This is my contribution to the latest redesign thread over at the Whitechapel Forums.
The instructions were:
You are an artist/designer. You have to put together the cover for a comic called MISTY.
MISTY was a British comic for girls.
It included stories such as (and I’m making none of this up, the 70s and 80s in Britain were nightmarish):
Moonchild – Rosemary Black possesses the power of telekinesis, like her grandmother before her, as shown by a crescent moon on her forehead. Her harsh mother is jealous of the power and forbids Rosemary to use it – but temptation is getting stronger against the bully who picks on Rosemary…
School of the Lost – a boarding school that demands a special tribute for the ongoing success of parents who send their daughters to it.
Whistle and I’ll Come – a ghost dog companion.
The Four Faces of Eve – Eve Marshall is trying to unravel her true identity, but she seems to be the bits and pieces of four dead women.
The Cult of the Cat – Nicola Scott is destined to become a member of a cult who worship the Egyptian cat goddess Bast.
The Sentinels – Two empty tower blocks connect our world with a parallel world where Hitler conquered Britain in 1940.
Screaming Point! – the public hangman is also a resurrectionist who believes he can bring the dead back to life.
Winner Loses All – Sandy sells her soul to the Devil to save her alcoholic father.
You are told that the cover should feature at least one of these. But I don’t think anyone’s paying much attention to you, everyone in the office seems to be drinking heavily and crying quite a lot.
The added challenge I gave myself was to get the work done as quickly as possible. No subtle shading, no fancy colors, just the basic artwork.