Forum 2.0

A Cover A Day: Nominations, Themes and Statistics

Posted by Peter Wrexham on June 8, 2023 at 9:17am in Mr Silver Age

This thread is a companion to the "A Cover A Day" discussion.  Click here to visit that discussion.  It is intended for the discussion of potential new themes and topics for "A Cover A Day", voting on these themes, and the gathering and reporting of statistics.

The following index lists all the themes that have been chosen to date.  The clickable link takes you to the first reply of the given theme, so that you can browse through the posted covers for that month.  "Page/Reply" gives the page number in the thread where the topic starts, and reply number (1 to 10) within the page.  The index also gives the total number of "Pages" and "Replies" occupied by each theme, as a rough indication of their relative popularity.

Ning 3.0 website update

As a result of the move to the new version of the website:

  • It seems to be impossible to create a fixed link that always takes you to the last reply of a thread
  • Links to a specific reply generated on the old version of the website are no longer valid
  • There are now 10 replies to a page, rather than 12.

Since the old links that used to take you to the first post of a theme no longer work, they have been removed, and replaced with new links that take you to a newly-added reply at the start of the month in question.  The "Page/Reply" and "Pages" columns have been updated because of the change from 12 to 10 replies per page.  The numbers in the "Replies" column was still accurate, apart from needing to be updated to include the newly-added "start-of-month" replies.

The "Page/Reply" column gives an alternative way to locate the beginning of any theme, by going to the appropriate page, then counting through the replies.  This is, however, a significantly more inconvenient process than using the clickable link.

DatePage/ReplyTheme (and clickable link)PagesReplies
Oct 20161/1Letter A23228
Dec 201623/9Letter B21208
Jan 201744/7Letter C22215
Feb 201766/2Letter D21209
Mar 201787/1Letter E18179
Apr 2017104/10Letter F19185
May 2017123/5Letter G16158
Jun 2017139/3Letter H20196
Jul 2017158/9Letter I13134
Aug 2017172/3Letter J20195
Sep 2017191/8Letter K24238
Oct 2017215/6Letter L29286
Nov 2017244/2Letter M28281
Dec 2017272/3Letter N24237
Jan 2018295/10Letter O25246
Feb 2018321/1Letter P30296
Mar 2018350/7Letters Q & R24244
Apr 2018375/1Letter S27271
May 2018402/2Superman’s 80th anniversary25251
Jun 2018427/3Letter T25251
Jul 2018452/4Letter U21208
Aug 2018473/2Letter V23229
Sep 2018496/1Letter W23234
Oct 2018519/5Letter X18181
Nov 2018537/6Letter Y16157
Dec 2018553/3Letter Z16157
Jan 2019568/10Person being carried19191
Feb 2019588/1Real people21214
Mar 2019609/5Homages/parodies23225
Apr 2019631/10Green-skinned people21208
May 2019652/8Wanted posters20202
Jun 2019672/10Boxing rings18181
Jul 2019691/1Empty uniforms18179
Aug 2019708/9Beaches30298
Sep 2019738/7Apes34341
Oct 2019772/8Haunted houses/graves25251
Nov 2019797/9Motor bikes26255
Dec 2019823/4Foreign language covers21210
Jan 2020844/4Playing cards/tabletop games28276
Feb 2020871/10Valentines and Cupids26260
Mar 2020897/10Statues26257
Apr 2020923/7Elephants26264
May 2020950/1Heroes & villains cooperating20199
Jun 2020969/10The Moon32323
Jul 20201002/3Flags & patriotic symbols22216
Aug 20201023/9Foreign locations (non-US)23234
Sep 20201047/3MST3K (with commentary)29293
Oct 20201076/6Vampires and Werewolves25246
Nov 20201101/2Giants29287
Dec 20201129/9Snow & winter scenes29290
Jan 20211158/9Doppelgängers38378
Feb 20211196/7Movies28276
Mar 20211224/3Cats/cat-themed adventurers26264
Apr 20211250/7Dogs/dog-themed adventurers31306
May 20211281/3Big guns/Heavy weaponry30303
Jun 20211311/6Dinosaurs/Time Travel34339
Jul 20211345/5Big Questions/Question Marks33331
Aug 20211378/6Highways, Travel etc23233
Sep 20211401/9Favourite Covers/Comics33331
Oct 20211434/10Lineups26263
Nov 20211461/3JSA 80th Anniversary27270
Dec 20211488/3Logos in the action32317
Jan 20221519/10Dynamic Duos35348
Feb 20221554/8Romantic Scenes31314
Mar 20221586/2Bridges34340
Apr 20221620/2Unexpected Green29287
May 20221648/9Neal Adams31311
Jun 20221679/10George Perez23228
Jul 20221702/8Parents36357
Aug 20221738/5Fairgrounds and Carnivals29286
Sep 20221767/1Joe Kubert24239
Oct 20221790/10First and last issues32324
Nov 20221823/4Classrooms and Education27266
Dec 20221849/7Robots and Cyborgs39393
Jan 20231889/3Trials and Courtrooms33331
Feb 20231922/4Doctors, Nurses and Hospitals29293
Mar 20231951/7Detectives & Murder Mysteries41412
Apr 20231992/9Birds and Winged Creatures42420
May 20232034/9Strength in Numbers57571
Jun 20232091/10Horses, Centaurs & Equines38382
Jul 20232130/2John Romita, Sr.30301
Aug 20232160/3Railways30303
Sep 20232190/6Title Character Not Featured30301
Oct 20232220/7Halloween Characters31306
Nov 20232251/3Pyramids and Mummies30304
Dec 20232281/7Santa Claus27274
Jan 20242309/1No. 1/States of the Union31309
Feb 20242339/10No. 2/Leaps and Jumps28278
Mar 20242367/8No. 3/Anniversaries32318
Apr 20242399/6No. 4/Versus Mother Nature--
May 2024-No. 5/José Luis García-López--
Jun 2024-No. 6/Stars--
Jul 2024-No. 7/In the Water--

