New York, Oct. 4
Mmm ... pigs in a blanket — one of my favorites! How do you tackle a serious subject without alienating or scaring off your readers? Humor is often the best portal to discuss something serious — or, in this case, a perhaps overhyped epidemic. The photo by Horacio Salinas uses a pig that is obviously taking a sick day to sell a cover story on swine flu. (TIME couldn't do this cover because we use this flu's scientific name, H1N1 virus — try making a visual pun on that!) This cover is a triumph of styling and careful planning — the black background pops the type and logo, and the baby-blue blanket plays perfectly against the pink piggy skin. Apparently that is a live pig — how on earth did they get it to pose like that? I gotta tell you, it doesn't look kosher to me.