History Main / IdiosyncraticCoverArt

* ''Comicbook/SupermanTruth'' had an interesting version: every issue had a single word appearing on the cover in a distinctive font, but every month, the covers of ''Superman'' (which was actually a prequel called ''Before Truth''), ''Comicbook/ActionComics'', ''Batman/Superman''and ''Superman/Wonder Woman'' were themed with ''each other'', using the same word ("Truth", "Justice", "Alienation", "Lies", "Injustice", and "Corruption"). In addition, all the "Alienation" issues had a cover divided into multiple vertical strips showing different characters (or, for ''Superman'', Clark's various looks).

* The ''DC Icons'' series of YA graphic novels (''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer'', ''Literature/BatmanNightwalker'', and ''Literature/CatwomanSoulstealer'') all feature a cover with the character's logo in the centre, a character portrait (not in costume, but with suggestions of it) above, and the title below.

** The 2022 editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUGhfKDWUAAaZzP?format=jpg&name=large the Wizard books]] are similar, but are predominantly red, with the central focus being a glowing round object: a fireball destroying the Broken Drum in ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', an image of the Red Star for ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'', a mystic portal for ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the gods' dice for ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', the vast anticyclone surrounding Fourecks for ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', and of course, a football for ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''. In 2023 ''Literature/{{Eric}} was added, with an octogram.

* ''LightNovel/IHadThatSameDreamAgain'': The cover art for both the original light novel and the manga adaptation show Nanoka standing on a balcony looking out over the city, with a black cat sitting on the railing beside her. In the light novel's cover art, the perspective is from behind them; in the manga's cover art, the perspective is in front of them.

* Covers of Music/TheSmiths's studio output all feature old black and white photos, usually of celebrties.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** And the 2023 editions of [[https://www.discworldemporium.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/terry-pratchett-moist-industrial-collection-discworld-new-paperback-covers.jpg the Moist books]] also have a central circle, surrounded by flying rectangles of paper: a postmark and letters for ''Literature/GoingPostal'', a coin and banknotes for ''Literature/MakingMoney'', and the front of Iron Girder and railway tickets for ''Literature/RaisingSteam''.

** The 2022 editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUGhfKDWUAAaZzP?format=jpg&name=large the Wizard books]] are similar, but are predominantly red, with the central focus being a glowing round object: a fireball destroying the Broken Drum in ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', an image of the Red Star for ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'', a mystic portal for ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the gods' dice for ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', the vast anticyclone surrounding Fourecks for ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', and of course, a football for ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''.

* [[https://9gag.com/gag/aoPDYZA This spine design]] for ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' also applies.

* Thus far, all official Days Of The New albums have been [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled]], and all of their covers feature depictions of the same dead tree in different settings. The exception is the GreatestHitsAlbum ''Definitive Collection'', which opts for a photo of [[IAmTheBand Travis Meeks]] sitting down with an acoustic guitar instead. A pair of unlicensed bootleg albums, ''The Gift'' and ''Illusion Is Now'' also followed the dead tree motif.

* Thus far, all Days Of The New albums have been [[SelfTitledAlbum self-titled]], and all of their covers feature depictions of the same dead tree in different settings. The exception is the GreatestHitsAlbum ''Definitive Collection'', which opts for a photo of [[IAmTheBand Travis Meeks]] sitting down with an acoustic guitar instead. The next album has been announced as ''Days of the New Presents Tree Colors'', which breaks the self-titled pattern-- given the title, that signature tree is probably not going anywhere though...

* When all 42 volumes of the ''Manga/DragonBall'' manga are put together, the images on their spines form a [[ huge mural.]]
** The [[https://preview.redd.it/6ss9411iizr71.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=af660692960d60f2ee3a68a01a63831050804291 VHS tapes]] from the Funimation dub form different pictures when placed side by side in order, one for each saga. They even had alternative pictures for the uncut tapes. The season sets on DVD do this as well when the slipcases are removed.

* The spine art of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' is this; each volume features the basic metallic gray, red and white color scheme and a single character on the side of the tanokban. Thanks to the series' sizable lifespan it ended up showcasing practically every major character, and the Elric brothers more than once, due to [[CharacterDevelopment significant visual changes]].

