Judging a Magazine by its Cover

Maybe because I've been thinking about "covers" for Prime Number Magazine, which is an online magazine and so doesn't really have covers, or maybe because I've been looking at a lot of magazines lately, this morning it occurs to me that there are some magazines that just LOOK better than others, and so I'm more predisposed to read them. I'm probably that shallow in judging books, also. People, too, most likely. And ironically.

But some magazines just do a much better job than others with their covers. For example, I happen to think that Gettysburg Review consistently has the most attractive covers of any of the very many magazines I've subscribed to over the years--which is long list indeed.

New England Review is also consistently good. For some magazines, like One Story and the Sewanee Review, covers are beside the point. The former, at least, uses a different color for each of its small issues.


Do you have favorites? Who does the best covers?