Welcome to the thirty-eighth installment of Comic Book Cover-Up! Every week, We the Nerdy assistant editor Henry Varona weighs in on his choices for the best comic book covers coming out, 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 with no further delay, here’s the week’s best!
5. Vampirella 6 by Jenny Frison (Featured Image)
Vampirella is typically known for her costume, because if we are being frank, it’s quite memorable. In a very bold choice, Jenny Frison strips that away (Not like that!) and focuses on her emotion in her stunning cover for issue 6 of the series. In doing so, we see a very human side to the vampire, and we get to focus on the details. The sorrow of Vampirella is clear for the reader, as streaks of make-up work their way down her cheeks. Her lips, crimson with blood (Or lipstick), look worn, as if she has just laid claim to another victim. The combination makes you question what happened, as she could have just taken a life or been in a fight, either instance causing her great pain. For a character that is often known for her sexuality, it takes me back to see such attention to the woman beneath it all.
Where Vampirella shows you a woman in pain, Velvet shows you a woman in danger. Steve Epting gives us a cover that looks like it is ripped from the likes of Die Hard and Predator, with our heroine front and center. The decision to use a tagline immediately separates this cover from the rest, as it not only adds flavor but gives you a clue to what lies within. Velvet is a spy book at it’s core, and by focusing on this, Epting allows it to drive straight towards this goal. All of this is nice, but it would be nothing without the actual cover itself, which is so great. Our heroine, Velvet, stands at the reader, in hiding with her gun in hand. Eyes creeping out, she aims to take out an unseen enemy, while we see etchings of her surroundings. It’s very simple, very ambiguous, and when coupled with the tagline, very deadly.
Adam Hughes could have been Norman Rockwell, but instead he decided to be a comic book artist, delivering unto us some of the most iconic images we have ever known. His covers for Fairest are nothing short of incredible, and make the book pop out from all the others on the stands due to his signature style. Here, to celebrate the fall season, Adam Hughes brings the attention to a simple task, gardening. His realistic take on the garden itself makes it look strong and unique, but I must say, I’m a sucker for that little special flair he brings. In this case, it’s the dog flying overhead, drawing both our attention and the attention of the woman on the cover. Even if you know nothing about Fairest, there is a pop art quality to this cover that goes beyond comics. It works as a piece of art in itself. I especially like the clever way that Mr. Hughes fit in his artist signature as well.
2. Captain Midnight 16 by Dustin Nguyen
The moment I saw this cover, I was hooked. Dustin Nguyen draws some of the most fluid, beautiful monsters you will ever see (Look at his work on Streets of Gotham as a key example). For his cover to Captain Midnight, the titular character has been turned into a fantastical beast, with snow-white fur that glistens in the moon-light. In the best way possible this looks like Man-Wolf of Marvel Comics, but it has such greater horror for those familiar with Captain Midnight, who has been horrifically transformed into this beast. It is easy to see a cover like this and laugh, because so many heroes have been turned into monsters for brief periods of time, but Nguyen treats it so seriously that you are forced to too. This isn’t some jokey werewolf who is out to eat some pigs. This is a man, a hero, who has been turned into a wild creature of the night, hunting the artic cliffs. That is spooky.
Mikel Janin’s covers to Grayson are some of the finest in comics today. He is given artistic freedom to draw things like a vintage spy story, but with his modern style. These have been very fun, with very different results. Here, Janin gives the old chessboard design a spin, as he twists and turns it into a pipeline, warping the perception of space as Dick Grayson runs from some mysterious villains. The concept is simple, but the distortion makes it superb, as we have no idea what is going on. It’s the kind of psychedelic danger you don’t see often. Janin’s actual craft is as great as always, with great attention to detail, allowing for each crook to feel distinct, while our hero is particularly heroic. Grayson is a book that has no place in the modern comic book marker, where the spy genre is minimalized, but by putting such time and effort into his work, Mikel Janin is making it something unique and treasured in comics.
Still Gorgeous:
- Amazing Spider-Man 9 by Olivier Copiel
- Death of Wolverine: Weapon X Program 1 by Salvador Larrocca
- Gotham Academy 2 by Becky Cloonan
- Humans 1 by Tom Neely
- Robocop 2014 5 by Carlos Magno
Thank you all for checking us out! We’ll be back next week at our regular posting time, Wednesday at 2:00 pm! You can check out past editions of Comic Book Cover-Up HERE! Be on the lookout for some specials coming up too! (Don’t think I forgot about the covers from the weeks I missed)
You must be logged in to post a comment.