Something like that stood out at the time, but I would not have wanted that kind of cover each month.

True. And that is where the problem lies. Where are the new sales coming from?

Like most here, I found the likes of ACTION COMICS and THE INCREDIBLE HULK in newsagents, grocery stores, railway station shops, etc. And covers like the one I shared, and Rebecca and Bill shared, hooked me.

I am not entirely sure I'd have been hooked by generic poses. One of the first solo Punisher titles I remember seeing on the shelves was this one:

Prior to that issue, I'd only seen Punisher in other people's books. But I picked this one up.

Why? We had several bad guys, all armed, coming down some steps - and a lone Punisher ready to take them all on. In my head, several questions "popped in". Who are they? What's their angle? Will even Punisher be able to take out five armed bad guys? What's the story?

That is what hooked me. I'm not alone. Bill has shared a cover. Rebecca mentioned some. I picked up this at a car boot sale years ago:

Again, I had to buy it.

Why has Superman turned bad? What's the story? And how on earth is a non-powered Batman going to be able to stop a super-powered Superman from throwing him off a building? Who wouldn't want to pick that up?

ITEM: Certainly a combination cover would (at one time) have been the best of both worlds. But that's kinda hard to pull off. I might think of Fantastic Four #25, The Thing vs. The Hulk, as one of those. Of course, Jack Kirby did a LOT of books like that. FF #48 and 49 also falls in that collection. Avengers #50 by Mr. Buscema is the same. They CAN be done, but expertise is required.

ITEM: In the end, I fear that the covers are not the big issue with super hero comics sales. We can all reel off several factors that ARE the problems. And I don't think that modifying the covers will help much. IF the books were readily available to the public, it MIGHT help... but I believe that comics are just too far down the rabbit hole to make their way back out.

The other symptoms are comics being exclusively sold in specialist stores, the direct market, the lack of standalone tales, etc.

Even the price, too. I'm not a miser, but for less than a quid years ago, you got a complete story with a LOT of word and thought balloons. And sometimes a back-up strip. They took a while to read.

Two books are out today that intrigue me: THE PUNISHER #1 and WEST COAST AVENGERS #1. Around £3+ each, so to buy two would be six quid or more. It's not that I am a miser, but £3+ for what may be an incomplete tale is a lot. Why wouldn't I wait for the trade to collect six issues together (trades can be between £12-14)? I want to support single issues, but...

It's not a perfect comparison, but take DVDs. I tend to buy most shows on DVD or Blu-ray now. But let's imagine there was a six-issue mini-series shown on, say, USA Network. What if you could buy one episode on a disc for a few quid? Would you? Or would you just wait for the distributor to package together the six episodes in one boxset?

1) Hire the old pros and let them do their thing: JB, Walt Simonson, George Perez...

2) Covers. With blurbs and words and action poses and scenes ostensibly from the story inside

3) Make the books truly all-ages, again. Don't dumb it down, in any fashion. Meaning, dialogue need not be simplifed nor profanity-laced. 

3) Stick the books in...book stores! They still exist, yes? Also, convenience stores, grocery stores, department stores...movie theaters!  

4) Here's something I saw done, quite recently: Advertise on TV.  I think it was when Superman got his trunks back, an issue was advertised during the Supergirl show. Brilliant. 

Did anyone, decades ago, have a problem with that? Did anyone ever complain that a logo, word balloon or thought balloon was taking away from the art? 

He's entitled to his view, but he mentioned wanting to appreciate the art. Why not just buy a poster?

If they want pin-up covers every month, BUY A POSTER. Not only will it be bigger, but you won't have to rip your cover off. Posters can be cool!

In response to Eric's points, I mentioned how it's only a symptom. But I really don't see how such generic pin-up covers could possibly attract new blood. I can honestly say, and I'm sure I am not alone, that a lot of comic covers hooked me.

Circa 1988, I picked up EAGLE because of this cover:

At that point, I hadn't read EAGLE for a few years (the "modern" version had launched in 1982). But here was a cover featuring a terrifying-looking guy firing eye beams at a London bus. Why wouldn't I pick it up?

Although the UK comic industry is "small potatoes" compared to the US comic industry, action-packed covers aren't exactly a lost art here. Here's the cover for the current issue (#399) of JUDGE DREDD MEGAZINE: