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Logos Through the Ages

Started by Funt Solo, 10 July, 2019, 03:36:36 AM

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radiator

For me the fan/stamp starting at 555 (and later variations thereof) will always be the definitive 2000ad logo.

I also have a lot of affection for the top banner era - (950-1199) which is the era I started reading - 949 was the very first issue I bought, 950 the second.

Said it before, but the 'classic' logo is a total eyesore (especially the cheesy chrome version) - it just looks amateurish, and isn't even charming in a retro way. There's a reason they've never revived it imo. Totally deserved to get burned :lol:

Richard

The chrome logo sort of lives on in the shape of the text "2000" in the stamp logo and the current logo.

I like the 555 one, maybe I'm biased because it's the first one I saw so for me it feels definitive. But Stamp IV and the current logo are close enough that I can get behind them too.

Frank


CEO of The Story Works and author of The Harrison Ford Story, Alan McKenzie, offers a survey of the 2000ad logo from 1987 to 1994, including why what discussion here has termed the 'classic' logo had to go:

ALIGN-RIGHT  McKENZIE



Richard

Just showed the gallery of logos to my wife, who never reads comics, just out of curiosity. She said the prog 1 logo was best, and the chrome one was cheesy. I was a bit surprised that her view reflects what others have said on this and earlier threads.

Funt Solo

Thanks for the link, Frank: very interesting to get the word from one of those responsible.

I liked how much creativity started to seep in towards the end of the "classic" logo's tenure:




Slaine's Hair(448)McCarthy's Creativity (473)Tartan Logo (477)

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Malcolm Ex colors (506)Camo (516)

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In the case of the Malcolm Ex cover it seems to be the first time the logo colors match the cover's color scheme.
++ A-Z ++  coma ++

TordelBack

Prog 1, Prog 555 (Stamp I) and Stamp IV for me - I'm no fan of the rest of the current logo, but I appreciate that it it's very practical and adaptable. I grew up with the chrome logo, but instead of nostalgia I just find it clunky and old fashioned.

MumboJimbo

Wow. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels it hard to disassociate the chrome logo from the quality of the prog at that time, especially if it represented your first contact with 2000 AD. Today is the first time
I've ever looked at that logo with modern eyes and realised (very reluctantly) that it may be considered a bit naff.

I think by 1987 its time had come, but aesthetics then were changing at a far greater pace than today and five years before it looked pretty damn good. It will always represent to me the stories inside those hollowed pages more than its own artistic merits. I appreciate though, that will probably not be the case for those who were introduced to the prog before or after that logo was current.

Dandontdare

well said - it's like your favourite Dr Who or Bond movie, partly objective, partly based on your age and nostalgia. I'm surprised for the love of the stamp and that there are any old squaxx who don't like the original.

I think McKenzie's comment:
QuoteIt has a slight echo of its predecessor, with the multiple curved underlines and the same general rainbow shape, but that terrible chrome effect ... it's hard to imagine that this was created by a designer.
is offensively disrespectful to the professionals involved, especially since he replaced it with one that wa even worse. It may not be popular, but I thought it was great when I was buying the comic, which is kinda the point.


radiator

Quote from: Dandontdare on 11 July, 2019, 12:41:48 AM
well said - it's like your favourite Dr Who or Bond movie, partly objective, partly based on your age and nostalgia. I'm surprised for the love of the stamp and that there are any old squaxx who don't like the original.

I think McKenzie's comment:
QuoteIt has a slight echo of its predecessor, with the multiple curved underlines and the same general rainbow shape, but that terrible chrome effect ... it's hard to imagine that this was created by a designer.
is offensively disrespectful to the professionals involved, especially since he replaced it with one that wa even worse. It may not be popular, but I thought it was great when I was buying the comic, which is kinda the point.

Each to their own etc, however I tend to agree with McKenzie there. The chrome version always looked a little quaint, a little naive somehow. And I say that as someone that usually digs cheesy 80s chrome type fonts.

To my eyes the fan version that replaced it is far stronger - it's much more solid, sharper and more distinctive, and much more like a professional company logo. Still quite 80s looking, but in a pleasing way.

I would however argue that the chrome logo is quite popular, especially around these parts. Me hating it is generally quite an unpopular opinion (as are my thoughts about Dredd's lawgiver pistol - ie that it looked silly and weedy* until the Mk 2 redesign around the turn of the millenium).

*I will concede that a couple of artists - namely Cam Kennedy and Mick McMahon - drew it to look cool, though.

broodblik

As Dandontdare said most things you like is based upon the time that you who growing up. I really like the "chrome" logo whereas the ones that followed is to my taste. It is like the current Dredd logo I got used to it but I still prefer the classic one used for many, many moons.



But still I cannot understand the "hate" for the logo that will rule all logos  :'( :( :o
When I die, I want to die like my grandfather who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car.

Old age is the Lord's way of telling us to step aside for something new. Death's in case we didn't take the hint.

radiator

I'm with you on the classic Dredd font at least - it's still the most definitive and iconic one for me, and it's neat that it made it into the 2012 movie. Dredd's side profile in the 'J' of judge - which I only realised was there when someone on this board pointed it out to me - seems a little fussy and extraneous, but it's so subtle that it doesn't ruin the logo as a whole.

I can understand why people have a huge affection for the old logo, but take off the rose tinted spectacles for a second, place it alongside the contemporary DC, Marvel, Heavy Metal* etc logos and you'd be hard-pressed to argue that it doesn't look a little chintzy in comparison, even at the time.

*now that is an awesome cheesy eighties chrome logo.

norton canes

Quote from: Frank on 10 July, 2019, 07:13:37 PM

CEO of The Story Works and author of The Harrison Ford Story, Alan McKenzie, offers a survey of the 2000ad logo from 1987 to 1994, including why what discussion here has termed the 'classic' logo had to go:

ALIGN-RIGHT  McKENZIE

"I was paid to interfere with the work of others" - an excellent summation of the role of a sub-ed.

IndigoPrime

I dunno. The chrome logo seems perfectly in keeping with design at that time. Arguably, perhaps, that's why 2000 AD should have done something different; but it certainly aligned with then-contemporary design trends.

norton canes

Ah c'mon, the original logo's a classic piece of design - bold, brash and deftly rendered. Great that it's still being used as the 'heritage' logo, in the same way that Adidas still use the trefoil for retro products and the three stripes for up-to-date stuff.

Afraid I've never been a fan of the chrome or the stamp, for the simple reason that I hate the way the tail of the '2' extends under the zeroes. Nothing, however, is as bad as those 1990's/early 2000's nondescript 'top banner' monstrosities. At least the logos from the 70's and 80's have aged in interesting ways. I wasn't getting the prog when any of the top banner versions were in place and every time I see a cover with them, I can't help thinking I'm looking at some fake version of 2000 AD, or a 'best of' monthly cover or something.

I actually think the current 'geometric' style logo is the best of the lot in terms of the sympathetic way it works on the page - it doesn't dominate, it leaves plenty of space, and hey, it can even be customised too:



We didn't forget this one, right?!

MacabreMagpie

Yeah I'm fond of the current cover setup. As mentioned above, it allows for customisation/integration into the artwork very easily whilst remaining clear.

As much as I like the older-style logos, as someone who is not of that era (born in the 80s), I have to say that they would probably look a bit dated on the shelf today. Although that old-style cover Boo Cook did the other year looked fantastic, so, who knows.