It is a bit of an odd offering this time around as I am including many examples of books that were indexes, collections, reprints, and even text previews. And I also repeat many of the titles like Marvel Fanfare. But this time around it is really about the cover art and the expanded canvas on which the talent worked.
This format really emerged when the local comic shop came more into vogue and the direct distribution market blossomed. The back cover space could be used for expanded art instead of advertisements. Sometimes I actually forget the back panel exists because of the bagging and boarding in my comic collection; but in many cases the additional action really adds to the piece. On some covers the back acts as a type of reveal when you flip it over.
I'm sure you know of many more titles with covers like this to explore. I stumbled across many examples and I may have to run a second edition in the coming months.
In a few instances I included an image of the original art for comparison. It is fun to see how the project evolves with color and logos. I've also added some notes below on my favorites.
So take a gander. Make your selections from the Quarter Bin and join in on the "expanded" conversation!
Martinex1: In the past I have talked about how John Byrne channels Steve Ditko. On all of the Doctor Strange Classics covers he pays homage to the legend. Notice the teardrop in Clea's eye (longtime readers will know I've referenced that before)!
Martinex1: I always wonder how an artist decides where to position certain characters and who gets the prime spotlight. On the Marvel Age Annual, Kerry Gammill and Tom Morgan do an amazing job with the characters, even though my preference is for the characters on the back page.
Martinex1: Marshall Rogers and P. Craig Russell cram so much detail into the Dr. Strange cover for Marvel Fanfare that it was fun to flip it over and find the action projected through the crystal ball and see Clea and the window of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Here it is in the inked black-and-white as well as in the final color version. I like how the title is obscured in the original, but I understand why it was changed as well. I am torn to extremes on if I like the wide range of colors or if I actually prefer the black-and-white to focus on the details.
Martinex1: Where does your eye go in the inked version vs. the colored version on Byrne's multi-charactered Fanfare work here? The dark inks of the Angel draw my gaze, but when colored I look to the red Scarlet Witch.
Martinex1: A much more recent cover below, but I really like Alan Davis' art, plus it is the Invaders!
Martinex1: In 1987, Walter Simonson's work on the below index was pretty cool. Check out the mirror image signature.
Martinex1: George Perez' Who's Who covers for DC deserve a post of their own (like I said we will have to share more later), but I found the below original work fascinating. There are slight changes to fit all of the text properly and to balance the image, like bending Aquaman's arm, or moving Adam Strange forward. I think they could have left all of the logos and text off and it would have even been stronger; just let Perez do his thing. I particularly like Ambush Bug bending the corner of the page.
Martinex1: This Wonder Woman 300th Anniversary issue is one of my favorites. By all accounts it was pencilled by Ed Hanigan and inked by Dick Giordano. Who knew?
So now I turn it over to you BITBA fan; what do you say about these widescreen masterpieces?
Cheers!
