Branding Failure: The Rise and Fall of Marvel's Corner Box Art
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CORRECTION: As can sometimes happen when it’s a one man show, I made a mistake. When I mention Byrne’s work on X-Men, I shared an image by Dave Cockrum.
From the 60s through the 90s, Marvel Comics had one of the most identifiable and beloved brands in comic books with their corner box art. This episode of Comic Tropes analyzes the creation, evolution and eventual loss of the corner box art brand.
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When the corner box art was updated, it felt to me like an artist was taking ownership of the book, saying, "I'm not just a guest, this is mine now." I loved that.
Valid
Walt Simonson having Beta Ray Bill smash the old title and get himself into the corner box of Thor - on Walt's first solo story - felt epic at the time.
When Todd McFarlane redid his upside down spidey corner box with more detail, it was really important to me
"Oh hi, you caught me scarring cattle with a red-hot stick. Speaking of branding, I wanted to talk about corner box art..."
The corner box art is just something that feels quintessentially Marvel to me. Great video!
There's nothing like vintage 60s/70s Marvel!
@@MrBronx61 😅 6:52 6:52 6:52 6:52
I love how Mark Brooks wants to bring corner box art back so badly, and you know what? Why not, it's fun! I especially loved when the X-Men did it.
(I sometimes forget we live in the exact same area of Kent lol)
im repersetin fo them gangstas all across da worl
It's gonna be like the yoyo, comes and goes in terms of popularity, but ultimately, it's timeless
You're in Kent? Shout out from Snoqualmie here!! Looks like there are a few of us from the Sound lurking around these parts! 😉
I remember as a child that little box was brimming with magic - especially the team-ups/crossovers.
I really liked the X-Men Micronaut box art mixing the two teams, Wolverine & Marionette, Rann & Storm, Colossus & Bug and issue 4 had Huntarr and Acroyear fighting in the box but were part of the overall battle taking place on the cover.
I recall, as a boy, when Marvel Team-Up had art at both upper corners. On the left would be Spiderman, and the right corner would show that month's guest hero. I am sadden to learn that Marvel has moved away from corner box art.
I've been trying to remember the name if your channel for months!!! Haha what luck!
I would always see if they could cram all the characters into the box, and make up all these conspiracies in my head about why so-and-so character was left out. Oh, what fun I had with nothing to do.
Absolutely. Marvel Team Up .. Marvel 2 in 1. They knew how to brand it so there were more then one character and thats why the Avengers were probably created - to beef up sales of individual characters.
The corner box art is part of what makes a Marvel comic cover so cool. They should totally bring it back. I usually don't buy to many new comics, but a few weeks ago I picked up a Daredevil and a She-Hulk, and I noticed there was no corner art. They need to bring it back.
Byrnes head portraits are mini masterpieces that have stood the test of time.
the ONLY truly good head shots at marvel. copy that miniature style with a new artist.
@@mercurywoodrose 99
John Byrne will always be my favorite all time comic book artist.
@@mercurywoodrose I always wanted to see Kevin Maguire head shots on DC Justice League books. The man is simply the best facial artist EVER.
His box art on the X-Men was heads and shoulders (excuse the pun) over those of previous artist Dave Cockrum's.
“If you think Nirvana was a band your grandparents listened to.” I think my hip dislocated just hearing that. Awesome shirt, BTW!
Ha! This video was a wonderful walk down memory lane for a GenXer who grew up on late60s to late80s Marvel, but that Nirvana comment did sting a little 😂
Agreed. I had actually forgotten how magical the corner box art could be. It might not be strictly necessary;but why not reincorporate the idea?
Nice new outro music btw.
I was in Mexico recently and it was interesting to find that newsstand comics were alive and well. Not to the same degree as the pictures in this video but just about every one had at least a few. The selection was interesting as well. There were heavy hitters like Deadpool, Miles Morales, and Star Wars but also A LOT of Conan.
@Iago HB I can confirm it, too
I feel like getting rid of newstand comics is a bad idea tbh. How tf are you going to introduce new comic book readers if there isn't any comics in places that aren't as specialized as comic book shop.
I'm from Mexico and I can confirm. Even, in 2018/2019 I bought my firsts comics in a newsstand.
