26 Comments
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David Harper's avatar

I mean this sincerely: that collection cover does a better job of blending the needs of the book market and the direct market than just about any cover I've ever seen. Very well done, Chip!

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

OH YOU

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Brian Edwards's avatar

I would snatch up that legalese cover if it was released. So funny.

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

Fuck it! I'm doing it!!!

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Brian Edwards's avatar

Hell yeah! King.

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Tini Howard's avatar

This was genuinely an excellent covers-as-marketing lesson! Look at you! Giving back!

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

I love to give back! Except no one gave me anything to start with!!!!!

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MatteoC's avatar

While you were showing the different cover versions I was stressing out along with you while also mumbling unnecessary feedback... and then I was just floored by the final version. That color scheme! It was like witnessing your thought process live.

FANTASTIC, really!

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

Ha! Thanks! Happy to take you along with me on my TERRIFYING JOURNEY

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ampersand's avatar

The Legal Indicia is a fantastic idea! But yea lots of balls required to commit it through. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Do you give yourself a deadline to make an idea or concept work or just run through every possibility to the ground before deciding it would not work.

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

lol the deadline was that Image needed a cover by monday

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

Hm maybe I use it as a variant cover...

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jaksart's avatar

I’m telling you, digital variant covers are the next big thing in comics

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

slap some sort of bored ape on it and I'll be rich!!!!

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jaksart's avatar

Now you’re getting it! Free money!

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ampersand's avatar

A SPECIAL SUBSTACK EXCLUSIVE! SIGNED, VERIFIED AND REVERIFIED!

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ampersand's avatar

Silly me 😂

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Ray Cornwall's avatar

I love the Legal Indica cover, and if I wasn't a filthy digital-only buyer for most books these days, I'd offer to buy a variant of it. (But honestly, my ADHD is best served by digital collections.)

Wonderful post! And thanks for ONE POST TO RULE THEM ALL!

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

I feel ya. I'm almost exclusively digital these days unless we're talking really beautiful physical objects.

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Regular Sized Max's avatar

You can’t tell me when I can and can’t fuck off! Thanks for the heads up though, that’s exciting. Also I agree with your bud, the all text cover is an amazing idea.

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

Ha! Maybe if I wasn't such a COWARD!!!

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Patrick Bramble's avatar

Hey Chip, this was very informative and made me think about things that I had never given thought to about the cosmetics of comics when selling them. Thanks! Something else I was wondering because I feel like this is something you have that think about a lot is how do you usually balance comedy with drama in your books so that it doesn’t feel off or like you’re grasping onto two separate things?

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Chip Zdarsky's avatar

Ooo! Good question! I'll answer it this week!

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MatteoC's avatar

YAY!!!!

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Patrick Bramble's avatar

Ah! Can’t wait!!!

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Evan “Cool Guy”'s avatar

Process posts are great! I’d love one about writing a script!

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