* Every ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' volume cover features Koro-sensei's face, the color and emotion varying across each one.

* When all 42 volumes of the ''Manga/DragonBall'' manga are put together, the images on their spines form a huge mural.
** The VHS tapes from the Funimation dub form different pictures when placed side by side in order, one for each saga. They even had alternative pictures for the uncut tapes. The season sets on DVD do this as well when the slipcases are removed.

** The 2022 Penguin editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMsoU08XMAc0YCo?format=jpg&name=900x900 the Witches books]] all have a bright light source in the centre, with the title imposed on it, and the witches (or other characters) almost in shadow beneath it. For ''Literature/EqualRites'', the light source appears to be a sillouette of Granny Weatherwax, with a secondary one being the staff Esk holds in front of her; for ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' it's dawn through the mountains, but also takes the shape of a crown; for ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' it's the glow of Genua's fairytale castle; for ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' it's the portal in the centre of the Dancers; for ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' it's the stage of the Opera House; and for ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', it's the phoenix aurora.
** The 2022 editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FUGhfKDWUAAaZzP?format=jpg&name=large the Wizard books]] are similar, but with the central focus being a glowing round object: a fireball destroying the Broken Drum in ''Literature/TheColourOfMagic'', an image of the Red Star for ''Literature/TheLightFantastic'', a mystic portal for ''Literature/{{Sourcery}}'', the gods' dice for ''Literature/InterestingTimes'', the vast anticyclone surrounding Fourecks for ''Literature/TheLastContinent'', and of course, a football for ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals''.

* ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoSupremacyOfTheCybermen'' had three sets of covers. The A Covers featured artwork of each of the four featured Doctors against a purple-to-blue background of circuitry, the B covers featured a photo of each of the Doctors against a similar blue-to-green background (both starting with a group shot to get five covers from four Doctors), and the C covers each showed a Cyberman from a different era against an orange background suggesting Gallifrey. In addition the backgrounds to each set of covers lined up to form one image (albeit one where all the Doctors appeared twice, in the A and B covers).

* The spines of one set of the ''Film/JamesBond'' films on DVD forms the 007 logo when the films are put in order.

* One edition of the four ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' books (back when the trilogy only had four books) had each book showing one quarter of four different pictures: a towel with the words "Don't Panic", the Heart of Gold, a face and a fish. You could put the books together in four different ways to reassemble the four pictures. In addition, one particular arrangement of the spines would reveal the number 42 using red and green dots (like the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishihara_test Ishihara test]]).

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* The ''Series/BabylonFive'' box sets (at least the UK versions) each have a big 5 logo on the spine with an end-on picture of the station in the crook of the 5, tinted a different colour on each volume. Unfortunately the overall effect is ruined by the Fourth Season version being too big and the Fifth Season misaligned.

* Music/TypeONegative album covers generally have a theme. On the front, the band's logo is in one corner, the album title in the diagonally opposite corner, usually no tracklist on back and the band's name and album title in large bold lettering in on the spine. Because the lettering on each spine is a different color, they look quite nice when lined up next to each other, Bloody Kisses, October Rust and World Coming Down being the best examples. Their only albums not to follow this pattern are the original release of The Origin Of The Feces, (the cover was redesigned to fit the tradition on its reissue) and The Best Of, which was released without their permission. Part of the reason the band were so annoyed with The Best Of is that they had no input with the cover.

* Music/TheWhiteStripes' record covers all contain a combination of red, white and black owing to Jack Whites predilection with the RuleOfThree.

** The North American covers for a good number of first-party UsefulNotes/SegaSaturn game had a slight minimalist streak, with the covers of games such as ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}!'', the ''VideoGame/VirtuaCop'' series, etc. consisting of renders of the game's characters over a white background, in a manner reminscient of the above Master System boxes but executed a bit more tastefully. This was not done as consistently, however.

* The spines of the collections of Creator/OsamuTezuka's ''Manga/{{Buddha}}'' form a picture of Siddharta Gautama at three different stages of his life.

** [[http://buscafast.com.br/wp-content/gallery/classicos-disney/classicos-disney-3.jpg Spain and Brazil's "Literature Classics"]] collection.