One thing to note is that John Byrne did not replace the Cockrum heads with his own until X-Men #123, which was his 15th issue, when he passed Dave Cockrum's total of 14 issues (not including the Giant-Size X-Men #1). If the count seems off then that is because he didn't draw #110.
I seem to remember him saying this in an interview (I think in the Comics Journal).
The corner box art looks so cool, especially the Spiderman ones. I wish there was something like that in the Marvel movie posters as well. It just looks awesome.
If MCU movie posters had something like that. It would be a cute little call back to their comic roots.
Spider-Man, not Spiderman. Stan made that distinction on purpose. Respect!
Great idea!
When I identify the silver age Marvel's and DC comics I grew up with, I always look to see
1. What the corner box art looks like
2. To see if the price was 12 cents (I collected these post newsstand in the '70s) or
3. 15, 20, 25 cents (the actual books I bought from the racks).
I love the original corner box art!
I used to love the corner boxes. When I was a wee kid back in the early 70s drawing my own superhero comics I rarely went beyond the front cover, I'd just draw the front cover of a story without bothering with the actual full story cos that was too difficult, and I had lots of superhero teams so I'd really enjoy drawing the corner boxes with their disembodied heads. I still remember my first superhero team which were called The Electories (for some reason) who included Melty (a girl with melting powers), Merry (a mermaid), Rocket-Boy (a character who preceeded Cannonball by over 10 years!), Angel-Girl (an angel with wings and magic wand), Zap-Boy (a chinese boy with zap powers) and Fireball (a boy who could throw fireballs from his hands). I don't think I ever completed a whole story, I just had much more fun doing the front cover art with my heroes fighting baddies without having to bother with an actual plot.
That sounds awesome, man 👍🏻
@@jamesduncan6729 cheers buddy, I was only about 7, but I loved the early 70s Avengers and Fantastic 4. I'd read the 60s X-Men and enjoyed them but I was nearly a teenager when the New X-Men appeared, and I totally fell in love with them but I'd given up drawing my own superheroes by then. Drawing was enjoyable but I was never that good at it.
I like how you say "A boy with zap powers" as if zap powers is a thing everyone knows, like flying.
@@JakobNoone I know mate, I was only 7 or 8. These characters had a life of their own and Zap-Boy's powers hurt people with ZAPS but didn't really damage them. Of all my characters Zap-Boy in my head was one of the nicest. He was definitely chinese, I knew that for a fact and I tried to draw him that way with slit eyes and everything that would now be seen as racist, but I really liked Zap-Boy, he didn't really want to hurt the baddies, just make them see sense and be good. He was the kindest of my Electories super-team.
@@seedhillbruisermusic7939 Ha! That's awesome. Makes me smile. :) Thanks for sharing. Any drawings of him? Or more detailed remembrance of his costume?
To be honest, when I go to comic shops nowadays I find it hard to find comics that stand out, despite the cover art. This is especially since so many of the covers are often colored in the same dark shades. A corner box, with a character design, would go a long way to distinguish comic from one another.
I feel the same way, but mine extends to what is behind the cover as well. I cant really call myself a collector. Im in my thirties, and recently came into a trove of golden age comics, and I fell in love with how gorgeous their artwork is, popping with primary colors, and instantly recognizable as a "comic book." I loved these books so much, I thought hey, maybe I like comics? So I went to a shop and fished around. I find modern comics not just graphically inferior to their elder counterparts, I find most of them ugly and boring to look at. I was stunned to find so few people thought the art in old comics was "as good." I think its waaaay better across the board. I dont seek out 'perfection' in artwork. I dont want every character and every panel to have perfectly rendered, neat, digitally sharp characters. I like how rough some of the illustrations are from back in the day. I cant articulate why. It just looks better to me. Looks more like a human drew something with their hand and less like a computer was used to make something virtually flawless. Then again, I dont like most modern music for the same reason, I guess. Pitch corrected, perfectly tuned, perfectly flat bpm. Its boring. Rheres nothing human left in it.
Plus, I dont think "Batman," a guy dressed up like a Bat, would look like Mr. Universe. I dont believe he *should* look like Mr. Universe. Hes an underdog out there on the street braving life and limb. Thats his whole appeal ad a sympathetic character. I believe the 1950s Batman is sad about his dead parents. The mldern guy is just a roided up CG asshole pissing on about his mom and dad when the story wants you to believe that the Mr. Olympia with the head of a male supermodel is actually human.
