Welcome to the fifteenth installment of Comic Book Cover-Up! Every week, We the Nerdy writer Henry Varona weighs in on his choices for the best comic book covers coming out this week, along with some great honorable mentions worth checking out! Looking at the layout, artistic talent, and the overall craftsmanship, the covers are analyzed and ranked accordingly. At the end, each book will be given points based on their ranking. Then Henry adds up points for the various series, which will work towards earning further accolades in the future! Here’s a point breakdown for what every ranking will earn:
- First-10 Points
- Second-7 Points
- Third- 5 Points
- Fourth and Fifth- 3 Points Each
- Still Gorgeous- 1 Point Each
So without further ado, here’s the week’s best!
5. New 52 Futures End 3 by Ryan Sook (Featured Image)
New 52 Futures End is a dystopian take on the existing DC continuity. Imagine that everything you know and love becomes corrupt and falls apart. Yet in that wasteland of negativity, there is still some fun to be had by taking existing characters and reshaping them. Here, we see the family saying of Mr. Terrific, “Fair Play”, tattooed across his muscular body. He watches Batman Beyond on a television monitor while he works out, something that’s very big brother and very untrusting. Sook takes this concept and makes it immediately clear and engaging, while still taking the time out to show just how ripped Mr. Terrific will become.
4. Adventure Time 28 by Zan Cxyzewski
Adventure Time is a cartoon about fun and… adventure. The cover to issue 28 of the comic takes those two basics and fuses them together, creating an image that is simultaneously intimidating and completely goofy. Finn walks towards the viewer, sword in hand, ready for battle. Surrounding him are the warped bodies of Lady Rainicorn and Jake the Dog, bringing in a layer of goofy. Then we have the top and bottom border of the images, which are a mix of wacky and weird. Then throw in that the entire layout forms a playing card image, it really makes for a great time.
3. Elektra 2 by Mike Del Mundo
I don’t know what’s more impressive about this cover; that Mike Del Mundo does such a great job rendering Elektra in the midst of her kill or that she looks so beautiful doing it. Mike Del Mundo tackles the art for Elektra with love and affection, carefully depicting the blood peeling off of her. She spins like a ballerina, playing tribute to her past, while also showing how far gone that young girl is. Elektra is merciless and deadly, as she leaves a pool of blood in her wake. And to top it all off, she looks as though she’s barely giving her actions a single thought, as if everything is beneath her. That’s deadly.
2. Wonder Woman 31 by Cliff Chiang
Cliff Chiang takes Wonder Woman back to her roots for her cover to issue 31 of the series. Tying Diana to a tree, Chiang brings to mind the classic covers in which our hero was tied to a rock, or a rocket, or a buoy, or something weird. But where he succeeds and many covers fail is that she still looks so empowering and incredible. Wonder Woman isn’t just standing there, a hopeless victim. She has arrows in her body, causing what can only be immense pain. And yet she stands unfazed, glaring into the eyes of the world, ready to break free and show her true power. Couple this with the great detail in the creepy tree and the high contrast colors of the image and you have yet another classic in Chiang’s profile.
1. Daredevil 3 by Chris Samnee
From the moment I laid my eyes on this cover, I knew Daredevil would reign supreme. Chris Samnee is a top talent for Marvel and his work on Daredevil has been career defining. For his latest cover, Daredevil is little more than a silhouette in the background of a graveyard, where a monument to justice has been built. Yet in the scales of justice lay the eyes of the Man Without Fear. This composition is creative and subtle, so much so that I didn’t even notice it as first. I saw a layering of eyes where Samnee only drew scales. The dark clouds overheard provide a dark wash over the entire image, and the vines that wrap the statue have Daredevil’s trademark DD emblem. Absolutely incredible work by Samnee.
Still Gorgeous:
- American Vampire Second Cycle 3 by Rafael Albuquerque
- Batwoman 31 (Batman ’66 Variant) by Mike Allred
- Justice League 30 by Ivan Reis
- Mind the Gap 17 by Rodin Esquejo
- Wonder Woman 31 (Batman ’66 Variant) by Mike Allred
Thanks for checking us out here on We The Nerdy! This was a particularly pretty week, so feel to chime in with your own picks!
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