tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post5586954518856991732..comments2024-03-19T10:41:35.976-05:00Comments on Bronze Age Babies: Guest Post - The Great Cover Up!Doughttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-89504429545212574332015-03-26T05:47:30.571-05:002015-03-26T05:47:30.571-05:00Some great points about cover design. I'm a Br...Some great points about cover design. I'm a Bronze Age Baby but i have to say that one of the things that increasingly characterized the Bronze Age as it progressed was ugliness and odd ball decisions. Sure, classic Silver Agers were still producing great covers, especially Kane, Kirby, Romita, Colan and Buscema (even Ditko did some great Charlton covers in the 70s), and non Marvel and DC books have their own aesthetics, but as far as the mainstream superhero titles of the era, you were lucky to get 1 good cover per publisher per month. <br /><br />Surely Neal Adams is still regarded as the king of Bronze Age covers? <br /><br />Perez and Byrne were my faves of the new breed, and that FF with Klaw and Molecule Man is a beaut. I think Byrne has a disproportionate number of "civilian" covers and they never work well. However, Perez did two great "civvies" Avengers covers during the period that are classics: Jarvis with the vacuum cleaner and the famous Henry Peter Gyrich "too many Avengers" cover. Both are helped by having a crowd of costumed heroes around. I have fond memories of the "day in a life" cover as well and Perez repeated the trick for an early Teen Titans cover. Seen in the context of his other covers on the same title, they are a nice break, providing a visually dynamic variety.<br /><br />Composition is important. The cover has to draw you in. Geometric shapes, frames, odd perspectives, faces, colour, text. Whatever works. From an art collector pov, of course, prominently-featured costumes, heroic poses, dynamic conflicts, and "firsts" are what drive the market and determine the current trends in cover art. And collectors hate words in their cover art.<br /><br />I love Michael Golden (Micronauts rule!) but that annual commission is too busy and Rogue's arm looks truncated!! However, now that I know he did the interiors to that book, I will correct a 30-year-old oversight and track it down.BKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14262262627667900995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-7170783126765965692015-03-19T04:04:12.616-05:002015-03-19T04:04:12.616-05:00Aw, you'll always be Mike from T&T to me, ...Aw, you'll always be Mike from T&T to me, Mike.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-33183161305723246882015-03-18T23:29:23.002-05:002015-03-18T23:29:23.002-05:00This post has made me realize that I need to pay a...This post has made me realize that I need to pay attention to what makes a good cover for me because I haven't given it much thought, as it has not been a concern of mine since I was a kid and usually deciding what to spend my limited funds on by cover at the drugstore (maybe with a quick flip through if I could get away with it).<br /><br />I usually buy comics because they are a current series I am following because of writer/artist or character I love, so I don't look at the cover much, or it is part of a series I am reconstructing, in which case good or bad cover, I am getting it because it is part of the run I am putting together.<br /><br />I do love a good cover though, but I wonder if my attraction to certain old covers has to do with nostalgia and connection to the memory of reading that story. Like I have fond memories of that Hank Pym cover (#228) because I loved story line when I was 12 or 13 when that came out, as I did the cover of #197 because as a kid I like the idea of downtime to build characters (while building towards the arrival of Red Ronin)<br /><br />I will say that I do like in my older covers: <a href="http://www.spidervillain.com/SpiderManCovers/Amazing/ASM131/ASM131.htm" rel="nofollow">word balloons</a>.<br /><br />These days I like either abstract covers like they used for <a href="http://img2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140424054813/marveldatabase/images/5/59/Hawkeye_Vol_4_18.jpg" rel="nofollow">the current Hawkeye series</a> or the <a href="http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130523210228/marveldatabase/images/d/d8/X-Men_Vol_4_1_Skottie_Variant.jpg" rel="nofollow">Skottie Young variant covers</a> that kiddify the characters, like the X-Babies from the Mojoverse (I love that crazy stuff). Dr. Oyolahttp://themiddlespaces.