As a kid I loved Marvel’s corner art, especially because when I was going through back issues of X-Men or Avengers at a shop I could use them as a sort of buyer’s guide to find issues that had my favorite characters.
Corner box art for team books with shifting lineups, like X-Books or Avengers, could be *invaluable*
I loved the corner box art. It always screamed “Marvel” to me. It was such a subtle switch in the 90’s that I didn’t really notice until just now.
In the process of working on my own indie comic… totally has corner box art on the covers. Just something really cool about it
Marvel's cover design is so perfectly comic book branding everyone still uses it when they make anything that's comic books related.
Honestly nowadays, a retro style cover would stand out more on the shelves, with the corner box art. Amazing fantasy #1 which came out recently comes to mind, although that didn't have the corner box
We could do with more eye-catching covers like the comics of old.
Funny to read this in 2024
It's such an iconic component of a comic book cover, that you can see it homage'd in Kohei Hirokoshi's My Hero Academia's volume covers. I think that global influence is pretty dope.
I remember seeing a couple of those Hulk ones, and even wondering why he was tearing off his lab coat. Not once did I consider it was a flip book! What a rush of nostalgia and joy! Thanks for the smile that I so badly needed in these dark times...
I loved the Hulk corner box art with Professor Hulk transforming into Savage Hulk. I’ve got every issue!
When I was a kid, I LOVED going to the magazine rack, or even better, the comic book spinner racks and seeing the corner box and iconic stripe across the top of Marvel books! I totally get why they don't do it anymore, but the kid in me never gets tired of that iconic look.
Corner box art is very iconic. Any old issue from the bronze, copper, and early modern eras have that special feel not just because of the cover art itself, but also the simple corner box art with the characters and price/Publisher/hero name. John Byrne's corner art with the X-Men team is awesome to look at everytime.
They should bring it back!
As a Zoomer who has read comics for awhile now, I would absolutely love to see the return of Marvel Brand Boxes!!! Everytime that I get an Omnibus or Epic Collection I always look forward in seeing the Marvel Brand logo on the pages and always wondering why Marvel doesn't still use them.
Love these deep dives into the minutiae of the comic business we often take for granted! This is one of the things that differentiates this channel from the other comics channels! That and the host's wonderful personality and sense of humor!
In the 90s Vertigo did a great job making their books look incredibly unique and beautiful in a way no other books were. they have a dark kind of outline along the whole side and top
I just put out one of my one-shot indie books last year and the whole cover was just a corner box design, featuring all the characters’s heads. Nothing says “comics” to me like a corner box
What's the comic called?
I loved Bill Sienkiewicz’ New Mutants run and his various corner box art. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
👍 To Bill Sienkiewicz!
I'd love to see corner box art return! Todd McFarlane always crushed it during his Spiderman and hulk runs
That one where the Lizard holds a tore up Spiderman by the scruff of his neck about to take a chomp is one of my favorite covers of his
I bought all of those "flip-book" issues of "The Incredible Hulk" and never once noticed that the left-corner boxes were an animated transformation. Wow!😀
I want Marvel to step up and be better than it’s ever been across the board it’s branding is too special to be slacking in any department especially in the comic/animation division
I truly admire your optimism
The corner box was also a huge icon to me. My dad’s collection of G.I.Joe comics had them and I would flip through them all trying to peek the differences.
Absolutely brilliant episode. I'd never thought about the corner box before - but the second you pointed it out, the whole layout of a front page made sense. Thank you so much.
Man, I never even noticed that they got rid of those back in the 90s... I guess I'd taken them for granted back then and didn't pay attention. What a shame. :(
This is SO GREAT.
Nothing comes close to good old comics ' back issues
Wow, I loved the corner box art, especially when the did the "floating heads" trend. Since I read the team books (X-Men & Avengers), I love being able to see who was on the team that issue, especially when they had some rapidly rotating rosters.
