Okay, so I was messing around with some old comics and got this idea to try and recreate those classic Marvel back covers, you know, the ones with the cool ads and stuff. I’m no graphic designer, but I figured, why not give it a shot?
Getting Started
First, I dug through my comic collection. I was specifically looking for those older Marvel books, the ones from the 70s and 80s. The back covers on those are just iconic. I grabbed a few that had decent-looking back covers, nothing too ripped or faded.
Scanning and Cleaning
Next, I needed to get these things digitized. I used my trusty scanner – it’s nothing fancy, just a basic all-in-one printer/scanner. I scanned each back cover at a pretty high resolution, just to make sure I captured all the detail.
Then, it was time for some digital cleanup. I opened the scanned images in a photo editing program. I used the basic tools – you know, cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, that sort of thing. I wanted to get rid of any creases, dust spots, or yellowing from age.
Recreating the Text and Layout
This was probably the trickiest part. I spent a lot of time just staring at the original back covers, trying to figure out the fonts they used. They’re not exactly standard fonts you’d find on your computer. I ended up finding some fonts online that were pretty close, kind of “comic book-y” looking.
Then, I started laying out the text, trying to match the original as closely as possible. Spacing, font sizes, all that stuff. It was a bit tedious, but also kind of fun, like solving a puzzle.
- Cropped and adjusted the images.
- Found fonts that fonts were pretty close.
- Matched layout like spacing, font sizes, all that stuff.
Adding the Artwork
For the artwork, I was going to use the original images for images that I could not create. I selected some image to add, and put them into my new back cover project.
The Final Result
It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with how it turned out! It definitely captures that vintage Marvel vibe. It was a fun little project, and it gave me a new appreciation for those old comic book artists and designers. They really put a lot of work into every detail, even the back cover!