CGC FORUM TOP BRONZE AGE COVERS - #18

[jbud73]

Cover #18 signals the introduction of 2 factors in the poll - one Neal Adams and two the fist book to garner significant votes across the whole spectrum. Thanks to Greggy for Nominating, Commentary and the Perfectly Centered scanned copy (not an easy thing to get on this issue as a lot of people will attest).

 

House of Secrets 88 - The mood of the cover is somewhat similar to the Batman 227 cover, without the immediate danger of the female present .The wash tone affect and the simple color palette chosen fits the atmosphere of the situation perfectly. The technical brilliance exhibited by Adams makes this cover a "must have". - Greggy

 

[RDK]

Now THAT's a nice cover! Love the contrast between her white, ghostly gown and the dark, moody background. Great composition, too, with her eyes meeting the gargoyle's. All that plus the House of Secrets up on that hill, looming over everything.

[Scheradon]

This was #4 on my list. Thought it was a great looking cover. You can almost feel the eerie wind blowing. Very nice.

[drbanner]

 

One of my favorite Adams covers, although it appears as more of a Gothic Romance novel cover than a comic book cover if you ask me. Love the wash-tone blues and blacks, with the yellow logo, light, and her hair providing a nice contrast. Simple, uncluttered, and effective.

 

In my various dadly duties, I tell my kids and their friends a lot of ghost stories, many of which I make up and the "lone light on in an upstairs window" theme is featured prominently in "Old Mr. Johnson's House", which was inspired by this cover.

[Darthdiesel]

Classic cover, but does anyone think the story is as good as the cover?

[drbanner]

Classic cover, but does anyone think the story is as good as the cover?

 

Start your own poll!

[Darthdiesel]

DC cover fanboy!

[drbanner]

DC cover fanboy!

 

That's an end result, not a pre-disposition!

[october]

DC cover fanboy!

 

That's an end result, not a pre-disposition!

 

[Scheradon]

How are the HOS titles as a read? I love ghost stories and such and the covers are certainly enjoyable, so I've been debating whether or not to try and obtain a raw run of them to check out. I've never actually read any as I'm mostly a Marvel guy.

[october]

How are the HOS titles as a read? I love ghost stories and such and the covers are certainly enjoyable, so I've been debating whether or not to try and obtain a raw run of them to check out. I've never actually read any as I'm mostly a Marvel guy.

 

Some stories are pretty good, most aren't. Pick up the "Welcome Back to the House of Mystery" mini trade. Those have the cream of the crop including "Nightmare" and "The Demon Within".

[Scheradon]

How are the HOS titles as a read? I love ghost stories and such and the covers are certainly enjoyable, so I've been debating whether or not to try and obtain a raw run of them to check out. I've never actually read any as I'm mostly a Marvel guy.

 

Some stories are pretty good, most aren't. Pick up the "Welcome Back to the House of Mystery" mini trade. Those have the cream of the crop including "Nightmare" and "The Demon Within".

 

Cool, thanks!

[Point Five]

You know, I didn't vote for HOS #88, but if my copy looked THIS good I probably would have!

[Scrooge]

You know, I didn't vote for HOS #88, but if my copy looked THIS good I probably would have!

 

Then you voted for the wrong cover P5 HoS # 88 got my # 2 vote from the nominated covers. The atmosphere of cover and subject matter won me over. The unseen (and really unknown) menace of the cover is nicely conveyed by the character pose and agitated state. Composition-wise, it could have been better but because it recalls a classic GA cover, I gave it somewhat of a pass on that aspect. Plus, unlike the Marvel covers, the colors enhance the overall appeal of the cover to me. Nice to see it here but obviously somewhat dissapointed not to see it ranked 5 spots higher. The people have spoken.

[johnenock]

Didn't vote for this one, but as far as the Gothic Romance -c go this is right up there with Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love 1(my favorite which wasn't nominated) and Sinister House of Secret Love 1.

[Point Five]

Oh, I hear you, Scrooge. Thinking more about it, it's likely because I came very late to the BA Horror party that I don't rank a cover like this one in my top 5...the "classic" BA superhero covers like Superman 233 and Green Lantern 76 have been seared into my brain over the years (decades!) in a way that this cover has not been. It's a beaut though, no question!

[Scrooge]

Oh, I hear you, Scrooge. Thinking more about it, it's likely because I came very late to the BA Horror party that I don't rank a cover like this one in my top 5...the "classic" BA superhero covers like Superman 233 and Green Lantern 76 have been seared into my brain over the years (decades!) in a way that this cover has not been. It's a beaut though, no question!

 

Jon, I benefit from seeing most of the cover as "fresh". First, I really hadn't seen any DC cover until joining the boards and, second, even the Marvel covers, though I did read the stories, weren't necessarily reprinted in the French format since the publications over there would bundle 4 Marvel series into one issue of a mag, thereby the re-packaging company would either rotate the covers features or plain and simply commission an original cover for the mag. Thanks to that I was able to go to the covers nominated with a somewhat impartial mind. And, as I mentioned, I walked away with no Marvel cover in my top 5 (that day). In any event, picking 5, even if only out of 80 is sure a tough task.

[johnenock]

BA superhero covers like Superman 233 and Green Lantern 76 have been seared into my brain over the years

 

[jbud73]

You know, I didn't vote for HOS #88, but if my copy looked THIS good I probably would have!

 

Very few copies look like that copy - trust me I've been looking for a while and every time I see greggy's of Dr. B's copy its just

[divad]

As much as I hate to agree with Greggy, this is a fantastic cover. The "House of Secrets" impossibly stands at the precipice of the peak, lit only by one lone light and the full moon. It's moonlit pallette, Gothic architecture, impossible staircase, Victorian heroine, and kinetic portrayal of the wind throughout, are all contributing elements of a great composition. Bravo Neal!

 

The mood of the cover is somewhat similar to the Batman 227 cover, without the immediate danger of the female present .The wash tone affect and the simple color palette chosen fits the atmosphere of the situation perfectly. The technical brilliance exhibited by Adams makes this cover a "must have". - Greggy