I remember loving those, it was a neat design element that it gave a sense of identity and consistency but it was fun and give the marvel comics an proprietary aesthetic design, in a way to remind you no matter what was happening in the cover this was indeed the comic of your favourite character. Not only as a marketing standpoint but as a graphic design also give books their own identity by doing it graphically, maybe it was because that it works better in a kids mind : just seeing Spider-Man jumping felt much more interesting than just the dry logo with issue number and pricing . If it was a video game it looked like a "Character select screen". It also was like a sort o game to see if there was something new, or some hint if you could only see that, sometimes I got a comic but couldn't read it until I got home because it was bagged or whatever, that would calm my anxiety for the time being . On team books it was useful to keep track who were the main characters, specially in teams with large rosters or a rotating one, or even to identify them, specially as a kid I was bad at remembering each character name on the X-Men but there I could see who was featured in the book graphically. I even remember drawing it always for my fan comics as a kid. I loved the Marvel Comics logo of the 90s too.
And for a short time in the late 90s they did something I feel was very clever and useful: the inside cover of the book of featured a small Cast description of the character featured on that story, and a short "Previously, on..." Page that I find was really helpful to new readers how may need a little help to jump in the current storylines ( and keep those explanations outside the actual comics, which always seem like a clunky , boring gimmick) -like having a big caption or even worse a character explaining it for the readers ("Oh if it isn't mr evil, my greatest enemy!").
Marvel has continued doing the story recap on the first page with a lot of their books over the past few years.
I always loved the little boxes, and they were especially helpful on a comic like The Avengers, where periodic changes in the roster were a regular feature. If you had a lot of issues, you could do a flip book of the changing cast over time.
I always liked how Kohei Horikoshi includes corner box art in the My Hero Academia volume covers, even though there's no reason he would need to, just for the sake of homage
My favorite corner box art is Amazing Spider-Man #250 wherein the Hobgoblin gives his review of the issue, "It's great! Steal it!"
A different era. So much fun and creativity. I'd love to see it all come back, but sadly that is not how time works.
As a branding expert, I was glad to see you bring this subject up. I've always thought comic book publishers did a pretty poor job of understanding how brands are built and the role their identity elements played in reinforcing the value of their brand on a title-by-title basis.
Without getting too technical, a brand's value is enhanced by clearly establishing and reinforcing the "values" the brand represents - and doing this requires clear and consistent messages delivered with iconography, production values, and quality (in this case storytelling via written words and art).
The upper left-hand corner on the cover of a comic book is, as you noted, precious real estate and deserves more than just a logo. Where Marvel succeeded for so many years was by using that real estate to make a promise to its customers as to what they could expect when they read the book. Where they fell short was in letting that corner space become routine and look the same from issue to issue (which then meant less and less to a prospective customer).
I was glad to see you featured some of the corner box art that featured a variety of hero illustrations from issue to issue. The progress of the Hulk from professor to rampager is a great example of how to use that corner space - conveying a little bit of what a reader might find inside, changing slightly from issue to issue, while including the essential price, issue and corporate identity information to complete a commercial transaction.
Will corner art ever make a comeback? One could argue that a savvy publisher with a marketing background would find a number of opportunities to improve a typical issue of a comic book so that it would do more to build the long-term value of the title and the corporate brand .... but who knows?
Great stuff as always, Chris. Thanks for continuing your content! All the best.
This was great, Chris!! I used to love the corner box art on Marvel comics when i was a collector, and it is sad that it has been phased out. I was unaware of the history corner box art had, or how it started or who created it, but now i know. Collecting comics with unique corner art was like collecting rare bubble gum cards, and i remember corner box art starting many a conversation between me and my friends. I used to love the 'Marvel team-UP' boxes which always had Spider-Man and whatever hero he was teaming up with in that issue. God, those were the days-unfortunately we will probably never, ever see those days again. It is a long lost art form that has become extinct. Hail to the glory days of comics when you were actually entertained instead of being preached at.
Good episode, Chris. I didn't know I'd find it so interesting, but I definitely did.
I'm a 90's baby, so the corner boxes were fazed out by the time I got into comics, but I always loved seeing them on back issues. In fact, when I decided to get a geeky tattoo, I actually got a corner box from a Spider-man issue.
I loved the corner boxes when I was a kid, looking the diferent characthers or the litle details. Super Iconic. When I eventually make my own comic books I'll definetely have them up there.
Lmk when you do!
Chris! THIS is why I love your channel! Thank you for unpacking these cool bits of comic history. Big fan!!!
The 60s and 70s Marvel comics were my thing and yes, that cover box was part of the charm.
I always liked it, and generally love little details like that, and you could argue its helpful for later comic reselling/organizing as well when you have to go through large stacked boxes and mainly flip the upper title parts.