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-82197205665529923272015-03-18T21:19:36.592-05:002015-03-18T21:19:36.592-05:00Great job Martinex1/Mike S. Yeah sometimes you jus...Great job Martinex1/Mike S. Yeah sometimes you just look at a cover and you don't really feel any love for it. It's a shame because I'm sure that there are many comics which had a great story inside both plotwise and artwise but were hampered by a hideous cover like that Avengers annual.<br /><br />In general, I dislike covers which have too much going on, or which try to cram too many things onto one page. I prefer straight on action scenes with preferably only the hero against one villain. Sometimes artists try something different like that cover of Wolvie and Spidey. I think they were trying to make a forced perspective cover, sort of like viewing the scene from a fish eye lens point of view. I have to agree with Mike S. in this instance it didn't come off too well.<br /><br />I haven't bought too many modern comics to comment on how covers compare to the ones in the Bronze or Silver Age. <br /><br /><br />- Mike 'call me Mike X to distinguish me from Mike S, willya! Just kidding!' from Trinidad & Tobago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-31531681340962585562015-03-18T17:57:19.292-05:002015-03-18T17:57:19.292-05:00You're right, Martinex1/Mike, stories were re...You're right, Martinex1/Mike, stories were reprinted over a few issues in the British Marvels - being weekly anthologies, a single US monthly story might be split into three 7 or 8 page segments - so yes, more than one cover might be required. Thought maybe you were asking about the reprinted covers earlier, but "reimagining" could refer to the specially commissioned new covers they used sometimes. These were produced by the (US) parent company and done by any freelancer around who wanted the extra work.<br /><br />Anyway, they weren't very good so there not much point going into the subject too deeply.<br />Don't worry if you know little about Marvel UK - you're not missing out on much! <br /><br />-sean<br /><br />ps I think the whole flipped cover thing is just the result of a casual, slack attitude to reprinting thats been endemic to the comic biz.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-6599864700185395842015-03-18T17:55:25.679-05:002015-03-18T17:55:25.679-05:00Martinex, Marvel UK would often split stories over...Martinex, Marvel UK would often split stories over two issues so an extra cover would be needed. And sometimes covers were completely redrawn for no reason. There were also (briefly) two comics that were printed "sideways" in landscape fashion which also needed redrawn covers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-26056348792199005372015-03-18T17:01:57.156-05:002015-03-18T17:01:57.156-05:00Thanks for that insight pfgavigan; that is cool to...Thanks for that insight pfgavigan; that is cool to know. Sounds like a similar reaction to Stan Lee wondering where Iron Man's nose was.<br /><br />Sean, I know so little about the British Marvel books, but I remember seeing "Avengers and the Savage Sword of Conana" #109 and it had a reimagining of the Avengers vs Invaders. I don't know if stories were split into multiple books so they had to double up on covers??? Also, is "Secret Wars" in the UK different than our "Secret Wars" because I have seen some of the UK covers and they were really different.<br /><br />It seems even in the States, the reprint books would handle the covers differently. Often the image was flipped left to right, or a character would be slightly moved, etc.Martinex1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-17589831037041954162015-03-18T16:23:11.283-05:002015-03-18T16:23:11.283-05:00Hiya,
Just wanted to leave you with my thoughts r...Hiya,<br /><br />Just wanted to leave you with my thoughts regarding the Golden cover for the Avengers Annual. Realizing that this was not a completed piece for use as the cover, I would have to say, and this is just my opinion, that it is way too busy. My eyes, weak as they are, found it hard to focus upon any element in the work, especially as all of the line work seemed to have a similar degree of weight and detail. <br /><br />Coloring probably would have fixed this, but maybe not. <br /><br />I would agree that there were some weak covers in this selection, but I might venture the idea that they were somehow thought more representative as to what the issue was about then as to what they should have been, a device to sell said book.<br /><br />Jim Shooter at his blog related a little story about the use of the color green on covers. Over the years many editors had made suggestions to George Roussos, the primary colorist for covers, about how they wanted things done. Roussos took these to be hard and fast orders and tried to accommodate every one of them, even when they contradicted each other. He was especially reluctant to challenge those that originated from Stan Lee. <br /><br />Guess what color Mr. Lee had once said he never wanted used for backgrounds on covers? <br /><br />It took Lee's very positive reaction to the Dark Phoenix cover of X-Men 135 to get him to loosen up a bit.