In last weekends poll we asked Should Flash be on TV or Film and with 60 Percent of the votes it looks as though the majority of you want to see the Flash as a TV series.
Now this weeks poll we want to get your thought on all things “gimmick cover”. Until recently they were very much considered as cliche of the 90’s speculator boom that was used for just about every milestone from important ones (Spider-Man’s anniversary) to those not so much (X-Men 2099) and that is before we even get into the all different permutations of what is at the end of the day just a regular comic in slutty clothes.
But they are on the rise in a big way, We aren’t even in a boom as well comics are in a state of flux as with any publishing companies with fans splitting between print, trade and digital format . We are in September which you will know is DC’s villains month which had a number (not many) of 3d covers printed for their various titles and then this week it was announced that the cover for Kieron Gillen’s Origins follow up Origins II will have a acetate cover (It has been stated there will be more than enough printed off). It now seems as though the idea of the ‘gimmick cover’ is used more wisely compared to their hayday with DC denoting a line wide event and other companies have using them to give a extra bit of class to titles that have much fan interest like Origin II or say the Walking Dead #100 variant.
But before you vote let’s take a look at the options
3D – Has an image printed in bars under a lenticular lense which when viewed from different perspectives appears to move, Notably used for the Alex Ross covers to Superman Forever #1 in 1998 and Batman: No Man’s Land #1 in 1999. Most recently used during DC villains month.
Acetate – A clear sheet of plastic (like you would use for a projector) has an image or text on it which when overlayed on another sheet of paper gives an overall complete cover. Previously used by Marvel with their Alex “Yes him again!” Ross covers to Marvels in 1994 but will now be used in the cover for Marvel’s Origin II.
Chromium – A metallic finish essentially the same as foil but more glossy and differs on techniques used. Used pretty extensively in the 90’s in everything from X-Men titles to indie fair from Image and Valiant. Most recently it has been used by Image to denote books hitting #100 with both The Walking Dead and Invincible having chromium variants.
Die Cut – Holes or shapes are punched through card to form an image eg bulletholes and Eyeholes or to overlay a card image onto an image underneath for contrast. Notably used for the Reign of Supermen covers, Batman #500 (also foil) in the 90’s more recently it was featured on the Batman family titles Death of the Family crossover covers.
Foil and Holofoil – Reflective foil is pressed onto part of the cover, If embossed is termed holofoil. Seen on Transformers Generation 2 #1 (also gatefold) and Iron Man 30th Anniversary covers in the 90’s but more recently has been used on IDW’s Judge Dredd #1 variant and much more prominently by Marvel for their Age of Ultron #1 covers.
Hologram – A 3D foil is attached to the cover, Similar to Hologram pendants or shades. Typically trading card size and attached, rather than the full cover. Has rarely surfaced in recent years but there is still time for a resurgence.
Others – There are a number of others used that are either fairly tacky or unremarkable so have been left in the 90’s or we haven’t mentioned since they are ubiquitous like Glow in the Dark which is exactly as it sounds a cover with a Glow in the Dark coating on part of the cover, There is also gatefold which is the cover printed onto a longer sheet and came to real prominence with the X-Men #1 gatefold cover but was then used pretty extensively by Marvel to the point where all Marvel comics in the late 90’s were gatefolded with recaps and ad’s inside, Is still used frequently by most companies like DC recently during WTF month.
And those are your choices in the poll unless you subscribe to the idea that ‘gimmick covers’ were a trend from the 90’s and best left there in which case you can vote to dislike them. As usual polls are open for a week so vote or die!
The writer of this piece was:
Gary Kane aka (GK) with Jamie Wilson and David Mcintyre.
GK tweets from @Kanoclassic
You can also find Jamie on Facebook
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