Ok, so my next entry in ON SPEC is definitely going to earn me a cease and desist, but hey, any press is good press, right?!
I have been a comic book fan my whole life. Superheroes were the first things that made me want to make art and I never looked back. Artists like Tradd Moore, Alex Ross, Greg Capullo and Sean Gordon Murphy are some of my all-time favorite artists, regardless of medium, and huge inspirations to me. I was always blown away by the craft and care given to comic books, even though many snobs have considered them not “real art.” I have noticed, however, that the same care given to the artwork is rarely given to the title treatments and often dilutes the beautiful work of the pencillers, inkers and colorists.
In my search to find contact information for any relevant departments at DC Comics & Marvel Entertainment I have continually come up empty-handed. Maybe that is telling, and the truth is, these companies don’t have dedicated type designers handling the title treatments and it often falls on an artist who mainly specializes in figurative art? Or maybe I am speaking completely out of school. That's always a strong possibility with me.
Either way, once again this has led me to insert myself where no one asked and try to give comic book title treatments the attention they deserve. Taking extra care to create well-crafted letterforms, balanced layouts and thoughtful concepts that often build on existing well-known title treatments that have "good bones" but just need a bit more refinement and intention. I am attempting to create covers for each to give the titles context but I seem to come up with new title ideas faster than I can illustrate covers. Hopefully I'll eventually catch up to myself. This is an ongoing passion project that gets added to whenever inspiration for a new title strikes.
If anyone has a contact at either Marvel or DC, let me know, or point them in this direction. This one is a Hail Mary, I know, but the little kid in me, drawing Spider-Man pictures on his bedroom floor, can dream of one day, seeing his type designs on the covers of his favorite comics.
P.S. - Hopefully this series isn’t coming off as negative or judgmental towards the involved companies and artists. I am, in no way, trying to demean or disregard the efforts of honest, hardworking creatives. I am one of you. This is all out of love.
- Cody
