Rules of Good Comics Pt. 1: Don't mess with a great logo

I don't know if this will be an ongoing series of posts, although a "rules of good comics" list might not be a bad idea. Send me your suggestions.

Anyway, I was moved to comment when Marvel Comics released this peek at the "new logo" for it's Fantastic Four title:



Now, for starters, it's not that new. It looks quite a bit like this logo from around the time I first started reading the FF back in the 1970s:



But the main thing is, it's a pretty danged boring logo and not nearly as cool as the FF's original nameplate, which is one of the coolest comic book logos of all time. It totally captures the fun, adventure and humor on display in the original Lee/Kirby run:



Oh well, the new logo isn't as bad as this one:



Or this one:



The most recent FF logo is somewhat better than those, though still a little dull:



I realize you need to make some changes to jazz things up every once in a while. But, truly, there's also a lot to be said for knowing a good thing:

6 comments:

  1. Even the Superman logo was altered in 1983. See this Dial B for Blog post (toward the bottom of Robby's post).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here is the url for the Superman logo Dial B for Blog post:

    http://www.dialbforblog.com/archives/374/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe so, but it was wrong to change it. Wrong, I tell you!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love logos, and agree with you about this "new" FF one.... why not use (or adapt) the unique original?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks, I miss good 'ol Robby.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I remember the "debut" of the F.F. logo that's second last on this list (just above the black and white logo). Why do I remember it?
    Because I went into a shop looking for the latest issue and couldn't see the book anywhere. The shop owner had to point it out and the comic was basically right in front of me! As in most shops, the books were arranged so that only the top third of each book was showing. Maybe it's just me, but isn't the idea behind a logo to make a book stand out on the racks?

    ReplyDelete