guess it's that we try to spend our capital in more responsible ways and try to accept that we're not always right. I really believed in this policy but have to admit it has only hurt our sales. It was a decision made with the right intentions but failed in the actual world.

I do agree with a lot of you. I really hate books with a great cover and poor interior art. I guess the answer is major quality control on the interiors. Thanks for your opinions.

jeff