CBR: WC11: The Art of the Cover

[CBR News]

Superstar cover artists Frank Quitely, Adam Hughes, Bill Sienkiewicz, Francis Manapul, and Amy Reeder gave a packed Wondercon audience the inside scoop on what makes an attractive cover-and what doesn't.



Full article here.

[Statham]

So wait, I'm confused. Did Didio say that Hughes dropped the ball when it came to that Catwoman cover fashioned after Lone Wolf and Cub/Shogun Assassin? If so, the man truly has no brain, that cover was gorgeous.

[David O Burcham]

I guess I'm one of the old fuddy-duddies who prefers that the cover give an indication of what the enterior is about and not just a pretty pose.

[cookepuss]

I guess I'm one of the old fuddy-duddies who prefers that the cover give an indication of what the enterior is about and not just a pretty pose.

I'm in total agreement with you. This is just something mostly from the past decade though. If you look at the covers of the 90s, 80s, and so forth, they usually did preview the issue for you. It would be the odd cases, as with Bryne's She-Hulk run, that you'd get covers that had nothing or little to do with what was inside.

I think, generally speaking, that it's just a lot easier for them to commission a pinup style cover well in advance of the issue. Marvel & DC rely heavily on the internet nowadays. It's not like way back when when Marvel or DC might only preview their covers in Diamond or Marvel Age. With a large online community, the buzz has to start up earlier than ever before. It isn't even out of the question for us all to see preview art or covers for books that aren't even remotely finished and will be delayed for many months.

Let's not forget that Marvel & DC also make money by selling posters of these covers either. As with some recent Marvel comics, you'll see the posters or t-shirts come out even before the issue.

I wish that more context appropriate covers existed and that pinups would disappear. I really do. I understand why they do it, especially with milestone issues. It's all about the hype machine, lead time, and how much money they stand to make with those images.

The covers I really, really wish would disappear? Homages. Some classic covers have just been beaten to death. Examples....

"Giant-Size X-Men"
"Amazing Fantasy 15"
"Action Comics 1"
"Uncanny X-Men 136"
"Uncanny X-Men 141"
"Fantastic Four 1"

and so on

I really wish we'd see more original ideas and far fewer homages or pinups. It seems a little lazy. That's one of the biggest reasons why Quitely's stuff stands out more. It's not just the quality of his art. It's the composition. He may borrow at times, but his stuff is usually very much his own.

(Can we also banish phrases like.... "Welcome to the XXXXX, YYYYY. Hope you survive the experience." and "Hit him hard and fast" while we're at it? )

[Infestor]

I like covers to be more fantastical and metaphorical, more graphic design-y . One of my favorite covers in recent memory is the Generation Lost "Death of the Blue Beetle" cover.