tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post2694633679819513553..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: How to Make Comic Covers the Marvel WayDoughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-80168506319216717912016-02-19T21:08:35.476-06:002016-02-19T21:08:35.476-06:00And I in turn shall agree with PFG-- about the X-M...And I in turn shall agree with PFG-- about the X-MEN cover. I do prefer the final one. The less-cluttered logo and somewhat simpler composition really heightens the visual effect to my eye. There's a lot of neat "stuff" going on in the first draft. . . but I don't think it's a bit of a reverse-gestalt in the end.<br /><br />HB<br /><br />(HBGirl had an ACES audition at Western Mich University today-! Fingers crossed!)Humanbellynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-49222139174882379222016-02-19T16:43:36.117-06:002016-02-19T16:43:36.117-06:00Hiya,
I'm in full agreement with Humanbelly o...Hiya,<br /><br />I'm in full agreement with Humanbelly on this one. I always thought that the Marvel covers focused upon a point of action within the story that encapsulated the particulars of that issue, hero, villain, conflict and setting. By contrast, the DC covers tended to present an idea of presenting as much information regarding the whole of the book as was possible. A fine example of this would be the Huntress intro book that was featured here recently.<br /><br />By the way, I really do think that Adams' artwork for that issue of X-Men is very cluttered and confusing for a cover. The second one might not have been as satisfying for him to render, but for a prospective buyer for the book which was on the cusp of cancellation at the time, the second was the superior.<br /><br />Just my opinion.<br /><br />Seeya,<br /><br />pfgaviganpfgaviganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05446007678336988354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-85755313076367606072016-02-19T14:49:22.392-06:002016-02-19T14:49:22.392-06:00I'm kind of in a spot where I can't write ...I'm kind of in a spot where I can't write at length-- so I can't give examples to support my thesis, but. . . <br /><br />Could I posit that, during the late Silver & Bronze Ages, Marvel covers tended to capture a precise moment, whereas DC covers tended to sum up a situation? (Obviously w/ exceptions readily available on both sides of that equation. . .)<br /><br />HB<br /><br />PS-- Hey, I'm in Kalamazoo, MI today--- anyone else in this neck o' the geographic woods?Humanbellynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-91427257403743717172016-02-19T12:28:36.016-06:002016-02-19T12:28:36.016-06:00Marvel-style covers? Good guys fighting each other...Marvel-style covers? Good guys fighting each other! And, in the 70s, lots of dialogue :) Actually, Marvel had some great covers in the Silver/Bronze Ages; I like covers where something is happening, not just static shots of the hero(es). it's like watching a music video and it's just the band on stage...entertain me, people!<br /><br />Mike WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-82944505291067481252016-02-19T09:17:45.833-06:002016-02-19T09:17:45.833-06:00Marvel covers, to me, are typified by tension. The...Marvel covers, to me, are typified by tension. The cover has to show the reader that there is some peril inside that the hero(es) will be hard-pressed to figure out or overcome. I think that's why the subtle alterations of the countenance on the faces of Goliath and Hawkeye is just great. What looks perfectly fine to us at first becomes even better under Stan's watchful eye and his investment in what it meant to be Marvel.<br /><br />I went through the Marvel Covers Artist Edition and first wanted to provide you a nice selection of Marvel's cover artists. Next, I tried to choose interesting covers with varied camera angles, numbers of characters, etc. I was really drawn to the Jack Kirby Tigra cover, as I feel it's just a trainwreck! There is so much going on there that it's difficult to even discern the main character. I'm sure the color version would solve that problem for me.<br /><br />The Kirby Cap cover is also interesting, as Batroc's name appears in the call-out, yet Batroc himself is a minor character on the cover, his size being the same as the Swordsman and the Living Laser.<br /><br />The camera angle on ASM #122 is the best aspect of that cover, in my opinion. How is Spidey going to gently set down the corpse of his love and face this head-on charge from his greatest nemesis, all in what is probably going to be the space of 1 second?<br /><br />I could go on, but I'll stop to wait for others' comments.