<br /><br />Thank you for your kind attention.<br /><br />pfgavigan pfgaviganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05446007678336988354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-19874363471183841692015-03-18T14:11:30.155-05:002015-03-18T14:11:30.155-05:00Another great post, Martinex/Mike! I generally agr...Another great post, Martinex/Mike! I generally agree with you...I like covers where something is happening, where there's some action going on (even if it's not a scene that occurs in the comic). Like music videos where it's just the band on stage...if you're gonna make a video, do something different, not just concert footage!<br /><br />I liked a lot of Spidey covers, JLA, NTT; Batman had some cool covers, so did All Star Squadron. I liked a lot of Sienkiewicz's Moon Knight covers, Power Man/Iron Fist had some great ones, so did DD. Kaluta did some great covers, especially for Doorway into Nightmare. I remember buying Dr. Strange #32 back in late 1978 just because of the cover...and I never bought Doc Strange!<br /> http://www.comics.org/issue/32850/cover/4/<br /><br />I can't even remember the story, but that cover still looks pretty good.<br /><br />Mike WilsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-36650485862425895352015-03-18T13:42:41.562-05:002015-03-18T13:42:41.562-05:00Don't have a problem with "pin-up" c...Don't have a problem with "pin-up" covers as such; I don't like that they seem to have eclipsed everything else, but... you know, who doesn't like Steranko's cover for issue 4 of Shield? <br />Its not what you do, its the way that you do it, as they say.<br /><br />Nice post, Martinex1, and since you asked - covers were frequently edited for the British Marvel editions (main characters enlarged and the edges cropped, that kind of thing) and recoloured (almost always very badly); some redrawing was done, but this was generally just to touch up the images, as they were sourced from poor copies.<br />There were a few instances of characters redrawn if a cover didn't quite match the continuity; I think the Vision was changed to an earlier Avenger once or twice because the stories inside hadn't yet reprinted his first appearance. Maybe that's what you're thinking of...?<br /><br />-seanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-79024811392450834872015-03-18T12:48:38.558-05:002015-03-18T12:48:38.558-05:00Martinex1- great job on this intriguing analysis o...Martinex1- great job on this intriguing analysis of covers! Makes me want to go digging through a long box or two. <br /><br />Definitely agree with the consensus regarding recent cover art. As Karen noted, so many are indistinguishable pin ups. Worse, the colors are often so muted that the whole cover looks muddy. Take the New Avengers series, for example. With the tones, and the clustering of figures, the action is often indecipherable. This same thing can be seen on many Justice League covers of midern vintage. And I don't. Think it is curmudgeonliness on my part, but rather a lack of solid design. Even with average quality silver/bronze age covers, at least it drew your eye. Redartzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08221459636234713619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-50257633984734282932015-03-18T11:54:52.073-05:002015-03-18T11:54:52.073-05:00Karen... oh my gosh don't get me started on sp...Karen... oh my gosh don't get me started on splash pages. Honestly, I don't understand the change. If a cover did not grab me at first, I always flipped through and the splash often caught me and dragged me in. I can think of many issues in which I thought the splash should have / could have been the cover. To me the splash has to exist!! One example I can think of is Avengers 165. It was one example of a floating head cover that did not particularly grab me (usually they are awesome); it had Nefaria's head floating over a building as the Avengers are about to get smashed. It was okay, and I grew to really like it. But the splash for that issue was much better I thought. <br /><br />Doug, I didn't like those covers (Kang and Firelord style) that you sampled either. It always seemed silly to me, like the team was going to blindside tackle the villain who for some reason is posing and facing the reader. I preferred the villain looming over the landscape taking on a team. IE the Super Adaptoid in I think Avengers 45.