In the late '60s, and possibly into the '70s when he was DC's publisher, Infantino had some sort of cover design/oversight position for the whole company. I expect that the same design instinct that led him to draw that Flash cover influenced the name and/or design of the other cover.
I think Scott’s probably right about cover layouts being chosen by the editors.What strikes me are 2 things: 1) I’ve never seen that Nick Cardy cover, and he knocked it out of the park. No surprise there, Carey was a top-notch artist; 2) I never noticed how weird Barry’s hand gesture is on the Flash cover. It looks like he’s reaching up to give a high five, was caught mid-wave, or is going to slap me. Cardy did a way better job with the perspective.
Sales figures may also have played a role. A lot of things I've read suggest that editorial staff had a lot of ideas about what would get the kids to buy books off the spinner rack (I can't remember if the old "gorillas on the cover equals sales" theory is still valid or if it's been debunked). The Flash cover is visually arresting (no pun intended) even if the figure is oddly constructed. Could be that some editor said "crime stories don't sell all that well -- try a 'hand up, stop' cover." So kind of what Scott said.
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4 comments:
Coincidence. Or more precicely, neither, as the latter cover seems distinctive enough from the Flash cover.
The gesture is well known enough. You may as well suggest that both were an homage to The Supremes' "Stop in the Name of Love" choreography
In the late '60s, and possibly into the '70s when he was DC's publisher, Infantino had some sort of cover design/oversight position for the whole company. I expect that the same design instinct that led him to draw that Flash cover influenced the name and/or design of the other cover.
I think Scott’s probably right about cover layouts being chosen by the editors.What strikes me are 2 things: 1) I’ve never seen that Nick Cardy cover, and he knocked it out of the park. No surprise there, Carey was a top-notch artist; 2) I never noticed how weird Barry’s hand gesture is on the Flash cover. It looks like he’s reaching up to give a high five, was caught mid-wave, or is going to slap me. Cardy did a way better job with the perspective.
- Mike Loughlin
Sales figures may also have played a role. A lot of things I've read suggest that editorial staff had a lot of ideas about what would get the kids to buy books off the spinner rack (I can't remember if the old "gorillas on the cover equals sales" theory is still valid or if it's been debunked). The Flash cover is visually arresting (no pun intended) even if the figure is oddly constructed. Could be that some editor said "crime stories don't sell all that well -- try a 'hand up, stop' cover." So kind of what Scott said.
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