It was great to see so many different magazines receive accolades.

With that said, I continue to be baffled by the Magazine Covers award. As the great Paul Jones famously said, “To win this category only magazines that submit “art with logo” need apply.

This year’s gold winner was The Feathertale Review (nice nipple ring, eh?):

And the silver winner was Urbania (nice hair, sorry about your sun burn, eh?):

I suspect that a very small percentage of the magazine junkies in attendance at the Carlu had ever heard of these titles, let alone ever purchased a copy. I suspect an even smaller percentage of Canadians have either. Yet these are the titles held up as the very best examples of what a great cover should look like? I suppose if this were a fashion show, it would be the equivalent of couture vs. ready to wear. On the one hand, creative and edgy, on the other, completely divorced from the reality of what it takes to sell single copies or subscriptions.

Perhaps the category should just be renamed, so as not to suggest that these covers are something other than art for art’s sake: Best Cover Art (Avante Garde). And then they could add a category Best Cover Art (Commercial). With over 40+ awards handed out, what’s one more?