<br /><br />I think team covers are more difficult to coordinate than individual hero covers; too often the artist struggles to fit everybody in. Perez, as has been mentioned, was a master of it. As Edo said, the New Teen Titans were brilliant. And many of the covers I listed were his work. He could fit so much action and so many characters in a nice layout with a clear message. It was often so dramatic.<br /><br />David mentioned Subby. I say the original run of Sub Mariner had awesome covers. Those were really classic and underrated I think. I wonder how they were received back in the day. But his struggle with Tiger Shark, the photo cover of him in the city, the ghost of Doctor Strange in the cemetery, the battle with Triton, Stingray, Thing. Really a great run of cover art on that title (in my opinion).<br /><br />One last thought... Colin regarding British covers, on some covers it seems like the art was redrawn for overseas. I will have to look up some examples, but I recall seeing some Avengers action scenes from their battle with the Squadron Sinister or with the Invaders (Avengers 70 and 71) that were edited or redrawn in similar positions, yet different. I wonder why they did that. Any idea?Martinex1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-39232732729441874202015-03-18T11:34:26.699-05:002015-03-18T11:34:26.699-05:00Enjoyed this analysis Mike! I'd like to see mo...Enjoyed this analysis Mike! I'd like to see more covers reviews like this.<br /><br />Perez always had awesome covers. The Taskmaster one stands out for me as well. He's more dynamic than many modern covers, even though he's a single figure. He's striding forward, his body and limbs are at angles, and his front foot and sword tip go right off the page so that he enters our space. There's an exuberant energy to him, that is often missing in the Jim Lee-inspired vertical poses on modern covers.<br /><br />One great cover with a green background is Master of Kung Fu #100: http://marvel.wikia.com/Master_of_Kung_Fu_Vol_1_100<br /><br />I like that Avengers cover by Golden-- striking! <br /><br />I agree with Karen about the joy of opening up a comic and seeing a good splash page. A variation on this was in the Warlord, where Grell would have a teaser panel page to start, then a glorious double splash on pages 2 and 3! Garettnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-7091526707696590362015-03-18T10:48:25.058-05:002015-03-18T10:48:25.058-05:00Ooops, forgot to agree on Karen's great commen...Ooops, forgot to agree on Karen's great comment on splash pages, once a hallmark of story-telling greatness.., AND YES, will add my disgusted rant about those terrible, oh so terrible 'YOU CAN WIN...' banners.<br /><br />Sometimes.., it's just best to walk away. It is, after all a business, folks.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-70854388008556077562015-03-18T10:45:14.143-05:002015-03-18T10:45:14.143-05:00Great points Karen, much agreed on recent cover ar...Great points Karen, much agreed on recent cover art.<br /><br />Apologies for the slight, Martinex1 sir, I just saw Doug's name and had to rush my comments in before the day started.<br /><br />I guess I'm an old Silver/early Bronze kinda of guy when it comes to classic covers. <br /><br />Give me the likes of FF ish 51, Surfer 4 or Subby's ish 2 any.. day.. of.. the.. week.david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-17759390206727444082015-03-18T10:38:47.400-05:002015-03-18T10:38:47.400-05:00Nice job Mike, and a great survey of different cov...Nice job Mike, and a great survey of different cover types. For me, I do want to see a cover tht indicates something about the story within. That's why I got so fed up with covers over the last ten years or so. They all became mini-posters, with no real relationship to the material inside. In fact, they were all so generic and interchangeable that I had a hard time remembering which issues I had purchased -something that never happened back in the 70s or 80s. And no, I don't think it's just due to my increasingly worsening memory (although there is that).<br /><br />I actually wonder if they just have a ton of pre-produced covers sitting around and the editor just grabs one and slaps it on a book. <br /><br />But as much as that bothers me, the thing that really gets me is the loss of splash pages. The first page of a Marvel comic now is a long text page. Oh come on! It's a comic book! When I open it up, I want to see art! A glorious, full page of art!<br /><br />OK, Grandma's gonna go take her meds now.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17032477453891087135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-72114973304929569372015-03-18T10:13:01.313-05:002015-03-18T10:13:01.313-05:00I'll agree, too, Colin. I'd add that I did...I'll agree, too, Colin. I'd add that I didn't really care for the Bicentennial banners across DCs in 1976, either.