Empire: Wolverine
The masthead is in bold red which does not link to any of the other colours used making it stand out on the page. Featured characters named at the top of page; white stands out against the black background. The background is layered in shades of blue and is a picture of a horizon; the blue colours give it the feeling of the Sci-Fi film. All the text on the page is either in white or black, two colours that over power the page but make sure the text stands out against the blue background.
The main image is a mid/low shot of the actor who is featuring in this issue. The actor has a powerful gaze that is aimed at the reader to capture their attention and lure them into buying that copy. The image is place over the masthead; the magazine is very established so cutting out part of the name will not trouble the reader in identifying the magazine. Text linked to the main image is a larger font than the rest in order to show the reader what their main selling point is this month.
There are also the ‘must-have’ essentials on the page as well such as the date, issue number, price and barcode, this magazine even has their website on the same level as there tagline. Language is a big part of drawing in the reader phrases like ‘world exclusive’ and ‘review of the year;’ language is deliberately used to try to capture the reader’s attention and make them feel unique.
Empire: Sherlock Homes
The main image on this cover dominates the page. There is also very little text, meaning there are less things that draw your eye away from the main image. The main text is very centralised which is common in magazine from covers. With the name of the characters and this case the film in the biggest font apart from the masthead. The image of Sherlock Homes has a stare that looks straight at the reader which is also very common. His body language shows a lot about the film and the character. It shows he’s a very smart man so the film will be intellectual but the cuts on his face show that there will be action in the film as well as mind games.
This magazine has a very common layout of images as well with one in the middle and one less important story on either side. On the bottom left hand corner is a list of films also featuring in the issue as well just in case the main film article does not appeal to you.
Again the masthead is in read standing out on a page of duller colours like cream and blue. The text is a mixture of the colours red and black mostly with the more important text in grey. It is a muted colour palette and one of the more sophisticated covers produced by Empire in keeping with the idea of promoting a ‘quality’ film.
Empire: Hellboy 2
Masthead is on fire in order to make the cover look more like hell because this issue’s featured film is Hellboy 2. Main image is of Hellboy; it overlaps the masthead which is normal for a cover of a magazine like this. The main image of Hellboy seems to look straight at you in an angry way. The eye contact is to draw the reader in and hopefully make them buy the magazine out of impulse, the angry look on his face helps us to establish what the movie may be like and what genre it might be. The background is completely black which makes the masthead and the main image stand out on the page. The rest of the text on this cover is white or gold apart from the small print, using those colours ensures they will not blend into the background or the main image.
There is all the normal information that is normal for a magazine front cover such as bar code, date, issue number and price, this magazine cover also has a puff telling us of an article that lies inside. Most magazine front covers are very crowded but this cover seems to have a lot of space making it seem more sophisticated. The left hand bias of the text reflects the idea that magazines are often stacked, so the text can still be read. my instinct before this research would have been to try to 'balance' the text around the cover, which I thought would make it look pleasing, but I have noticed that this does not really happen. Magazine covers are not symmetrical or balanced and there is no 'right' place for the text - the main criteria seems to be making sure it is seen.
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