Overall I think it also brings attention to the logo, like "oh it has these characters, whats the name of this series?" that may stick better for later purchases. And most of all I really liked when artists did their own little takes on the box characters, something that works better now that recognition of the character isn't as mandatory, just something to pique your interest bit more.
I remember my outrage when McFarlane's elegant Amazing Spider-Man corner box was replaced by Larson's (my opinion at the time) messy bursting out the box travesty. Corner boxes mattered so much. I still think it's a great marketing tool in the West. We're conditioned in the West to glance up at the top left when we see something that looks like a book.
One of the best aesthetic aspects of older comics! Loved this feature.
When you talked of Byrne always having done the X-Men box art, that was actually Dave Cockrum's featured though. (9:12)
I always loved the corner boxes. Especially on the team books like Avengers. Whenever the roster changed, you had a collection of faces in the corner box. Letting you know who was on the team. I also miss Marvel's Bullpen Bulletins feature & monthly letters page .... ahhh memories.
When I was a kid I read and remembered these so much that when I drew comics as a kid I always added some corner box art in my comics.
Really enjoyed this episode, Chris. I started reading comics in the early 70’s so the corner box art was always something that evokes great nostalgic memories for me. I actually found someone on Etsy who makes absolutely amazing enamel pins from some of the original Marvel art, but he even makes them using DC characters!
Upon seeing the Spider-Man examples at 8:27 and the other Marvel characters at 10:46, I did actually think, "These would look cool as enamel pins!"
@@TheRowlandstone73 YES!!! EXACTLY!!! I hadn't noticed the upvotes on my comment, but I admit to being very happy that others share a similar love for the corner boxes and making them live on in enamel pin form. I won't turn this into a sales pitch, but if you are interested in ordering some of these wonderful pins, do a quick search on Etsy and I'm confident you'll find the guy I am talking about. Not only is he a talented artist, his products are very affordable. Plus, in addition to the pins he offers most of the same designs as STICKERS!!!! I realize stickers aren't as popular as pins, but the 10 year old geek in me still wants to find those old Marvel stickers with the bad puns and plaster them all over my Trapper Keeper!
As an old and former comic book collector, I can say that when I go into a comic book store now it feels alienating. One does feel the need for comfort at quickly finding what you are looking for. Instead, I am forced to having to commit to extended browsing when I really don't have the time. On the other hand, that was then, this is now.
I began heavily reading and collecting Marvel Comics in '76-77 at the age of 9. I had already shown a talent for illustration, and The Amazing Spider-Man always fascinated me with his iconic colors, his suit design, and his physique. It was this era that I cut my teeth as an illustrator and artist, and Marvel was my teacher. Ross Andru was the illustrator in those days and, I dare say, as good as or better than Ditko and Romita. What was striking was Andru's defined muscularity and action perspectives of my hero. Also very noteworthy was the use of shades of purple and blue in Spidey's suit in the cover art and throughout the book. These elements made Spider-Man even more three-dimensional than even Romita had done.
But it was that corner box of Spider-Man standing majestically as if a sentinel watching over the comic book itself that captivated me from one issue to the next. It was something that I could always count on, and I expected it with every issue and was jolted when he was posed shortly after the climactic 200th issue (which coincided with the end of the 70s).
Other aspects of the cover changed, such as webs in the title, a distinct box separating the small left-corner "Marvel Comics" in the top banner, the "Still Only" price explosions, the UPC box and even the slow disappearance of the Comics Code. But that left-corner icon of Spider-Man standing tall with the slight perspective skew that Ross Andru defined the era of Spider-man's amazing peak popularity in comics.
To this day, it still intrigues me and I fondly miss.
I always loved when a creator changed up the corner box art to reflect things happening in the title or publisher universe (or make comments on/jokes about the industry, etc.).
When you asked who created that little corner art, I immediately thought "Had to be Steve Ditko".
Well damn, I was right...
Considering I'm not really a consumer of comics (though a fan of the characters) I'm surprised I just instinctually knew that.
In latter years, he would deny having thought up the box.
I love these videos about the history of comics. Not the history within the story itself, but of the business. You are like a comics "beyond the trailer".
Video was well done! I used to love the corner box art of the team books- when it gave the reader an idea of who was featured in the story. Kinda like the roll calls from the Golden Age.
I remember that one with the Vision phasing through the Avengers’ title.
