Comic 185
Back-up Vocal~ When I think about favorite album covers, a trove of them always come to mind first. I immediately bow to covers for Marillion masterpieces “Misplaced Childhood”, “Seasons End”, “Brave”, “Afraid Of Sunlight” and “Sounds That Can’t Be Made” Next, all 3 of the Asia covers from their 1980’s albums, then “Olias Of Sunhillow” from Jon Anderson and “Fire of Unknown Origin” from Blue Oyster Cult. I must give particular nods to the covers for the first 3 Transatlantic albums and I bring eternal love to the cover for the IRIS “Crossing The Desert” album (the fact that all of these 4 astonishing sonic gems feature Pete Trewavas on Bass give me cause to worship them even more- plus, he plays Bass on all them glorious Marillion albums, too). In addition, propers must be paid Pendragon for their covers for albums like “The Window of Life” and “The Masquerade Overture”, as well as the covers for both albums from Flying Colors.
These are just my favorites from the Progressive Rock world. I could wax philosophical for hours about beloved album imagery from the broader music landscape as well. The point being that in creating this new Comic, I gained a much greater appreciation for the true vision necessary to craft an album cover. It has been some time since I’ve needed to apply my brain to such an endeavor for the Splendorland crew. There was a great deal to consider before construction even began. The name for Bo’s solo band came first and from there, I just had to let it swirl in my head for a few days and wait for a vision to find me. Ultimately, I did an Internet search and found that the Pago Pago flag was extremely approachable. Having said that, one doesn’t just gallivant atop the history and gestalt of another country’s banner in the name of a sight gag. Bad form, bad taste and it could land one in prison if one has no concept of social mores, boundaries or tact. Still, what struck me about the design, was all that wide open white space in the center. I found that I could simply add text to the top and bottom slats of red, with the album name and dynamite stick in the white center, in place of the eagle that adorns the official image. Overall, my ideal seemed understated enough that no element of real world culture was misappropriated or sullied. Plus, after a fashion, the album name is infused with a Shout-Out to “The Brothers Bloom“. I should say that my additional salute ought to go some way towards casting me in an extraordinarily cultured light. Especially among those with the power to drag me before a Tribunal normally reserved for much less refined Cartoonists, who might attempt the same joke WITHOUT citing one of the greatest films ever made. True, the blue background has the slightest of gradients to it, which serves to compliment and contrast the red and white text quite nicely, if I say so myself. But, let’s be honest. The “Brothers Bloom” Send-Up is what keeps me out of jail. I throw down with that kind of class, NO court in the world will convict me.