@Corey – Happy to hear a brick & mortar bookstore will be carrying this trade!

@Count Drunkula – Since Ethan Van Sciver is such a big draw for DC, I gotta imagine using his art for a cover made the most sense from a pure sales perspective. His art on this trade might attract some people who don’t normally read Firestorm, but are interested in his work. Also, of Van Sciver’s covers from these issues, that cover represents the various “protocols” the best. That’s the rational that makes sense to me. Personally, I’d love to see one of Yildiray’s pieces on the cover. That not a knock at Van Sciver, just for me personally Yildiray was the heart and soul of that run.

Shag

Back on the topic of this collected volume: I expected the cover of issue #12 to be the cover of Volume 2, as I thought it was the best and most iconic of these issues. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but now I wonder about the process that goes into choosing a cover for trades and hardcovers. Is it editorial decision? Does the publishing department responsible for collected editions consult with any of the creators? Did it have to be an Ethan Van Sciver cover as per some contractual agreement? I don’t think I’ll sleep until this question is answered.