A Message from Stan "The Man" Lee!
Exploring the History of Marvel's Iconic Cover Design & Corner Box!
Greetings Nostalgia fans! I’ve been super busy but I asked a friend to fill in and record a special exclusive video for my subscribers here on Substack and Patrons on Patreon. Without any further delay here’s Stan “The Man” Lee with the Exclusive Scoop…!
Since we are joined this month by Stan Lee I figured we could talk about the history of the iconic Marvel Comics’ corner box and comic cover trade dress that was so ubiquitous back in the day. As a bonus here's a FREE template download inspired by one of those covers with even more templates available on my Patreon.
The first Marvel corner box was scheduled to appear on Fantastic Four # 14 but another title, Patsy Walker beat it to the newsstands. This was a basic design featuring a rectangle with the main character(s), Marvel Comics Group, and the 12-cent price tag. Smaller boxes with issue number, month of release, and Comic Code stamp of approval would float around depending on the title and issue.
The design changed slightly in 1966 when all pertinent information except for the Comics Code stamp was moved to the left and included in the same box with the rectangle at the top and Marvel Comic Group in bold, followed by the price, issue number, and date.
A new corner box design appeared in 1969 and now featured the book’s title, price, issue number, and month at the top followed by the characters featured once again in a rectangle with the Marvel Comics Group logo underneath the box.
A major change was introduced in 1972. (This is probably my all-time favorite Marvel trade dress.) The design now featured a banner stretching across the top of the book containing the title, Marvel Comics Group in bold and the Comics Code stamp. Underneath the banner were two boxes with the book's price, issue number, and date. The rectangle was replaced with a circle containing the star of the book.
In 1980 the circle was removed and once again replaced with the classic rectangle.
By the time 1983 rolled around Marvel had ditched the Marvel Comics Group banner in favor of a more minimal approach. Marvel appeared in the top of the corner box which also featured the titular character, with the price, issue number, date, and Comics Code stamp below.
The late ‘80s and early ‘90s saw minor changes to the corner box, first with an italicized version of the Marvel logo and later the “Big M” Marvel Comics logo was introduced.
Sadly Marvel phased out the classic corner box altogether by the early 2000s Opting only to feature the Marvel logo, issue number, month, and price although every once in a while a version of the nostalgic corner box returns for a special edition or homage cover.
Do you have a favorite Marvel Comics trade dress? Do you wish Marvel would bring back the corner box, leave a comment and let me know. That's all for this month. Until next time, keep making awesome stuff, especially comics!