The Best of the Week in Covers – 04.25.2012

Great covers would not be improved with nougat.


The Twelve #12

By Paolo Rivera

Little golf clap for JMS upon closing a deal. Bigger round of applause to Paolo Rivera for making these last few covers look so incredibly good. This one’s a bit of a victory lap, featuring a few of the characters showcased independently in previous compositions. A little sad to see this one wrap up, as it’s been a wonderful venue for the artist’s classical paintings, just one of his many abilities.


Popeye #1

By Bruce Ozella

The production on this issue is monumental. It transports you to another time and a happier place. That all starts with the matte finish cover, another loving homage to Action Comics #1. Not that one. The other one. It’s not so outlandish a connection either. Popeye and Superman are Fleischer cousins after all.


The Flash #8

By Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato

Here’s another Flash cover where we really appreciate the design choice to make Barry’s eyes wholly visible. There’s palpable panic in his expression and it doesn’t require the kind of exaggeration needed for fully masked characters like Spider-Man or even the recent Wally West iteration of The Flash. Add that to a volatile depiction of the Speed Force as a kind of fringe science sandstorm, and you’ve got a powerful scene.


Daredevil #11

By Marcos Martin, Adi Granov, & Steffi Schuetze

I can’t help bit see this in motion, one frame in a very active animated title sequence. The camera pulls in an out of those little frames even as the composition itself revolves like clockwork, each panel sliding into position as the characters move from one tableau to the next.

 

Comments

  1. VERY strong covers this week. A little off topic, but can anyone tell me a bit about The Twelve? I’m interested in the subject matter, but usually when it’s brought up it’s as a punchline for “late book” jokes. Is it worth checking out now that it’s complete?

  2. I also have been intrested in picking this title up and is due to those very retro and very cool covers. What is the story here? The smart thing at this point is just to wait for the trade I suppose because, I am sure the issues are all sold out.

    K

  3. when you said the production value of Popeye was monumental, was there anything else besides a matte/dull cover stock? Was it printed on newsprint and hand colored?…cause that would be amazing. Kinda curious if you could expand on that, cause it sounds cool.

    • I don’t know if it was newsprint (it was thicker, almost like construction paper), but it was a non-glossed paper. The art on the inside matches the cover, it was great retro fun, and anyone who is curious should just pick it up.

    • oh well that sounds cool that they went with an uncoated, newsprint type paper….you’d be amazed at how many varieties of newsprint are available to print on. =)

  4. Some decent covers this week.

  5. Whats the deal with the Twelve, is this the same series that started out, like, 4 – 5 years ago?

  6. loving that daredevil cover. i’m realizing more and more these days that i seem to prefer cover treatments that incorporate elements of graphic design over straight illustration.

  7. The cover to The Goon #39 is missing.

  8. Paolo Rivera is so good! love him on DD too. Anyone else see him at the Boston con?

  9. Rivera’s definitely the pick of the bunch!