The Best of the Week in Covers – 06.12.2013

“Can’t I just keep pretending I’m your son?”
“You’re not my son. Never have been. You’re simply the Best of the Week in Covers.”

SupesUnchainedTimm

Superman Unchained #1
1930’s Variant Cover by Bruce Timm

John Kricfalusi meets Max Fleischer in Bruce Timm’s homage to the earliest days of Superman. Jon Hamm and Ben Affleck aspire to that 5 o’clock shadow.

 

The Manhattan Projects_12

The Manhattan Projects #12
Cover by Jonathan Hickman

Certainly the most playful design yet for the familiar cover treatment and proof positive of its versatility.

 

supesunchainedJohnson

Superman Unchained #1
Golden Age Variant Cover by Dave Johnson

War’s more fun with Superman by your side! Right, fellas?

Thor_God of Thunder_9

Thor: God of Thunder #9
Cover by Esad Ribic

If the Norwegian Tourism Bureau doesn’t adopt this for their next big promotional campaign, somebody should be out on their duff.

OR

Good luck slipping this one through customs without setting off the METAL detector!

 

HalfPastDanger2

Half Past Danger #2
Cover by Declan Shalvey

Here we have a combination of elements most attractive to me and other humans. Those are raptors. That’s a shark. That’s a dude falling out of a plane, superimposed over a map to adventure. This is like the cover to a forgotten boy’s adventure classic unearthed from a great uncle’s moth crypt of a steamer trunk. Declan, you’ve outdone yourself.

 

SupesUnchainedLopez

Superman Unchained #1
Silver Age Variant Cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

Is it just me or does this feel like a Valentine’s Day card you’d save for the classmate you liked best back in elementary school? Maybe it’s that Lopez’s iconic rendition of Lois and Clark harkens back to the omnipresent merchandising imagery of my own youth, but it’s always emerged as the consummate model. Coupled with George Reeves’ portrayal, it’s the reason I’ll always feel younger than the Superman character as well, no matter how old I get. In other words, the Superman that makes me feel like a kid again.

 


 

Comments

  1. The instant my eyes caught sight of “Half-past danger #2” while browsing down, the Indiana Jones theme song started playing in my head! 0_o

  2. Pleasantly surprised that Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez is still working. Love his stuff. Lois’s skirt is scandalously short, though!

    • Hasn’t Garcia-Lopez indeed been toiling away in the Hills of Merchandising for the last few decades? Their gain … that cover is just beautiful.

      I love Bruce Timm’s style, but that punching arm just doesn’t work for me, it looks like a horse’s leg or something.

      Great feature as ever, cheers Paul.

    • Agreed on Lois’s skirt, a bit too short for the image of a serious journalist, for my tastes. That said, this is the eternal image of Superman and Lois.

      Agreed also on Bruce Timm’s Superman, that forearm is weird, still a lovely overall pic. Today’s theme: flawed excellence!

  3. Half-past danger looks great I love that cover. And the classic Superman taking out those robots is awesome. I usually don’t care about variant covers but I sure wish I had that one.

  4. Marvel really needs to stop with those banners.

  5. I can’t wait for Declan’s new series:

    “Raptors and Sharks” by IDW.

    Seriously let’s make that a thing you guys!

  6. Is Declan Shalvey the artist on that series? On the interiors? If so, I’m all in.

    • Likewise, Declan Shavley has done some of my favorite interiors that go way overlooked….his rotating interiors towards the end of Remender’s Secret Avengers run were great! Guy draws a mean Sentinel.
      I wasn’t even aware of Half Past Danger and that cover is sweet.

  7. Good pics with a group of really cool variants for Superman Unchained. The Bruce Timm’s 30’s Fleischer piece was my favorite then Dave Johnson’s Golden Age. I love how they did the different logo’s & numbering in the corners so as to fit with the period of each, nice touch..it really is the little things sometimes. While those were my favorites I ended up getting 2 $7 covers : Lee Bermejo’s for my reading copy (might as well have a cover I like better for $7 when the standard is $4.99), and I got Dan Jurgens 90’s Doomsday variant complete with bullet logo and mullet, love it.
    I thought Batman Year Zero’s cover was nice simplicity with raised print on a semi HC cover…and thought the blk, white n’ blue variant with silhouette’s of both his face and an edgy, sketchy cityscape.