Comics with Dan Daily | Trade Dress - 02/08/2026

I love a good trade dress.

Sure, virgin covers can show more of the art and make for great display pieces, but I think an impressive title design can make a book special.

For the uninitiated, the trade dress is the title on the cover of the comic. A good one will incorporate a logo of sorts and get more creative than just listing the name of the book.

One of the more classic ones can be found hwre with Batman #236 - the Batman face with the Batman title in the "wings", with Robin the Teen Wonder added below. I really love the pickaxe coming in front of the logo/title, as well as the little Batman in the left corner. Also, 48 pages for $0.25?? Those were the days.

Publishers stopped adding the characters in the corner for awhile but DC brought them back recently, as seen in this issue of Superman. Also worth noting on this Superman trade dress is the DC K.O. banner, noting that it is a tie in for the event.

Another trade dress that I'm enjoying is Captain America. Its simple but effective and just exudes the clean cut nature of Steve Roger's.

Finally, Batman & Robin: Year One used a throwback style for its trade dress - not an exact copy, but something reminiscent of the one shown above.

What are some of your favorite trade dresses over the years?