tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post4732881570801533882..comments2024-01-14T11:45:23.991-05:00Comments on Occasional Superheroine: Vertigo Should Move Away From "Slickness"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-37709891844525554002008-01-28T02:14:00.000-05:002008-01-28T02:14:00.000-05:00Isn't this largely a function of the artists creat...Isn't this largely a function of the artists creating these graphic novels? You seem to have deliberately chosen non-Vertigo artists (Satrapi, Gipi) who have styles that I guess are "rough" and "authentic". Even the one Vertigo book design you praise is by Gilbert Hernandez who has a similarly "organic" or "not slick" style. <BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, the covers to Pride of Baghdad and Sentences feature artwork by their interior artists, whose work itself is "slicker" than any of the examples of good design you mentioned. Is this really a problem with the cover designs in your mind, or the art itself?Chris Eckerthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03376606134077438449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-67226838130521850282008-01-24T11:59:00.000-05:002008-01-24T11:59:00.000-05:00The Jodi Picoult book follows the trade dress of h...The Jodi Picoult book follows the trade dress of her regular novels. Given that they hired her and are promoting the book to the Jodi Picoult audience, not the comic shop audience, the design makes sense, even to having her name larger than Wonder Woman's. One of Picoult's recent novels had a main character who created comics and included a few pages of comics in it, so her audience may be more primed for this crossover than the general comics market thinks.<BR/><BR/>but this is not disagreeing with your overall claims. Vertigo's OGN design has been slick recently, with all the negativity that that carries in a creative medium.jim kosmickihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08085710372093169851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-56173187793597965922008-01-24T09:49:00.000-05:002008-01-24T09:49:00.000-05:00You know, I have to agree with Sammy above. I lik...You know, I have to agree with Sammy above. I like how Vertigo has used "slick" covers over the years. I remember loving Richard Bruning and Gavin Wilson's photo collage covers on Sandman Mystery Theatre (which, I could argue, gave the book a cohesiveness that its interiors lacked in the early days of rotating artists). And Dave McKean's Sandman covers were also excellent. Neither gave any real indication of the art style on the interior, but what they did is set a mood and a tone. <BR/><BR/>And although I understand your point about covers feeling more like ads, I guess I would say that this is sort of the point of a cover. When you consider how many new comics come out every week, it's always the cover that first grabs your attention on the rack. So using a photograph, or a lot of negative space, or something that is just visually and stylistically different may be just enough to register a pause and lead someone to pick up the book and flip through it. Ultimately, at least in my case, it's when I flip through a book, scanning the art style, layout, etc. that I decide whether or not to make the purchase.Marc Sobelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11794558807120320127noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-35512838878908301212008-01-24T01:54:00.000-05:002008-01-24T01:54:00.000-05:00I'm surprised you didn't mention 100 Bullets, as i...I'm surprised you didn't mention 100 Bullets, as i've always though they do excellent work with their trades--strychnine lives and samurai stand out as excellent--but otherwise, great post. I definitely agree that a lot of Vertigo work is currently sandwiched in some really hideous trades--Sandman is one that looked wonderful in the original McKean designed trades, but then it turned into that ugly "Library" format.Tucker Stonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10793079084633425826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-58256848766905597362008-01-23T19:50:00.000-05:002008-01-23T19:50:00.000-05:00Regarding the INCOGNEGRO cover: I read a Mat Johns...Regarding the INCOGNEGRO cover: I read a Mat Johnson interview where he said that Vertigo wanted a photocover in order to more plainly present the story's central theme of a light-skinned African American man passing for white. That's actually Johnson himself on the cover.Richhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11376065182154885503noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-72353819282385392892008-01-23T16:17:00.000-05:002008-01-23T16:17:00.000-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Johnny Bacardihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07051009739174204952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-49231964051865258542008-01-23T15:07:00.000-05:002008-01-23T15:07:00.000-05:00haha that Wonder Woman cover looks all Civil War-i...haha that Wonder Woman cover looks all Civil War-ish, don't it?<BR/><BR/>And i agree with you, but I loove the MF Grimm/Sentences cover! But I mean in highscool I was a wannabe MC, scribbling lyrics and bad graffiti stylings into my notebooks, so that brings up a lot of nostalgia...Scene --https://www.blogger.com/profile/01533221576524731539noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-1291882257818022922008-01-23T15:06:00.000-05:002008-01-23T15:06:00.000-05:00I was unaware until I saw that cover that Jodi Pic...I was unaware until I saw that cover that Jodi Picoult's Wonder Woman run was a Civil War tie-in. It explains a lot.Sam Hurwitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748998617639566327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-39476231496226229462008-01-23T14:23:00.000-05:002008-01-23T14:23:00.000-05:00i actually really like the "slick" covers myself.a...i actually really like the "slick" covers myself.<BR/><BR/>and i like the novelly design, too.<BR/><BR/>but I do agree Piccoult's name should not have been bigger than Wonder Woman.sammy.the.khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06244600298489890263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25566450.post-32698520016123564332008-01-23T13:52:00.000-05:002008-01-23T13:52:00.000-05:00I don't mind Pride of Baghdad's cover; the eyes fo...I don't mind Pride of Baghdad's cover; the eyes focus on the lion's eyes first and then when you move down you see the image of Baghdad with the lions moving across it. I think it comes off beautifully from an aesthetic point of view.<BR/><BR/>Totally right about the "making graphic novels into novels" covers, though. Why in the heck is Jodi Piccoult's name larger than Wonder Woman's?!Lewis Lovhaughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724769374732321363noreply@blogger.com