Themes with the greatest number of replies:

  • 571 replies - May 2023 - Strength in Numbers
  • 420 replies - Apr 2023 - Birds and Winged Creatures
  • 412 replies - Mar 2023 - Detectives & Murder Mysteries
  • 393 replies - Dec 2022 - Robots and Cyborgs
  • 382 replies - Jun 2023 - Horses, Centaurs & Equines
  • 378 replies - Jan 2021 - Doppelgängers

Suggestions for possible future themes

  • Sports & Games.
  • Deaths & Resurrections.
  • Short-lived Series.  Series of 12 or fewer issues, no Specials or Annuals.
  • Character anniversary celebration.  Like "Superman's 80th Anniversary" from May 2018.  We should pick which character (or characters) to honour BEFORE voting starts.
  • Artist Homage.  We've already done Neal Adams, George Perez, Joe Kubert, John Romita Sr & José Luis García-López.  As with the "Character Anniversary", we should pick who to honour BEFORE voting.
  • Gimmick Covers.
  • Painted Covers.
  • Cancelled... But Continued.  Series cancelled midstream but continued elsewhere.
  • TV Shows/Movies.
  • Cartoons/Animated Series.
  • Family Reunions.
  • Construction Sites.
  • Pride covers (intended or accidental).  Possibly for next June?
  • Ancient Weapons In Modern Times.  Swords, maces, spears, bows, shields, boomerangs etc.  Not characters who regularly use these weapons, like Green Arrow or Hawkeye (bows), Captain America (shields) etc.
  • Supporting Characters As Focal Point.
  • Guest-starring Superman or Spider-Man.  Them guest-starring on the cover of someone else's book.
  • Crosstime meetings.  Batman & the Three Musketeers, Dr Strange & Ben Franklin etc.
  • Sleeping/unconscious characters.
  • Super-heroes vs super-heroes.
  • Snowmen and Snow-people. *
  • Renewals.  Titles starting in new directions because of new creative teams or major story changings without the benefit of a new issue 1.
  • Christmas presents/Giant boxes. *
  • Winter sports. *
  • Nazis and/or Commies.
  • Covers without super-villains.  On a super-hero comic, not horror, western, romance etc.

Suggestions marked * were originally put forward as being particularly suitable for December/Christmas, but they could still be considered for other months.

Voting is normally using up to three ranked votes, with three points for your first choice, 2 for second place, 1 for third.

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Tags: a cover a day, nominations, statistics, themes, voting
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Replies

  • Peter Wrexham June 8, 2023 at 9:19am

    We currently have no topics chosen after next month. Here is the current list of suggested future themes, together with some notes on the suggestions:

    • Month-Number based (1-12 in Jan-Dec 2024). Use any rationale you like for picking a cover (number of characters, issue number, publication date, number featured on the cover, etc). Could be extended beyond 12 if it's sufficiently popular/successful. Alternatively, don't tie the numeric theme to the current month number, and intersperse with non-numeric themes.
    • Single-Digits ("0" to "9"). A more limited version of the above. Similar to the original "A" to "Z" themes.
    • States Of The Union. Could be extended to allow any identifiable US location. A counterpoint to Aug 2020's "Foreign (non-US) locations".
    • Sports & Games.
    • Deaths & Resurrections.
    • Short-lived Series. Series of 12 or fewer issues, no Specials or Annuals.
    • Anniversary Issues. Either genuine anniversary issues or "fake" anniversaries (covers claiming "400th anniversary issue" etc, when they really just mean that it's issue #400).
    • Character anniversary celebration. Like "Superman's 80th Anniversary" from May 2018. We should pick which character (or characters) to honour BEFORE voting starts.
    • Artist Homage. We've already done Neal Adams, George Perez & Joe Kubert. As with the "Character Anniversary", we should pick who to honour BEFORE voting.
    • Gimmick Covers.
    • Painted Covers.
    • Cancelled... But Continued.
    • TV Shows/Movies.
    • Cartoons/Animated Series.
    • Family Reunions.
    • Construction Sites.
    • Pyramids & Mummies. Can include anything classically Egyptian, such as Pharaohs, Sphinxes etc.
    • Versus Mother Nature.
    • Title Character not Featured.
  • Eric L. Sofer June 8, 2023 at 11:09am

    I would love Cartoons/Animated Series. Are there too many choices for this? Or will it make it "juicy"? Or should it be separated by categories, e.g., Warner Brothers / Hanna-Barbera / Disney / Walter Lanz etc.?