<br /><br />Win a Schwinn Bike!<br />You Could be in the Superman Movie!<br /><br />Pfah... Dude, you're crowding out my art!<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-85101207851806028322015-03-18T09:58:06.082-05:002015-03-18T09:58:06.082-05:00I forgot to say that I agree about those horrible ...I forgot to say that I agree about those horrible banners across the top of certain comics - "Win A Toys R Us Shopping Spree" etc....yuck !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-59867217939555270042015-03-18T09:57:37.462-05:002015-03-18T09:57:37.462-05:00A cover trope that I generally don't care for ...A cover trope that I generally don't care for is a large central figure with smaller figures running at (or after) him or her. See these Avengers examples with <a href="http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/40/23030_20060116175917_large.jpg" rel="nofollow">Kang</a> and <br /><a href="http://comicbookdb.com/graphics/comic_graphics/1/40/23021_20060116175621_large.jpg" rel="nofollow">Firelord</a>. It's worth noting that those covers were published within a year of each other, and by the same creators.<br /><br />As to the conversation about green backgrounds, there are a couple of Avengers covers in that same era that have figures cast against a solid red background.<br /><br />More later, I'm sure.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-77441070642588046402015-03-18T09:20:17.680-05:002015-03-18T09:20:17.680-05:00Martinex, I know nothing about the technical aspec...Martinex, I know nothing about the technical aspects of those green backgrounds, but I should say, if it's not clear from my first comment, that I really like it when it's used. I think that's why they stick in my memory so much.<br />And, by the way, I agree with your view of the never-used Avengers Annual cover. I would love to see that colored as well.<br /><br />As for New Teen Titans covers, I was just browsing a gallery of the first 50 issues, which were all done by Perez, and there's not a dud in the lot. In fact, I recall that Perez was also doing a lot of covers for other DC titles at the time, like JLA, Legion of Suepr-heroes, Green Lantern, etc. and they were all similarly beautiful. There's also a great deal of variety in the designs.Edo Bosnarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-78482222607887845442015-03-18T09:03:25.833-05:002015-03-18T09:03:25.833-05:00Thanks all for commenting.
Edo, yes, I oversta...Thanks all for commenting. <br /><br />Edo, yes, I overstated the generalized green comment. What I meant is that for me that shade was less common (than say black or white as we have recently seen) and when compared to other greens. It seems to me to be the same shade as X Men 142, but some of the other greens I have seen are not such a deep shade. At least in the printing I had, it seemed bolder. I wonder if it is a printing thing or if there were actually variations. Also, I expect that green was a hard background to use in that it was a less "natural" background than a skyline blue may have been. It sure could not be used much if the Hulk was present. (Unless of course he was gray or red)! But definitely as you mention the primary and secondary colors were all indeed common; they had to be. <br /><br />david b, yes, I can see where the framing in 182 is a bit weak. Centralizing a character in the midst of that battle may have helped it more. I still like it though; I think I like that the whole team is represented and not in a typical way. Just an all out battle. If I had less childhood memories about that issue, then I think I would agree even more with you which definitely goes to C.K. Dexter's point on the psychological aspects.<br /><br />Also, regarding the alternative Avengers Annual 10 cover, I think coloring (good coloring) would really focus the image. Rogue is basically a green costumed character (here we go with the green again). She would be centered in the midst of a lot of red, blue, and yellow in the heroes. Thor's hair, Ms. Marvel's hair and lightning bolt, parts of Iron Man... all yellow. Reds in Iron Man, Wonder Man, Vision's face, etc. Blue in Beast, Cap, etc. If they were all somewhat muted and the rubble was a gray/blue ... I think Rogue would really pop and the central focus would be clear. Definitely coloring would distinguish the character lines a bit; right now it is a bit like finding hidden pictures in the old Highlight magazine. I could actually envision a styling in which all of the rubble and discarded heroes are gray, leaving Rogue and her immediate prey the focus.