Is Charlie Hebdo's Newest Cover Since The Massacre 'Brilliant' Or 'Soft'?

Is Charlie Hebdo's Newest Cover Since The Massacre 'Brilliant' Or 'Soft'?

The highly-anticipated Charlie Hebdo cover released on Monday featuring the Prophet Muhammad holding a sign that reads "Je Suis Charlie" yielded various reactions from people unsure of what the satirical magazine would publish just days after two gunmen stormed the newsroom last week.

Huffington Post editorial directors from around the world came together to discuss their reactions to the cover, which HuffPost France editor-at-large Anne Sinclair said was more subtle than covers past.

"What I'm surprised about is that this cover is quite soft," Sinclair told HuffPost Live's Marc Lamont Hill on Wednesday. "Maybe it can seem strange for other people in France because France is ... used to [having] very provocative covers with Charlie Hebdo, but this one is really, really soft."

Contrarily, HuffPost Editorial Director Howard Fineman called it an "impressive" cover that hit "just the right note of defiance."

"As was said in a way by the cartoonist, [the cover offers] more respect to the tradition of the prophet than the people who claim to be speaking, acting and killing in his name do. I thought it was brilliant," he said.

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Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images
A queue of people wait outside a kiosk to get a copy of Charlie Hebdo on January 14, 2015 in Saint Germain en Laye, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images
A queue of people wait outside a kiosk to get a copy of Charlie Hebdo on January 14, 2015 in Saint Germain en Laye, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Parisians queue at a newspaper kiosk to get their copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images
Customers wait in line at Pigalle newstand, where the new edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine is being sold on January 14, 2014 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images
Customers wait in line at Pigalle newsstand, where the new edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine is being sold on January 14, 2014 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images
Customers wait in line at Pigalle newsstand, where the new edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine is being sold on January 14, 2014 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images
Customers wait in line at Pigalle newsstand, where the new edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine is being sold on January 14, 2014 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Pascal Le Segretain via Getty Images
A queue of people wait outside a kiosk to get a copy of Charlie Hebdo on January 14, 2015 in Saint Germain en Laye, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Aurelien Meunier via Getty Images
A van brings the first delivery of the new edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine at Place de la Republique on January 14, 2014 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attack.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
Parisians queue at a newspaper kiosk to get their copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine only to find it is completely sold out on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
A woman signs a waiting list to purchase a copy of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine at a news kiosk on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
JEAN PIERRE MULLER via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Bordeaux on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Parisians buy copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks
MARTIN BUREAU via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Paris on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
JEAN PIERRE MULLER via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Bordeaux on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Members of the public queue at a newspaper kiosk, where copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine are being sold on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
A man reads the latest edition of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo at a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the edition goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
A man reads the latest edition of French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
A sign which translates as 'Charlie Hebdo - Sold Out' is displayed as a customer holds a copy of the magazine outside a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical weekly goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
A customer holds a copy of Charlie Hebdo outside a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical weekly goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
Parisians queue at a newspaper kiosk to get their copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
Parisians queue at a newspaper kiosk to get their copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Dunkirk on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Members of the public queue at a newspaper kiosk, where copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine are being sold on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
A woman buys a copy of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine at a newspaper kiosk on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
MARTIN BUREAU via Getty Images
People wait outside a newsagents in Paris on January 14, 2015 as the latest edition of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo goes on sale. The latest edition of Charlie Hebdo since Islamist attacks on the magazines offices left 12 people dead, has sold out in many parts of France.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
Parisians buy copies of the latest edition of Charlie Hebdo magazine on January 14, 2015 in Paris, France. Five million copies of the controversial magazine have been printed in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo made with a fish-eye lens, people pick up copies of Charlie Hebdo newspaper at a newsstand in Rennes, western France, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. In an emotional act of defiance, Charlie Hebdo resurrected its irreverent and often provocative newspaper, featuring a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover that drew immediate criticism and threats of more violence.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man leaves after buying Charlie Hebdo newspapers as people queue at a newsstand in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. In an emotional act of defiance, Charlie Hebdo resurrected its irreverent and often provocative newspaper, featuring a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover that drew immediate criticism and threats of more violence.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jean Paul Bierlein reads the latest issue of Charlie Hebdo outside a newsstand in Nice, southeastern France, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015. In an emotional act of defiance, Charlie Hebdo resurrected its irreverent and often provocative newspaper, featuring a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover that drew immediate criticism and threats of more violence. The black letters on the front page read: "All is forgiven."

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