  • ClarkKent_DC June 8, 2023 at 1:06pm

    I'm intrigued by Short-lived Series. Series of 12 or fewer issues, no Specials or Annuals. I wonder if we can get a month's worth of stuff out of it, but what the hey?

  • Lee Houston, Junior June 8, 2023 at 2:59pm

    Short Lived Series was one of my suggestions Clark. Any limited/mini series would be eligible along with any title that was canceled with or before issue 12.

  • Peter Wrexham June 9, 2023 at 4:28pm

    Add "Pride covers, intended and accidental" to the list of possible themes, maybe next June.  See here for the inspiration behind this suggestion from JD DeLuzio.

  • Philip Portelli June 10, 2023 at 10:39pm

    Some suggestions:

    Ancient weapons in modern times (swords, maces, spears, bows [but not Green Arrow or Hawkeye and the like],shields [obviously not Captain America], boomerangs, etc.)

    Plants, Trees & Flowers but hostile or important (not in the background)

    Supporting characters (as the focal point)

    Superman or Spider-Man guest starring covers (them in other books)

  • Peter Wrexham June 11, 2023 at 3:14pm

    Philip Portelli said:

    Plants, Trees & Flowers but hostile or important (not in the background)

    That sounds similar to "Versus Mother Nature".  I think that was also your suggestion, Philip, and was proposed as including storms and other violent or dangerous weather events.

  • Steve W June 13, 2023 at 4:29pm

    My vote for August goes for:

    • Anniversary Issues. Either genuine anniversary issues or "fake" anniversaries (covers claiming "400th anniversary issue" etc, when they really just mean that it's issue #400).

    I'd love to do "one to twelve" next year, but I totally understand if others prefer to choose a different topic for each month.

  • Jeff of Earth-J June 13, 2023 at 4:48pm

    I will second Steve's vote for anniversaries (as well as his preference for numbers 1-12 for 2024).

  • Peter Wrexham June 13, 2023 at 5:44pm

    If I may, I'll update the list of possible future themes to incorporate a few newly-suggested topics.  The ballot paper now includes the following:

    • Month-Number based (1-12 in Jan-Dec 2024).  Use any rationale you like for picking a cover (number of characters, issue number, publication date, number featured on the cover, etc).  Could be extended beyond 12 if it's sufficiently popular/successful.  Alternatively, don't tie the numeric theme to the current month number, and intersperse with non-numeric themes.
    • Single-Digits ("0" to "9").  A more limited version of the above.  Similar to the original "A" to "Z" themes.
    • States Of The Union.  Could be extended to allow any identifiable US location.  A counterpoint to Aug 2020's "Foreign (non-US) locations".
    • Sports & Games.
    • Deaths & Resurrections.
    • Short-lived Series.  Series of 12 or fewer issues, no Specials or Annuals.
    • Anniversary Issues.  Either genuine anniversary issues or "fake" anniversaries (covers claiming "400th anniversary issue" etc, when they really just mean that it's issue #400).
    • Character anniversary celebration.  Like "Superman's 80th Anniversary" from May 2018.  We should pick which character (or characters) to honour BEFORE voting starts.
    • Artist Homage.  We've already done Neal Adams, George Perez & Joe Kubert.  As with the "Character Anniversary", we should pick who to honour BEFORE voting.
    • Gimmick Covers.
    • Painted Covers.
    • Cancelled... But Continued.  Series cancelled midstream but continued elsewhere.
    • TV Shows/Movies.
    • Cartoons/Animated Series.
    • Family Reunions.
    • Construction Sites.
    • Pyramids & Mummies.  Can include anything classically Egyptian, such as Pharaohs, Sphinxes etc.
    • Versus Mother Nature.  Battles against living trees, storms, etc.
    • Title Character Not Featured.
    • Ancient Weapons In Modern Times.  Swords, maces, spears, bows, shields, boomerangs etc.  Not characters who regularly use these weapons, like Green Arrow or Hawkeye (bows), Captain America (shields) etc.
    • Supporting Characters As Focal Point.
    • Guest-starring Superman or Spider-Man.  Them guest-starring on the cover of someone else's book.

    Do we want to use the scheme of up to three ranked votes that we've used for the last few sets of voting?  Three points for your first choice, 2 for second, 1 for third, and you don't need to vote for more than one theme.  If so, Steve and Jeff are welcome to add 2nd- and 3rd-place votes.

    If we get a single vote, mine goes to "States of the Union".  If it's three votes, my second and third preferences are "Pyramids and Mummies" (2 points) and "Anniversary Issues" (1 point).

    Running with numeric themes in 2024 (at least for the first few months, to see how it goes) seems like a good idea too.

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