Dylan Todd looks at the logos of some of the Marvel NOW! books over at Guttersniper:
Next up is Mark Waid and Leinil Yu’s Indestructible Hulk, a logo that just makes me wanna barf so hard you guys. First off, where in the hell are the Marvel designers getting their fonts from? These are the weirdest typefaces I have ever seen. Why is the x-height on the “HULK” font so high? Why is it this tall, kind of bold condensed font and not something more squat and muscly and tough? This is the most generic thing I have ever seen. It looks like it was put together by someone who had never really heard of the Hulk and they just ran it through whatever that rocky surface/dirty leather Photoshop effect and were like, “Okay, whatever.” And then, two days later, went back and slapped that “#1” on there, too because the greens don’t match at all. Like, I just … I … what the hell am I even looking at? This is a character that was the runaway star of the summer’s biggest movie and this is what you’re going out there to attract new readers with? Guh. I’m just … I can’t go on, I’ll go on.
It has to be said: Considering that Joe Quesada has talked about Marvel NOW! meaning that the publisher is “going to start to look at our covers with an eye towards strong design and commerciality above all else,” the logos and graphic design that we’ve seen from the books so far really has been pretty disappointing. Remember when Rian Hughes was designing logos for Marvel? Those were the days.
October 24th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
So… is the point of this blog now just to bitch about Marvel? I kind of miss the days when things were being said here.
Such a great many incredible comics came out today it’s just bizarre to me that this blog is talking about FONTS.
October 24th, 2012 at 5:58 pm
Cool story bro.
October 24th, 2012 at 5:59 pm
You mean the days when Caleb would bitch about DC and take shots at them continuously?
Though I mostly do agree with the logos, there’s really not much design sense going on there and they’re very basic and ho-hum to look at. Really just there to tell you what book it is rather than having a strong sense of design, especially in a superhero/costume dominated market. Though I do admit liking the Thor logo just fine.
October 24th, 2012 at 7:10 pm
I don’t know who Caleb is, but I just mean the good old days of Mr. McMillan putting more effort into these posts. I don’t mind if he’s mad at a company, just as long as he makes it interesting.
And really. When non-graphic designers start talking about graphic design — that’s when I reach my revolver. (Self-infliction.)
October 24th, 2012 at 9:45 pm
“I don’t know who Caleb is, but I just mean the good old days of Mr. McMillan putting more effort into these posts.”
When exactly did that happen?
October 25th, 2012 at 7:28 am
Aww are your feelings hurt? Don’t worry, I am sure Marvel is just fine.
October 25th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
The new Marvel logos are a bit questionable, design-wise, especially the direction they’re going in with Uncanny X-Force…
October 25th, 2012 at 4:47 pm
“When non-graphic designers start talking about graphic design”
For sure — the guy complains about the “x-height” of the HULK font, when e v e r y single letter on that cover is a capital. ????!