Grabbed a half-finished sky board out of my pending pile and whipped out a little study of the Kid before I came into work. Sometimes my efforts go where they want to go.
Daily Whip Out: "Kid Kareem."
The Billy Cover Concept Consensus
Believe it or not, our hard-working art director, Dan The Man Harshberger, did 30 different cover concepts for the June issue. We have never had such disagreement on which way to go on the cover. To refresh your memory, here are the two basic choices (with a dozen variations on each):
The Left (Billy cover concept) The Right (Billy Concept)
Comments and Votes for The Left Cover Concept:
"Definitely go with [the left cover] —Billy’s only known photo. This is and always will be Billy as the camera saw him. How can you improve on that?"
—Bill Dunn
"[the left one] is the only way for the cover. It's instantly recognizable, gets my attention and is far more likely to sell on just the cover. You don't judge a book by it's cover but you sure as heck sell them off the news stand by their cover! There is plenty of room inside for "new" stuff.”
—Larry Pressnell
"I like [the left one] its readily recognizable as Billy without looking 'been there done that'. It would definitely catch my eye if I'm interested in Billy the Kid and scanning the magazine rack."
—Kelly North
"The left because it's authentic.”
—Bill Jones
"Left.”
—Russell Jeans
"Left.”
—Sue McCumber
“Left.”
—Lynn LaBauve
“I really like the cover on the left mainly because of the busy colors. It's that famous stare.
—Kent Laura McInnes
"The cover on the left is iconic!”
—Ilona F. Smerekanich
“I like [the left cover], but I'm of the old school as they say.”
—Elizabeth Parker
Comments and Votes for The Right Cover Concept:
"I vote the cover on the right. It would allow the reader to use their imagination.”
—Bob Talley
I vote for the cover on the right.”
—James Bradham
“I love the silhouette.”
—Gregory Richard Charles Hasman
"The bronze [right cover].”
—Larry Floyd
"The right one.”
—Sharon Young
“I say the one on the right—it's more mysterious.”
—Lorraine Dunlap
"I like the one on the right. We've seen the other one a million times.”
—David Heward
"I like the gun on the shoulder... the tight face shot looks like an acne commercial?!?”
—Steve Opitz
"On the right with a slightly bigger font.”
—Chuck Usmar (who has a feature inside about Billy speaking Irish fluently)
"The right cover.”
—Michael Dawson
"I vote for the one on the right. The left one is too rough.“
—Valerie Saunders
"The right!”
—Tim Pickering
"The one on right, he was a complicated man.“
—Rena Smith
"The one on the right? The picture brings to mind a hint of mystery.”
—Nicole Maddalo Dixon
"Right. Dramatic.”
—Monica E. Marqis Anderson
Stuck In The Middle:
"I like the wording on the left - the font is big and bold and easy to see and read. But I like the pic of the one on the right. Maybe combine a little from both?”
—Cindy Smith
"Flip a coin. Either one.”
—Jimmy Avance
"The right one. Because I've seen the image on the left a number of times. But if you want to catch them immediately without question it would be the one on the left. Art versus commerce?”
—Bridget Carroll
"How about a photo of Paul Newmans Billy with the title "We will get it right"
—Rick Wyckoff (we assume he’s referring to “The Left-Handed Gun” where they got it wrong)
Possible Tie Breaker:
"I like the actual Billy photo for the mag. cover because, to me, if you use the sculpture, it's as if you're selfishly trying to make a buck for yourself instead of concentrating on history and what's best for the magazine. Just sayin.'"
—Shel
Left.
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