Sweet ! 😎✌️
Great video man. Brings back so many great memories. I miss the corner box art.
Amazing! This is something so ingrained in my reptile brain since childhood I've never really consciously thought about it, but the moment you said 'box art' so many images came flooding back.
Why isn't everyone already subscribing to your channel, it makes no sense (I blame Hydra).
ComicTropes that new intro is off the chain‼️ I remember when I was a kid I used to read my dad’s comics back in the late 70’s and always looked out for the corner box first because it would show what characters were gonna be in the story. Like you knew what you were getting into. I wasn’t too thrilled about the nineties conversions but, that’s just me.
That box art might be why I turned out to be a Marvel nut, I always remember my older brothers X-Men comics and most times I was not allowed to touch them so I just enjoyed the cover art and always remember the little heads screaming at me and giving me stuff to work with my imagination trying to figure out who it could be.
Also now that they don’t have to deal with the news stand I wonder what artists could do with the box art, creative teams could be branded by their box art. So much you could do with it.
My most vivid memory is of the lead-up issues to the Bannerhulk going berserk in Incredible Hulk 299. The corner boxes had a slowly changing Bannerhulk back into the savage hulk.
I miss them. These eye-catchers were a staple of all the years I read comics!
Superman titles adopted the corner boxart from "Exile" to "Death" (so... from 89 to 92?). It was cool how each title had the "same" Superman pose just drawn by each title's artist. First, it was Superman just standing there. Then, it was Superman in the flying pose of Superman #1. Finally, with the launch of Man of Steel #1 it was the pose from that cover. With the end of Death of Superman it was replaced by a simple S-shield logo.
Definitely John Byrne’s XMEN and Avengers box art was the best. John Romita’s Spiderman is also great.
I loooooved the evolving Hulk corners by Milgrom! Thanks for giving those some much needed love👍
4:43 "believe it or not, he did not take credit for this." lol
Back in 1979 this guy had a Comicbook store in his basement with thousands of old comics. It had that wonderful smell of golden and silver age. I went straight to the X-Men and bought # 14. The box art had Cyclops in the front with the rest looed like they were peeking around a corner. Comicbook heaven.
Dave Cockrum did the X-MEN heads before Byrne.
In fact, you actually showed a Cockrum corner box, while attributing it to Byrne.
Corner boxes were cool, but I preferred the Circle, first started in the 1970s, and then brought back in the 1990s/2000s.
So nostalgic. I loved the box artworks with that old "big M" Marvel logo
I've always loved Bill Sincavage's Warlock. I never realized it was impressionism.
Yes! The box art is needed. The first time I saw it missing, I was a bit disappointed.
Love this channel, it never disappoints. You are always well spoken, and have obviously done your research. There are only a few channels I watch every video for and this is one of them. As people who love the movies start to gravitate to the source material more and more I predict this channel blowing up. Keep up the awesome work.
I always wondered about that, great episode chris!
I loved the corner boxes when I was growing up at the prime of the Byrne runs. I liked the rotation of characters. I'm for bringing them back!
I too miss the corner art. I knew what comics I was getting and it always caught my eye.
As someone who has read Spider-Man from the start to up to the 90's, I think it's huge. I never really thought about how it was phased out. I agree it feels necessary. I'm sad it's gone.
The general retro look of the corner box is just so aesthetically pleasing! Would LOVE to see them return!!
Man I never realized they phased these out. I guess you can tell around when I stopped buying comics consistently lol
I used to love those boxes, specially the more dynamic ones - can't say I noticed Hulk's transformation but sure did notice the team roster changes or small nod to the story we would find inside.
And the ones by Todd McFarlane then? Man those were as amazing as the character and I loved it!!
Missed these episodes. Welcome back Chris :)
The single most amazing fact about this was Stan Lee NOT taking credit for an idea.
Must have been caught off guard
Of course, there was also DC's attempt at branding: the "go-go checks". Could probably get an episode out of that peculiar piece of comics history, too.
I can't see those without thinking, "Ah, the Ska issue."
@@DevinParker HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Marvel Exec: "The corner box art we have on our comics is pretty fun, right?
Marvel intern: "Yes sir, it sure is!"
Marvel Exec: "Well we definitely don't want to keep doing that then! Discontinue it now."
