Do Covers still "matter"?

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For most of comics history, the cover has been a very important marketing tool, trying to make the issue stand out on the rack/spinner/etc. But now that the Direct Market (and other stuff) has all but eliminated the "casual" comics reader who might be more susceptible to impulse purchases based on the cover, are covers just icing?
Have you bought any comics lately based merely on their covers?

Also, this may be the greatest cover of all time:
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0602/02/zombies3c.jpg

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE THE FOOD OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF GREG HORN'S CHILDREN.

Assuming he has any, and doesn't just spend all his time wanking off to his own pictures.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

Is Marvel Zombies within continuity? And is 'Phillips' Sean Phillips?

In answer to your question: not nearly as much as they used to, but I can still imagine younger readers going into comic shops and picking something up based on the coolness of its cover. How much is an artist getting for a cover these days? (I remember reading somewhere that in the early nineties Simon Bisley was making two grand a cover. In £.)

― chap who would dare to be completely sober on the internet (chap), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:32 (nineteen years ago)

Sort of (Marvel Zombies was introduced as an alternate dimension in Ultimate FanFour, and reportedly will have repercussions there later) and yes.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:34 (nineteen years ago)

Presumably, once they eat Galactus it will put some kind of rift in the power cosmic, blah blah blah - although I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking it would be brilliant if that's how Ultimate Extinction got resolved, that he ceased to exist because he had been eaten IN ANOTHER BOOK.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

Zombies eating Galactus? I like the sound of this comic more and more.

― chap who would dare to be completely sober on the internet (chap), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

I can still imagine younger readers going into comic shops and picking something up based on the coolness of its cover

I actually still do this. This week alone, I picked up JSA and Superman because I couldn't resist their covers.
And obviously, the proliferation of variant covers proves they still have some utility.

xpost

I was wondering if maybe MZ Galactus (and Silver Sufferer) wasn't THE Galactus (and Silver Sufferer), since, y'know, he eats worlds and is humoungously cosmic and so alternate dimensions are probably tiddly winks for him.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:39 (nineteen years ago)

I did think about that first, but that means the Silver Sufferer is ALL EATEN UP already.

Ah. Maybe the zombies eat Galactus but THE POWER COSMIC unites them all again into the Galctus 'suit'? CRISIS ON INFITE RETCON.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, that's the same conclusion I came to, as the issue progressed.

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:43 (nineteen years ago)

[a now-off-topic x-post!]

Well, that Marvel Zombies cover is a great example of how a cover can sell to the "informed" reader. All the MZ covers have been zombified homages to Marvel covers past. That cover up there is a copy of the cover to Incredible Hulk #340. Previous covers paid respects to the first Spidey appearance & (I think) the first issue of X-Men. That sort of thing is definitely going to stick out to fanboys. And, I'll admit, those covers were definitely a bonus when figuring out whether I wanted the series or not.

But that's all covers really are - a bonus (except for the diehard that's gotta catch them all). And I imagine they've been relegated to that status ever since companies WISELY decided to list the creative teams on the cover.

Also: oh yeah folks get buxxx for covers (if the prices covers sell for are any indication). Otherwise, covers-only folks would probably be living hand-to-mouth.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:44 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I knew the MZ covers were all homages, but that one specifically (that was a McFarlane cover orginally, no?) is satisfying, mainly because, okay, first glance, yeah, that's an ICONIC image, second glance, OMG, Wolvie's eyeball is in Hulk's mouth! Third glance, Wolvie's got eyeballs in his mouth too! Fourth glance, EYEBALLS EVERYWHERE!!!

― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:48 (nineteen years ago)

Oh god I didn't even notice the eyeballs! (& yeah, it was a McFarlane.) Tho, speaking of this series, the cover for #5 (goofing on the Spidey-gets-married cover) looks REAL nice.

― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 10 February 2006 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

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