How to Design a Comic Book Cover

August 3, 2011 | All Covers

Ever wondered exactly what goes in to designing your favorite comic book covers? Here’s a quick insight into what writers, designers and publishers all think about when putting together some of the most iconic covers in comic book history.

Of course, there are some aspects of comic book cover design which remain relatively consistent from issue to issue. The logo and the title of the comic itself will need to be instantly recognizable. In the same way that you might quickly recognize the logo for your local bank, or spot the Partypoker symbol on a gaming website, the logo is a good way for regular readers to see that they have found what they were looking for. This is something which may change gradually over the years as a name develops, but which is unlikely to change with every issue.

The main image itself needs to be something which will accurately reflect the issue as a while. A typical picture will also show the hero in danger, to add an element of suspense and curiosity – how will they get out of their latest predicament? Without giving away key plot points, this image will have been intentionally designed to catch the reader’s eye and draw them in. This also means that it may be in brighter colors with larger characters than you might find elsewhere in the issue.

Titles, running lines, issue number and speech bubbles are all frequent features on comic book covers. Again, the aim is to be as informative as possible, without giving too much away. Although the writer or artists never used to be credited on the cover itself, this has become a more common occurrence in recent years. All these elements are key in the majority of the iconic comic book covers that any comic book fan is likely to recognize.