100 Covers: A Visual Love Letter to Ocean City
You’re holding the 100th issue of Ocean City Magazine right now. Here’s the story of the other 99.
The magazine was just a twinkle in our eye the day Bill came home from a meeting in town and said, “We should start our own magazine.” I answered YES and less than two months later, the very first issue of Ocean City Magazine was born.
Since that day, there have been 99 issues put out there. As editor, it’s part of my job to come up with a cover concept each month. Every cover is custom. Sometimes I bring an artist a specific idea.
Sometimes I find the right artist and let them run with it. Occasionally, a piece that’s already in an artist’s collection feels just right. Vintage postcards were a big influence… that hand-painted, nostalgic feel, built for the bigger stage of a magazine cover. Each cover comes together to paint a picture of coastal community love, Ocean City-style.
Flip through these hundred covers and you’re looking at 16 years of this town through the eyes of its artists.
2010-2011 Photography
For the premier issue, May 2010, Bill took pics of OCBP lifeguards mid rescue-boat launch. That first year also included “Surfin’ Safari,” the Rihl family of Hula Restaurant dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus with mistletoe on the beach, and a Red Raiders soccer player.
In 2011: we paid homage to OC’s bball culture with hoop dreams, a beach workout, a Hobie cat in the back bay, and a sandcastle built by John Gowdy, the sand artist. One cover was inspired by vintage albums, the November December is an Abby Road nod holiday mash up.
2010-2011 Photography
In 2012, the covers moved from photography to hand-painted watercolor, with Marie Natale as the artist for many years: the iconic Playland swings ride, vintage bathing beauties by the fishing pier, fireworks over the pier. The November/December 2012 cover, Santa’s sleigh over the Boardwalk, went to print days before Hurricane Sandy hit, so we added an editor’s note wishing the town a speedy recovery. Natale’s work continued through 2013 (the Flanders Hotel, Red Raiders football), 2014 (a vintage convertible by the Ferris wheel), and into 2017, including a gingerbread-style City Hall for the holidays.
2015-2017 Other artists
Ginny Mulford illustrated several covers in 2015. including a “Scream”-parody Boardwalk cover for Halloween. Tracy Sally illustrated four covers in 2016
— a carousel horse, a kite by the pier, a boat parade at dusk. In 2017, Rae Jaffe’s Downtown street scene, and Aaron “Bogy” Bogushefsky contributed a illustrated cover of waves carrying surfers down the shoreline.
2018-2019 Susan Rau & issue 50
Susan Rau became the magazine’s cover artist starting in 2018, through the June 2018 issue – our 50ch — with waves spelling out “OCEAN CITY” across the cover.
That year also included bikes on Haven Avenue, and a beach-chair coastal Santa for the holidays.
In 2019, the covers switched to mosaic, a concept I hadn’t seen before and was excited to try. Jill Snyder’s stained-glass and tile work ran the full year: a mermaid tail by the Music Pier, a Ferris wheel, a Christmas tree, all built from pieced glass and tile.
2020-2021 The pandemic years
Stephanie Lindley’s June 2020 cover put two graduates on the beach with “2020” written in the sand. Her September/October cover showed kids and a truck full of schoolbooks at 9th and Asbury, during a year of remote learning.
2021 brought more packed, detailed illustrations from Bogy’s library with dozens of figures in each scene: a waterpark in May, a chaotic surf scene with an alligator floatie in June, a beach-bike gathering in August, and an overloaded VW bus roof rack in November/December.
2022-2023 A return & a new medium
Bogy returned again in 2022, five years after that first wave cover, with a hand-lettered “Summer Time” collage and a crowded boardwalk scene.
In 2023, the covers shifted to a coastal folk textile style. Lauren DeMarco’s work ran the full year: pieced-fabric beach umbrellas, a quilted whale, a Ferris wheel built from cut newsprint, and a Christmas tree hung with tiny ornaments shaped like past magazine covers.
2024-2025 New artists
Tim Smith’s paintings ran through 2024, some commissioned and some from his collection: an octopus, a surfer at dusk, a sailboat, jellyfish, City Hall at Christmas.
Jim McHugh illustrated two covers in 2025: Martin and Molly Mollusk reading the magazine on the beach, and a labeled illustration of back-bay birds.
Tim Smith returned that September/October with a koi pond painting. The November/December cover was an old painting of the Sindia, Ocean City’s most famous shipwreck.
2026 Looking back
As issue 100 approached, our tagline changed to “Celebrating Ocean City, NJ’s Past, Present + Future,” and the covers turned to archival photography: the 1920s boardwalk, and a sepia image from the 1908 Carnival Night in Venice.
Cover 100
Ninety-nine covers. A dozen artists. Several mediums. One hurricane, one pandemic. The 100th is on the front of the issue you’re holding. I’m not going to describe it here — you can see it for yourself.
By Stef Godfrey