** The 2022 Penguin editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMsoU08XMAc0YCo?format=jpg&name=900x900 the Witches books]] all have a bright light source in the centre, with the title imposed on it, and the witches (or other characters) almost in shadow beneath it. For ''Literature/EqualRites'', the light source appears to be a sillouette of Granny Weatherwax, with a secondary one being the staff Esk holds in front of her; for ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' it's dawn through the mountains, but also takes the shape of a crown; for ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' it's the glow of Genua's fairytale castle; for ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' it's the portal in the centre of the Dancers; for ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' it's the stage of the Opera House; and for ''Literature/CarpeJugulum'', it's the pheonix aurora.

* One edition of the four ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' books (back when the trilogy only had four books) had each book showing one quarter of four different pictures: a towel with the words "Don't Panic", the Heart of Gold, a face and a fish. You could put the books together in four different ways to reassemble the four pictures. In addition, one particular arrangement of the spines would reveal the number 42 using red and green dots (like the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishihara_test Ishihara test]].

* The first edition of ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency'' had a brass plaque engraved with the title floating amongst blueish clouds.[[note]]The plaque appears in the book, where it's the source of friction between Dirk and his secretary, since he bought it instead of paying her.[[/note]] The first edition of ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeaTimeOfTheSoul'' has a very similar composition of the title engraved on a silver tea-tray, floating amongst reddish clouds.[[note]]There are no tea-trays in the book, and indeed the significance of the title beyond being a ''Hitchhikers'' quote is obscure.[[/note]].

** The 2022 Penguin editions of [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMsoU08XMAc0YCo?format=jpg&name=900x900 the Witches books]] all have a bright light source in the centre, with the title imposed on it, and the witches (or other characters) almost in shadow beneath it. For ''Literature/EqualRites'', the light source appears to be a sillouette of Granny Weatherwax, with a secondary one being the staff Esk holds in front of her; for ''Literature/WyrdSisters'' it's dawn through the mountains, but also takes the shape of a crown; for ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'' it's the glow of Genua's fairytale castle; for ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'' it's the portal in the centre of the Dancers; for ''Literature/{{Maskerade}}'' it's the stage of the Opera House; and for ''Discworld/CarpeJugulum'', it's the pheonix aurora.

* The early first-party releases ([[FanNickname dubbed]] the "Black Box" series by collectors) for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem in North America (from the launch lineup on October 1985 and up to most of the 1987 releases) featured a minimalist packaging design that featured a black background with an artwork mimicking the in-game pixel art and the game's title written underneath in a standardized font just above the NES logo (some of them, namely arcade ports such as ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' and the original ''VideoGame/MarioBros'', had a silver stripe behind the title). This was done in response to complaints about [[CoversAlwaysLie misleading packaging art]] in many pre-NES games that led to false expectations regarding the game's content, as Nintendo wanted to make sure to the customers that what they saw on the box is what they got. Nintendo later switched to more traditional illustrations (and occasional photographs) in subsequent releases.

* The ''DC Icons'' series of YA graphic novels (''ComicBook/WonderWomanWarbringer'', ''ComicBook/BatmanNightwalker'', ''ComicBook/CatwomanSoulstealer'', and ''ComicBook/SupermanDawnbreaker'') all feature a cover with the character's logo in the centre, a character portrait (not in costume, but with suggestions of it) above, and the title below.

* The ''DC Icons'' series of YA graphic novels (''ComicBook/WonderWomanWarbringer'', ''ComicBook/BatmanNightwalker'', ''ComicBook/CatwomanSoulstealer'', and ''ComicBook/SupermanDawnbreaker'') all feature a cover with the character's logo in the centre, a character portrait (not in costume, but with suggestions of it) above, and the title below.

* The ''DC Icons'' series of YA novels (''Literature/WonderWomanWarbringer'', ''Literature/BatmanNightwalker'', ''Literature/CatwomanSoulstealer'', and ''Literature/SupermanDawnbreaker'') all feature a cover with the character's logo in the centre, a character portrait (not in costume, but with suggestions of it) above, and the title below.

[[folder: Audio Play]]