I like the Mandarin. Always have. Today I learnt that tomorrow will see a Punisher/Mandarin arc in Punisher's book:

Unless I'd come across the synopsis, I would not have known the Mandarin was in the book. And I'd have probably had no reason to buy it.

Why are *some* publishers and *some* comics more interested in pin-up covers than action ones? 

I came across this at a jumble sale decades ago:

Being a Mandarin fan, I had to pick it up. The Hulk's in trouble! He appears to be drowning. Mandarin is gloating. There's a word balloon. The comic has advertised that the Mandarin is inside - so a Mandarin fan is going to at least consider picking it up.

I am not saying that classic-style covers done today will improve sales. I have no evidence to back up my claim. I am just thinking of advertising. Whether it's a wrestling DVD or a rock festival, advertising should be key, I feel. If a wrestling DVD cover simply had one wrestler, and didn't tell us who else was at the event, it might not grab people in the same way as imagery of several wrestlers; and if a rock festival poster simply had ONE guitarist on it, would it grab people in the same way as a poster featuring numerous singers/bands?

I am certain I am not the only Mandarin fan in the world. I know he has his detractors, too. But as a kid, I did usually pick up a comic - even one I hadn't gravitated towards - if a particular character was on it. I am a fan of the likes of Juggernaut, Destroyer and Man-Bat. I name those as I have heard they have had detractors, too. But to the person with change in his pocket, in this case me, when I saw a cover with any of those three on, it was a must-buy.

I know folk will become aware of the Punisher/Mandarin encounter based on a synopsis. But I am thinking of the casual reader. And it's not only about being a Mandarin fan. If that comic had been done in, say, the 70s, we'd have probably have had a cover of Punisher falling down a mountain as the Mandarin gloats. Or one of Punisher's guns being melted by Mandarin's rings.

I am no expert on comics, sales, business, etc. But it does seem a tad odd not to advertise or hint at what is inside an issue. Pin-up covers may make good posters, but I wonder, if we had more action-based covers, would sales increase? Or have a good shot at selling more?

I have no answers. I'm only speculating. So thoughts welcome!

I know I came to this topic from the perspective of being a Mandarin fan. But I'll put that aside for a moment.

Imagine if the cover was action-packed. Imagine the casual buyer entering the shop. He/she sees a mysterious guy with rings exerting dominion over Punisher. Maybe there's a word balloon - and a desperate Punisher reaching for his gun. Maybe the casual buyer sort of knows Punisher from the Netflix series. He/she is intrigued. They want to know who the bad guy with rings is - and why he's harming Punisher.

They also want to know how Punisher will get out of it. 

That sort of thing COULD attract a casual buyer. 

When I saw the aforementioned Hulk/Mandarin comic (around the 80s at a jumble sale), I knew a little of the Mandarin. I certainly wanted to know what the Hulk was sinking into - it looked very hot! - and how the Mandarin had possibly subdued him.

I just wonder if sales might be better if some comics would actually give us action-packed covers and advertise who is inside it. 

There can still be room for surprises, of course. When I saw this in a back issue box, it didn't advertise who the mystery villain was, but I certainly wanted to find out:

Home sellers have magazines and flyers to show the outside of a house for purchasers. Obviously the external appearance doesn't show any information about the interior, but one can tell if it's a Cape Cod, two-story, on a large or small lot, a cabin, in the city, suburbs, or woods, etc.

Newspapers and periodicals have teasers on the front to get attention and (hopefully) buyers. A lot of internet home pages seem to be the same.

I feel that comics deserve the same respect. But so many of the early Golden Age books were almost all pin ups. Even books with titles of stories in it might still be pin up type.

Late Golden Age, Silver Age, and Bronze Age comics covers presented what was in the book** - and as has been noted, a good teaser gets attention for what's in the book. It wasn't always the case, and there were a few pin up covers - Avengers #200 springs immediately to mind, and X-Men 126 the same.

Slowly, the pendulum swung back to pin up covers, much the same time the direct market came to fore (or so I recall.) Once in a while wasn't too bad, but the cover and title then apparently took precedence over the story.

As this trend increased, the comic book buyers were changing as well, buying books more due to the creators than the comic story itself. I can't think that speculator boom didn't contribute to this.

Last time I was in a comic book shop, there seemed to be about an even split between pin-up and teaser covers. 

Would showing more about the comic get more sales? In this spoiler-based age, I'm afraid that a lot of readers already know what the story is about... the cover tease is meaningless, so give 'em another page of art.

I think that teaser covers would help a little.... but I'm afraid that's like aloe gel on a third degree burn. A little help towards the symptoms, but no cure.

*That's not always the case, of course. Produce shows itself, and some products count on brand name to sell themselves, or transparent packaging to show the contents.

**The exception to the story teasers that I recall from these eras were on magazines. Conan, Planet of the Apes, Eerie and other monster/horror mags, etc. What I recall was painted  pin ups, and I gotta say - they caught my attention all right!

What was that Spider-Man pin-up cover (black costume) done by our host? Or did I imagine that? I hope not. I loved that. I wanted to turn that into a poster.

And I loved this:

Man, who wouldn't want to pick up an issue like that? But it's because the pin-up covers were so rare, that I enjoyed them.

Eric, your historical context is true. Things are written for the trade now, and in an era of spoilers and "pull lists", maybe the publishers don't feel the need to have action covers.

But that could be one of many things wrong with comics. What about the casual buyer who has never bought a comic? He/she goes into Forbidden Planet to buy a keyring or Pop Funko. He/she has seen an Iron Man movie recently. And the Avengers films, too. What's that on the shelf? Iron Man getting his clock cleaned by Juggernaut or Destroyer! It looks hopeless - and Stark's armour is melting away. That casual fan might pick up a book that hooks him/her.

And, yes, he/she may become a regular, with "pull lists" and the like, but I really think they need to try and grab people.

The Punisher cover is a great illustration but the only thing it tells me is the story might take place in the subway of New York. It doesn't convey anything else. Zilch.

The Hulk and Captain America covers are far better, IMO, than pin-ups. 

Pin-ups should be for posters, not covers.

Thats just my opinion.

Side note: I also don't like when the cover artists is different than the interior artist. I think thats just lying to the customer.

So to go back to the original question - I would hope that storytelling covers would attract more new customers. I would hope. But I fear today's audience has no time to appreciate story telling covers.

The way comics are today, they pretend to want kids to read, they take for granted their adult male audience, and they would do just about anything for "LGBTTTQQIAA" readers. 

I think that is what they're doing.

Going after them like "their lives depended on it"? I don't see any evidence of THAT.

Re: covers - I'll take a cover that gives us an exciting peek of the story inside over poster-style cover ANY day of the week.

-C!