<br /><br />Doug<br /><br />PS: And any cover, I don't care from what company, should be true to what lurks inside that front cover. Don't bait-and-switch me, or even flat-out lie as to the story inside. Man, that irks me.Doughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-5038274384517786202016-02-19T09:16:32.094-06:002016-02-19T09:16:32.094-06:00I agree, Scott Edelman is a very nice guy. When I...I agree, Scott Edelman is a very nice guy. When I wrote about Marie Severin last year, on my Assistant Editors' Month blog, I went looking for recent photos of her. I found some on Edelman's site, he was kind enough to let me use one of them. <br /><br />I like the alternate cover for X-men #56. But I like Alex Summer is a bit distracting in the foreground, makes the cover a bit too "busy." J.A. Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15800901321134394272noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-10013327873814092232016-02-19T08:38:11.433-06:002016-02-19T08:38:11.433-06:00Totally agree the rejected X-Men cover was much be...Totally agree the rejected X-Men cover was much better... but my criteria for what makes a great cover isn't necessarily the same as that of an editor, more concerned with sales (although it doesn't follow that they actually know what sells).<br /><br />I'm reminded that around the same Stan Lee didn't like the cover for SHIELD 4 either. But Steranko argued that his unusual black and white approach would stand out on the racks because it was different. After all, if all comic book covers are "exciting", then none of them are (as a kid, I learned fast that the covers of US comics were unreliable!)<br />Not that Steranko's SHIELD run is known for its high sales though....<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-13505088050039652842016-02-19T07:32:14.741-06:002016-02-19T07:32:14.741-06:00Wow. That IDW Cover Artists Edition leaves me wide...Wow. That IDW Cover Artists Edition leaves me wide-eyed (quite an accomplishment as I'm still trying to wake up). Makes one want to scour the entire book...<br /><br />A Marvel style cover? For me it is a clean, solid sense of design. Striking use of color, and the action is portrayed dramatically yet clearly. This is a fault with too many modern comics covers, imho: absolutely no design sense. The covers are cluttered with too many figures and beyond-the-pale amounts of over-rendered detail. Colors seem muddy, and you struggle to identify just what the heck the cover is trying to show (not all modern covers, of course, but way too many). Compare this to, say, the Daredevil and Warlock covers you shared above. Both have a lot going on, but are still clear and eye-appealing. That is the key to a Marvel cover for this reader.Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-17684826634034318762016-02-19T07:30:35.480-06:002016-02-19T07:30:35.480-06:00Yeah, I'm with Colin - the first thing I think...Yeah, I'm with Colin - the first thing I think of when someone mentions a Marvel-style cover is the corner box, as well as that "Marvel Comics Group" at the top of the cover above the title logo. Otherwise, I guess I think of some momentous and senses-shattering scene, fraught with excitement and drama as only Marvel can deliver, which tells this True Believer to hang onto his hat, because he's about to read the most pulse-pounding epic ever stapled between the two covers of a comic bo-- oops, got a bit carried away there...<br />Otherwise, I definitely agree with Doug about that rejected X-men cover.<br /><br />I found that memo from Stan at Edelmen's blog (agreed, it's well worth reading) is quite amusing - I love how his persona remains intact even in interoffice correspondence, e.g. "the competish" *snort*Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-43058855667480672052016-02-19T07:24:20.840-06:002016-02-19T07:24:20.840-06:00If you read the Steve Does Comics blog you can see...If you read the Steve Does Comics blog you can see what Marvel UK covers looked like in the '70s - they were so utterly different from other British comics. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-74615949449567446222016-02-19T07:04:01.714-06:002016-02-19T07:04:01.714-06:00The first thing that comes to mind about a 'Ma...The first thing that comes to mind about a 'Marvel style' cover would be the box in the top left corner. I remember buying X-Men #135 in 1980 with Dark Phoenix holding aloft the crumbling X-Men masthead and I thought wow, what a fantastic cover - I didn't discover till many years later that it had been a homage to the X-Men cover shown here. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com