The old logo for Arvid Nelson's noir/alternate history epic, Rex Mundi, was fairly nondescript, of the Generic Horror Font No. 4 variety. It served its purpose, I suppose, but it never truly captured the tone of the series or complemented the work by artists like EricJ and Jim Di Bartolo.

However, the new logo, which debuted along with new artist Juan Ferreyra on Issue 16, is something else entirely. Created by Comicraft's J.G. Roshell, the new treatment is elegant and distinctive, playing up the book's quasi-historical setting with a nod toward Alphonse Mucha and French Art Nouveau.

The design of Issue 16's cover, of course, hammers home that connection, even employing thick black lines that appear to bleed into the yellowed paper. The logo loses some of its finer features, but the overall effect is worth the sacrifice.

With Issue 17, we see Roshell's new logo as it's intended, with letters like old parchment or maybe chiseled stone. I like that the art and type interact -- don't I always? -- with the blood from the crucifix dripping over the pronounced "M" before continuing to the image below. It's as if the cover is a slowly filling vessel.

(Let's hope they resist using the graduated screen shown at right, though.)

Roshell's logo becomes even more impressive when you consider that neither cover would've been possible using the old type treatment. That's a sure sign the redesign works.