<br /><br />I also have to say that I didn't mention DC at all, and probably should have. Some of the Perez New Teen Titan covers were really awesome. Martinex1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-6793770485674793552015-03-18T08:55:09.976-05:002015-03-18T08:55:09.976-05:00Thanks, David, but any love for this post and topi...Thanks, David, but any love for this post and topic needs to be directed to its author, Martinex1.<br /><br />DougDoughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04248324005584963229noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-83939594767089464632015-03-18T08:40:54.382-05:002015-03-18T08:40:54.382-05:00Wow, Doug, LOTS to say here with little time (busy...Wow, Doug, LOTS to say here with little time (busy day today here at work...).<br /><br />Avengers 228..? One of the WORST covers ever. My 'Milgrom-hating' was at it's all-time high here. Where were the peaks of the Buscema's or Romita's or perhaps even Perez at this juncture..? A lousy, lousy cover, layered upon continued-dismal interior art (which continued until Buscema/Stern took over..) and a weak/depressing storyline..? Sure I bought it years later to fill my holes and follow the Pym storyline, that's about it. I tried to get excited about She-Hulk joining and Hawkeye returning, but the dismal art killed any joy generated.. Ok, enough said on that.<br /><br />As mentioned a few times previously.., I typically don't like 'multiple-story image' covers. They are generally weak and aren't what I'd consider 'classic cover' potential. Avengers 197 isn't too bad, it's more like a tabloid-take on Avengers Mansion which I'd categorize more as 'cute'. <br /><br />Avengers 182 isn't one of my favorites either..: Nice action, but the action isn't 'framed' with proper focus as to where my eyes should go. It's too busy and essentially has no flow to it. Ish 196 is clever with the green background.. (good for St Paddy's day obviously), Perez did an outstanding job here. While it doesn't give me the sense that Taskmaster is strong or evil enough to take on the combined might of the Avengers (especially with Vision, mind you...), but rendering-wise it was pretty polished.<br /><br />I'm afraid that b&w original art for Annual 10 is entirely too busy as well, but I'd love to see what it would have looked like colored. More is not necessarily better ~ Cover artists really have to have an eye for what will suck in readers. I do like Ms. Marvel over the title, so again I'd love to somehow imagine how it would look colored to fully decide whether it's a killer cover or not.<br /><br />Like C.K., I also felt most stories around this time were definitely lacking as well.<br />david_bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00218727673816200051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-25582783607854803392015-03-18T08:23:40.703-05:002015-03-18T08:23:40.703-05:00I think how covers were presented was a really big...I think how covers were presented was a really big difference between British comics and American comics - for British comics covers didn't seem to be that important and were rather bland and generic and with some there was no cover at all as the first strip would be on the cover itself. From the very beginning British Marvel comics just jumped off the shelf as they were so colourful and dynamic - but imported U.S. Marvel comics were not that easy to find till the late '70s so I just bought anything that I saw that was Marvel - the masthead was probably more important than the actual image on the cover, as long as I recognized the comic as Marvel I'd buy it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5293155946761960913.post-81295868186683196012015-03-18T08:03:01.980-05:002015-03-18T08:03:01.980-05:00Let me first say how much I enjoyed Mike's com...Let me first say how much I enjoyed Mike's comic reminiscences in his previous guest post. My own early comic book introduction is quite different (and boring) but I do so enjoy discovering how my fellow comic fans got into this lifelong passion of ours.<br /><br />As for comic covers, I must take a Freudian/Pavlovian(?) approach in that I either like or dislike a cover based not just on its visual merits, but on my personal associations with the comic itself, whether it be the story or the era in which it belongs. I find a lot of 1970-75 covers to be garish and messy looking; maybe it's the fonts used or the preponderance of Gil Kane artwork, the overuse of black backgrounds, or just the layouts themselves. I really don't know! However, when I see those late-'70s Avengers covers, I think of how much I liked that interior Perez/Byrne/Green artwork within, even if the stories themselves were often lacking (I've never been a big Avengers fan; sorry, Karen and Doug).Abe Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13991534345391655980noreply@blogger.com