The 25 Most Influential Magazine Covers of All Time, including, of course, Ali on the cover of Esquire as Saint Sebastian. See also all the nominated covers.
Advertise here with Carbon Ads
This site is made possible by member support. 💞
Big thanks to Arcustech for hosting the site and offering amazing tech support.
When you buy through links on kottke.org, I may earn an affiliate commission. Thanks for supporting the site!
kottke.org. home of fine hypertext products since 1998.
Beloved by 86.47% of the web.
Comments 5
thread
latest
popular
I’m curious about what people might say if asked what the most influential (or memorable) magazine cover was for them personally.
For me, the Newsweek cover after the Oklahoma City bombing of a firefighter carrying a bloodied child immediately comes to mind. I was a kid myself, and the image was terrifying. Perhaps one of the first time I understood that true evil existed in the world.
Not any specific one, but the early Wired magazine covers were a shock to my system. Other than that, the first issue of Nintendo Power.
For me it's the photo of the Afghan girl on the cover of National Geographic, which Wikipedia tells me appeared in the June 1985. Her direct look at the camera and eye color was so intense! I just remember finding it so captivating, even while not understanding anything behind it.
Totally! I’m surprised it didn’t make this list, actually. Super memorable.
I'm surprised there are so few Rolling Stone covers — the Fred Woodward/Gail Anderson years were at least as high as peak of art direction as the George Lois covers, and the typography was just beyond.
Hello! In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. If you'd like to sign up for a membership to support the site and join the conversation, you can explore your options here.
Existing members can sign in here. If you're a former member, you can renew your membership.
Note: If you are a member and tried to log in, it didn't work, and now you're stuck in a neverending login loop of death, try disabling any ad blockers or extensions. Or try logging out and then back in. Still having trouble? Email me!
In order to comment or fave, you need to be a current kottke.org member. Check out your options for renewal.
If you feel like this comment goes against the grain of the community guidelines or is otherwise inappropriate, please let me know and I will take a look at it.
This thread is closed for new comments & replies. Thanks to everyone for participating!