30 Years of Covers

October 1976
“Social Climbing in Dallas”
The first issue of the Omni-style “D,” a logo that would last through August ’78.

November 1977
“Guess What’s Coming with Dinner”
The investigative peek into kitchens of
Dallas restaurants sold more copies than you can shake a fly swatter at.

January 1978
Best & Worst
Our second Best & Worst issue is still one of the best. We sold 96 percent of the copies printed.

September 1978
“The Most Dangerous Game”
The debut of the now-familiar fat “D.”

November 1980
“Why Does Dallas Have the Most Beautiful Women in the World?”
Does the reason matter as much as the result?

January 1982
“Best & Worst”
One of the top five issues ever. We should learn from this: décolletage = good.

April 1983
“Win a Free Cadillac”
The winner was Marvin Cotten, a 24-year-old student at the Dallas Theological Seminary.

May 1985
“The Greenville Strip”
Blurred phallic images in the background are not a predictor of success, though this one did well.

December 1989
“The Real Ron Chapman”
The first appearance of the now-iconic red “D.“

July 1992
“Top Doctors”
The first of many.

April 1995
“Would You Vote for This Man?”
Sorry, Ron. Your profile was the worst-selling cover of D ever.

September 1996
“What’s Killing America’s Team?”
A single tear generated much buzz and many sales.

January 1998
“Best & Worst”
One of the best-performing Best & Worsts might have had more to do with the special report on SMU than with Yvonne Gonzalez.

April 1998
“How Matthew Harden Screwed Yvonne Gonzalez and the Dallas Public Schools”
Or “How a Really Long Cover Headline Can Grab Your Attention.”

May 1999
“Who Is Laura Miller and Why Does She Hate Dallas?”
A bad cover for a good story.

December 1999
“Inside the Plano Heroin Scene”
Misty Keasler, the photographer who shot Plano teens as they shot up, has since gone on to international acclaim.

August 2000
“Top Taste Awards”
An
homage to Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert’s Tijuana
Brass. Subscribers wrote in to tell us they had to hide it from their
9-year-olds.

October 2001
“The Best Doctors in Dallas”
Our
circulation and marketing departments declared this cover a disaster
because it lacked “authority.” Editors and newsstand buyers disagreed.

July 2002
“Is Tom Hicks Going Broke?”
The doctored-photo cover generated more reaction than the prescient story itself.

September 2002
“Dr. Phil’s Big Risk”
Dr. Phil is balding / And Oprah is sad / This issue is one of / The worst we’ve had.

May 2003
“Death in a Dallas Restaurant”
No one anticipated how well this cover sold. No people, just words, and one of those words was “death.”