Magazine Cover Analysis

The design of this magazine cover is based on the genre of the film - action thriller.
The 'Empire' logo is large and stands out and it fits in with the genre of the film also, as it is cracking in the middle, it is bulky, connoting force and action.
The graphology on the cover is extremely large, the image takes up the whole of the poster, this emphasizes a trust in the brand as the creators of the poster know that only this image is needed to attract and establish an audience - male teenagers.
The layering of the images is very effective as the Hulk appears to be breaking through the actual magazine, giving the cover a 'wow' factor, this also connotes the action aspect of the genre of the film. The verb 'UNLEASHED!' is very effective as it could have two meanings, the first is that the actual Hulk character is being unleashed physically through the magazine and secondly, that the new film 'The Hulk' is being unleashed and shown to us as an audience. 'Unleashed' is a very effective verb as it has connotations of the unstoppable and to let loose which would attract the target audience of teenage males. The bold red colour of 'EMPIRE' stands out against the dark background attracting the viewer's eye to the magazine cover.




A unique selling point is established 'world exclusive!' as the magazine presents itself to be the only magazine interviewing 'the joker' who is one of the main characters in the film 'The Dark Knight,' this therefore attracts the audience from the film to read the magazine.
The text 'EMPIRE' has a strong red colour standing out against the dark background of the magazine cover, it appears bulky and dominant on the magazine so that we can establish a sense of branding.
The typography 'he's a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown!' This text is small but effective as it is in the style of graffiti, reiterating the fact that the joker is the antagonist in 'The Dark Knight' narrative, which again attracts the audience and establishes the thriller genre.
The colours used are predominantly dark portraying the genre and character traits of the joker character. The dark colours give the front cover a menacing tone which links to the thriller genre.
The composition of the image is very effective as the joker is the main image and he stands out instantly, there is juxtaposition evident as his body language is calm as his hands are placed delicately on his knees but his facial expression is mysterious and menacing attracting the audience as they want to read more about this mysterious character. An audience is already established because those who have watched the film will want to experience a personal setting (the interview) with the joker.

Common trends on both magazine covers:
- They both have a barcode on the front which is a common feature on the front of a magazine.
- They both have the bold, strong coloured 'empire' logo so the audience have trust in the brand as they know what to expect from it.
- The typography links to the genre and narrative of the film 'the hulk' title is strong, bold and domineering as the hulk character is and 'the joker' title is playful yet menacing with different case letters which potray the joker to be a menacing, mysterious, childlike character.
- There is a dominant image linking to the narrative of the film. They are both dominant images of main characters showing that the 'empire' brand have trust in the popularity of both characters to make them the main image on the magazine cover

The only difference is on 'the dark knight' empire magazine cover there are different features included 'PLUS! SWEENEY TODD...' to furthur attract the audience to purchase the magazine and read all features.