That's how I imagine that conversation must've taken place. Cause I can think of no other good reason to stop doing the corner boxes.
i know you are joking, but the real reason is more likely the variant cover trend.
it started around the time the boxes ended, and there are (bizarrely to me) many people who will try to collect all the covers.
The little box obscures the art, and I remember how they'd release alternative issues with or witboit.
also worth noting someone said "why are we doing this? we dont sell at newstands anymore
or...
Exec: Intern, you're in charge of the corner box art
Intern: Hmm... ok... he didn't say I have to make it better...
...& I need to prove I did _something_ to earn that paycheck...
Bye bye box!
I miss them big time. Growing up, I'd read my older brother's comics and I would always choose ones based on that box.
This was a fascinating history. Thanks for this.
Very entertaining video! It gave me pleasant nostalgia for my comic-reading youth. 🙂
(Has the theme music been updated? It sounds GREAT! I've always enjoyed it but it is a cool techno jam now!)
Definitely something I always loved about older titles. It's just so iconic and eye-catching. And it doesn't make the corners look empty with a bunch of extra space.
If DC ever uses Action Comics and/or Detective comics as Anthology series again they should use the corner box art to showcase Superman and Batman respectively.
They could use the Superman smashing the car image from Action Comics #1.....
I did not expect this to be such an interesting topic. I also never realized as a kid there was so much context to those little faces in the corner of my comics. That Hulk sequence was some next-level easter egging.
I miss the corner boxes. Especially in the team and team-up titles, where the characters could change during the comic book run.
Great video, Chris!
The word “iconic” is so overused that I hate to go there, but Marvel’s corner box was truly iconic. I began collecting comics when I was 7 years old, way back in 1961. I bought my comics at a drugstore and I had to point to the covers inside a glass showcase.
All the characters, old or new, were new to me and the only real distinction were the covers themselves.
I especially loved Marvel’s “split-book” titles -Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales, & Tales to Astonish. What kid wouldn’t choose 2 superhero stories for the price of one? I came to see the Marvel corner box as almost a promise of satisfaction.
Superman was (and is) my all-time favorite and I loved Batman and the JLA all the other DC characters, but Marvel had superior storytelling, dynamic art and a connected universe. The corner boxes reinforced and announced that connectivity. Each new title I discovered title said, “Buy me! I’m that brand you like!
I always wanted to know what that corner box art was all about, thank you for satisfying my curiosity, Chris😁👍
Worked for a Comic Book store and the older Marvel comics would always stand out with the character-focus box logo at the top when organizing them. I had wondered when Marvel has phased that out, so thank you for the video! Love your channel & videos.
in the last three years I have gotten t-shirt’s and prints by artists commenorating the corner box art. I think there is huge nostalgia for it but I don’t think the publishers will bring it back.
You really hit upon a touchstone from my childhood. I was so fascinated with the corner box art on my favorite Marvel comics and now I feel like I got the whole story on them. Thanks for this video, Chris. Well done!
I like seeing the corner art on old back issues it’s just cool to see the characters in cool bonus art
Looking at your shirt there reminded me how much I miss those old t-shirts that were decorated with a mosaic of assorted comic book panels. I had a few of those as a kid.
But yeah, I miss the corner box art, too.
hey Chris I think the European brand reprinting Marvel comics I used to get growing up Panini Comics did the corner box character longer. I can't remember if you've done a video Panini Comics. Might be an idea for a later vid!
Great video. I am sure these corner boxes were meant because they were sold on newsstands, in fact the only reason I found out that Spidey was being reprinted in 1982 was the fact that I noticed the cover had a Romita full face picture on the cover which they way they were stacked, was the only part of the cover that I could see. When I picked up the book, I saw the book was Marvel Tales, and the cover was a reprint of Amazing Spider-Man #1. Very exciting.
A few nitpicks on the Spidey section though. When John Romita took over on issue #39, they still ran the Ditko Full face view in the corner box till issue #45. They then replaced this with a full face view drawn by Romita for 2 issues #46, and #47, then on issue #48 they replaced that picture with the full body view, drawn by Steve Ditko. which stays till issue #107, and with issue #108 is replaced by a full view drawn by I think Romita.
Great subject, thanks for making this video. I think Marvel should again sell books everywhere, including newsstands, and bring the corner box art back.
I wish marvel could only release 8 monthly titles now.
Thanks for doing what you do, man. Your videos are very entertaining.