New 'Harry Potter' Cover Is Very Different From The Original

Scholastic announced earlier this week it will be rolling out revamped covers for the popular "Harry Potter" series in celebration of its 15th anniversary.

Yes, the young wizard from Hogwarts has been around for a decade and a half.

Wednesday, Scholastic unveiled the cover for author J.K. Rowling's first book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," and it's very different from the previous installments.

The new covers will depart from the old ones by depicting one scene in particular from each book instead of hinting at plot points and characters featured throughout the book.

The artwork comes from Kazu Kibuishi who's most known for his work on the comic Flight.

Here's the old cover of the first book:

And, here's the new one:

Scholastic

What's most striking about the new cover is the lack of Harry's prominence on the cover.

He takes up a good third of the original cover, and now blends in with a crowd of wizards in a scene from Diagon Alley in Kibuishi's rendering.

The new version of Harry appears to resemble actor Daniel Radcliffe who portrayed "the boy who lived" in the popular film franchise more than his original counterpart.

The art works, depicting a boy—Harry—eagerly entering the wizarding world for the first time.

Kibuishi explained in a press release his reasoning behind the new cover:

"As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, 'If I were the author of the books -- and they were like my own children -- how would I want them to be seen years from now?' When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to feel. In a way, the project became a tribute to both Harry Potter and the literary classics."

Also notable is the departure in stylized font for author J.K. Rowling's name along with a simpler typeface for the book's subtitle.

The other six books in the series will also receive new cover treatments. The new artwork will debut in September in a box set.

What do you think — is the new cover better?