
This cover to WYATT EARP #6 by Bill Everett is cool in terms of just how much of a story it tells in a single image. It’s got a good use to spotted blacks to draw the eye to Wyatt’s face and head in the center of the cover. From there, his gaze carries the eye to the left where we can just see the gun being aimed at him. The large shadow on the right side contextualizes what little we can see of the gunman. And Wyatt is already reacting, reaching into his desk drawer for his own firearm. The limited color palate on this piece helps as well. I’d also guess that Atlas art director Carl Burgos may have gone into this piece and added additional cross-hatching to it, as that was a thing that he did with some regularity. Either way, the hatching and cross-hatching work gives this piece a really nice sense of texture and helps to separate teh various elements in black and white, even before color can help with that. A cool cover all around.
Yes, it is a nice cover, and tells quite a story. It also raises three important question:
1) Why is Wyatt Earp— who’s sheriff of Dodge City, right?— sitting at his desk when there’s clearly a gunfight going on in the streets?
2) Why is he sitting with his back to the door? Every gunfighter knows that’s a huge— and often their LAST— mistake!
3) Why is his gun in his Desk Drawer?!?! “I doubt I’ll need my gun today, even though I’ve needed in every story I’ve ever been in!”
Still: a fun, engaging cover.
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We could also ask why there’s a powerful light source behind and _below_ the guy at the door, and if so, why Wyatt’s face isn’t in shadow.
But leave us not quibble…
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