DC wants you to know they’re really serious about this whole “Convergence” business. They’ve dug deep into their archives and pulled out characters, or interpretations of characters, that we haven’t seen in a long time, as well as courted creators who have largely been absent from the greater DCU. (Greg Rucka.) This attention to a perceived prestige and classic attitude has also extended into their variant covers for the event. Now, lately, DC has been doing some fantastic work with their variants: spotlighting artists (Darwyn Cooke, Mike Allred) or having fun with goofy concepts (Monster Month, Movie Poster Month). Not everything has landed firmly (Bombshells), but they’ve been frequently interesting and a cool alternative copy to maybe pick up.
For this “Convergence” event, they’ve called in one of the most famous and acclaimed graphic designers of all time — the guy who would be the rock god of book design if you ever wanted to consider there being a rock god of book design: Chip Kidd.
And DC has recently released the first week of the Kidd variants. There will be 80 altogether.
They feature the classic Kidd designs and imagery: the vintage illustrations of characters blown up to extreme, practically uncomfortable close-up while they look off panel in a horrified rendition of the Spielberg stare. There’s blank space surrounding them, like there’s nowhere they can escape. I’m a fan of the color border that’s creeping across like it’s going to wipe both them and the title out. Each week, apparently, will feature a different color for the border, to help you organize where we’re at in the story. You could read these designs as a metaphor for the entire New 52 initiative if you wanted, especially because the second month of “Convergence” will feature the characters emerging out of the color bar and into a brand new world.
I’ve heard some mixed reactions around the Multiversity offices to these, including someone claiming that he liked Kidd but these felt like he was “getting lazy.” I can see where he’s coming from, because everything here screams CHIP KIDD loudly, but I also think it’s appropriate for the type of story “Convergence” appears to be about: the old crossing over with the new. Kidd’s obviously capable of turning in some elaborate and complicated work (check out his stuff for Haruki Murakami, especially the recent The Strange Library), but I think it’s also great to see an important artist working the way he works best.
Anyway, the variants almost make me want to dive into this “Convergence” thing. They’re cool. Iconic. Pure Kidd.
