The Quarter Bin: I'm Seeing Red (Hues and Tones)!





Martinex1: I have expressed before that I enjoy covers that use monochromatic (or nearly monochromatic) style.  The less mash of colors, the more attracted I am to a book.   It is not for everybody I know, but I find it appealing.  Today let's take a look at "red" books that use the bold color as a wash and as a background.  We will also gander at comics that have varying red hues - from sunburst orange to slightly pink. 


As you consider your choices for today, choosing only four out of the broad offering, consider how the color was used and if it truly met the need of the cover's story.   Let's start with some of the more consistently uniform use of red.  After hours of comparing and contrasting, I found that the Marvel heroes rose to the top.  The Fantastic Four particularly used the color frequently and in aggressive amounts.  Perhaps in their case the coloring of their uniforms lent itself to a nice contrast.   But in general, Marvel liked to use the technique.  Although there have been earlier examples, the introduction of the modern Vision in Avengers #57 set the standard.

 

 

 

 When used more as a background or an accent color, red still pops when on the rack.  Harvey Comics used it as a nice contrast to their uniformly colored characters like the white Casper and the yellow Baby Huey.   Their characters like Wendy and Hot Stuff, however, used it sparingly for obvious reasons. Likewise we start to see other comic companies using red in backgrounds.  The Fantastic Four continues to use the color liberally. Characters like Daredevil have many examples but typically by limiting the background and focusing on the costume.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a primary color, surely red has an advantage.   It has continuously been used as a basic element of costume coloring from Spider-Man to Daredevil to Deadman, Red Tornado, Adam Strange and countless others.  But does it work as a main cover element?

 Does the color of rage and anger float your boat when it comes to comic covers?   Do you have other more majestic examples to share for comparison?  Which of today's offerings are the most compelling?  Which used the palette to the best advantage?   Would these leap off of the spinner rack when positioned amongst other hues?   Which are your favorite four - based on aesthetics and not monetary value?   Why do you appreciate the graphic elements of those particular examples?

Enjoy the day and keep the BitBA conversation going today by sharing your color commentary.  Cheers!