Newsweek: The most riveting magazine cover since... that last one

Speaking of Newsweek, my colleague Owen pointed me to this Jon Friedman column about Newsweek's reaction to Time's redesign. Specifically, this quote:

A magazine can look hip and newsy at the same time though, and Newsweek proved that too. It told a riveting story when it put a young, disabled female soldier on its cover -- the most riveting magazine image in memory.

The cover Friedman is talking about:

Which makes me wonder whether Jon Friedman's memory extends as far back as January.

Seriously, though, despite the fact that the subject matter is nearly identical, I much prefer the Newsweek cover. With the Esquire version, my attention was immediately drawn to the  "tattooed" prosthetic forearm, and then to the hand and purple heart, and I didn't even realize that his legs were missing for a good while. This was also caused by the visual confusion of Esquire's new cover type style, and the angle and framing of the shot. I also found the thrusting of the purple heart toward the viewer to be fairly ham-fisted. I don't need to see a medal to know that this guy was hurt doing his duty. And surrounding him with names like Alan Arkin, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jaime Pressly blunt the impact anyway.

By contrast, the Newsweek cover's angle, white space, and minimal type ensure you can't possibly overlook the soldier's loss. Her disconnected prosthetic legs-- standing at attention to the side-- makes it all the more poignant.

Anyway, kudos to both magazines, for portraying the war not as a political abstraction but as a human tragedy.

Back to Owen-- In response to Friedman's statement, he asked me "What is, in fact, the most riveting magazine image in memory?" That's a damn good question, and one that's beyond the purview of a single blog post to plumb. I may come back to this several times, but anyone reading this should feel free to post or email me nominees. I'll start you off with one-- National Geographic's famous "Afghan Girl" cover, shot by Steve McCurry.

For some reason I could only find the actual cover in this washed-out, pathetic state, but click here to see the photo in all its riveting, eyes-piercing-your-soul glory.