This week on David’s Got You Covered, instead of my typical breakdown of the best comics of the week, I wanted to take a look at something DC did this week with their covers that represents a recent trend in Big Two comics: destroying the quality of their covers by adding a dominant banner over the image.
This trend comes in all shapes and sizes, but the one uniform truth of this deal is this: it always distracts from what the artist is intending to do, often turning great covers into muddled messes. I look at a few from this week and comment on the greatness of the cover and what exactly the banner does to murder that after the jump.
Note: I am not a terrible person. I support DC for wanting to help people via charity, but there has to be a better way for them to get the charity idea across without reducing the quality of their overall product.
Swamp Thing #7
Art by Yanick Paquette
What DC did to this incredibly beautiful Swamp Thing cover from Yanick Paquette is without a doubt the most egregious example of the trouble with strip ads. This is a gorgeous offering that I would put up with the best Paquette covers I’ve ever seen, and instead of it being given the chance to shine as the complete image that Paquette created, they smothered it with the badly contrasting blues of the strip ad. If I was able to buy a variant cover that was just the image, I would have bought that in a heartbeat.
Of course, if I was Yanick Paquette, I’d be a creature made out of rage over what they did to my art. Good thing Paquette is a nicer guy than me.
Men of War #7
Art by Viktor Kalvachev
Viktor Kalvachev is one of the unsung heroes in the comic cover world, and this cover is another great example. But seriously, look at the one on the right, and then look at the one on the left. And then do it again. And again. The right image is a compete, beautiful effort, with everything having muted colors that elegantly bounces off of the electric, unreal reds of the flowers below. But on the left, that contrast is skewed by the strip ad, removing a lot of the power of what Kalvachev created.
Sweet Tooth #31
Art by Jeff Lemire
As my 4 Color co-host pointed out, this image actually suffered less than most simply because of the way Lemire was contrasting colors already. The text color blends perfectly with the look of the fire, and the night sky meshes very well with the blues of the strip ad. This is a job well done, but I have no doubt that it’s a rare moment of comic cover kismet smiling upon the Canadian cartoonist supreme.
Fairest #1
Art by Adam Hughes
I’m highlighting Fairest’s cover for a few reasons.
1. This would have been my favorite cover of the week if I had actually put together rankings this week instead of ramblings about DC annoying me. It’s a beautiful offering that frankly plays right into Hughes’ wheelhouse of illustrating gorgeous women in an unreal, ethereal setting. There’s a certain glow to this image that makes the whole thing pop all the more. Hughes’ is a champ, and I love this cover.
2. It is the only cover this week from DC/Vertigo that doesn’t feature the strip ad. I have no idea how it happened that way, whether it was some sort of timing thing, respect for Hughes/Willingham, or what, but I’m not complaining.
3. Have I mentioned this cover is gorgeous yet?
