The Secret Six No. 2 Cover by Nick Cardy
Nick Cardy is one of best DC cover artists of all time. From Aquaman to The Brave & the Bold and Superman, his work is noted for the power of its composition and the emotional depth of his characters.
He only did one cover for the short-lived The Secret Six, but in my mind it is one of the best covers of the Sixties.
Normally, I source pieces from Heritage Auctions or other places on the web, but this cover eluded me. And I really wanted to work on it, so I had no choice but to remove the colour through various methods in Photoshop, and then retouch what was left into something approaching the original art.
Even so, what you’re left with is only the impression of a printing process instead of the brush and pen strokes of the original art. Hopefully, a high-res scan of the source will show up one day.
Original Colour Re-creation
As published.
The lineart extracted from the published cover and retouched to get it as clean as possible.
Original colour re-created.
Re-created trade dress added.
Using Gaspar Saladino’s alternate logo.
Poster version.
House Ad
The black & white version of the published house ad promoting Secret Six No. 2. Lettered and layed out by Gaspar Saladino.
The colour version of the published house ad promoting Secret Six No. 2.
The block lettering and logos were reconstructed for this new version of the b&w house ad.
The colour version.
New Colour version
New colour version.
Re-created trade dress added.
Using Gaspar Saladino’s alternate logo.
Poster version.
Related
The Secret Six No. 1 Cover by Frank Springer
One of the great short series by DC Comics in the late Silver Age starts with a powerful and innovative cover.
The Secret Six No. 3 Cover by Jack Sparling
Sparling's first issue and first cover for The Secret Six was No. 3, and it's one of the series' best. Coloured by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
The Secret Six No. 4 Cover by Jack Sparling
Designed by Carmine Infantino and illustrated by Jack Sparling, another great cover from the late-Silver, early-Bronze age of DC Comics. New colour by Scott Dutton / Catspaw Dynamics.
The Secret Six No. 5 Cover by Jack Sparling
A great but short-lived series during the transition from the Silver to the Bronze age. Colour by Scott Dutton.