Amazing Heroes Issue #152 Cover

Amazing Heroes Issue #152 Cover

Periodical
Comics Strips

This multicolored cover is of the one hundred and fifty second issue of Amazing Heroes. It features three vertical panels, each one depicting a very different scene. The first panel, on the left, has a deep green watercolor-style background, with flecks of light green, blue, purple, and pink over it. Additionally, there is a purple flower – done in a similar watercolor style – covering the top half of this panel. Beneath this, are the words “Black Orchid” (ironically in white text), with a squiggle and the word “Preview” underneath this. At the bottom of the panel lies a dark yellow box holding this issue’s barcode. The next panel – the one in the middle – features a dark purple background, with a yellow, parchment-style border at the top and bottom. On top of the purple background is the visage of a woman’s face and taut neck, her head thrown back, her hair just feathery strokes of purple. At the bottom, on the border, it reads “Gaiman” and then “McKean” on the following line. At the top of the panel is what appears to be crumpled up blue paper, with the words “No. 152”, “Nov. 1, 1988”, “$2.95” and “$3.95 Can”. Additionally, it features the first few letters of Amazing Heroes. The right-hand panel has a marbled white background, the rest of the title text, and nothing else, save for a black-and-white photograph of a woman holding a wine glass in the bottom 1/3 of the panel.

The bright, but heavily stylized, cover is a departure from Black Orchid’s Suicide Squad-esque adventures. It hints at the origin story that, after several iterations with a mysterious past, Gaiman finally gave her – she is a plant-human hybrid, similar to other D.C. characters like Poison Ivy. This unique characterization, along with the artistic style, is demonstrative of the elements that made his work in comics so unique and groundbreaking at the time. It shows just how much Gaiman revolutionized the alternative comics industry through his use of more adult, intellectual imagery and concepts. In 1993, Vertigo Comics – an imprint of DC – was created to house the more adult, avant garde, or graphic comics that DC wanted to publish. The creation of this offshoot was due, in large part, to the success of writers like Gaiman; DC decided it was better to just create an imprint than to censor the creators’ content, which says a lot not only about their faith in the content, but their faith in the writers as well. This faith was put most directly in Gaiman’s Sandman series, Vertigo’s flagship title and one of very few graphic novels to ever grace the New York Times Best Seller list. While it started as a revival of a DC series from the mid-1970s, Gaiman’s proposal for it was workshopped repeatedly until he had a wholly new Sandman. His work was clearly influenced by Alan Moore, the creator of Watchmen and a good friend of Gaiman’s. The series started under the DC banner, but was transitioned to Vertigo with issue 47, and is one of the most internationally renowned comic series of all time. Its success is due in large part to the unique, creative approach to comics that Gaiman took, one that prioritized intrigue and intelligence over cheap entertainment.

Executive Editor: Kim "Reed" Thompson
Managing Editor: Chris "Ben" McCubbin
Art Director: Lynette "Sue" Alcorn-McCubbin
Associate Editor: Bruce "Johnny" Walrad
News Correspondents: Michael Johnson, Darren Cranston
Production Assistant: Mark Thompson
Typesetting: Linda Gorell, Arlene Easter
Circulation: Rachel Enger, Carol Kovinick-Hernandez

MSU Special Collection Comic Art, PN6725.A47

Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

1988-11

Holly Simon

Rights Restriction Apply

Amazing Heroes Issue #152 Table of Contents
Amazing Heroes Issue #152 Page 21

10 1/4 x 6 1/8 in.

English

Periodical

OMIT

1981-1992