Covers aren't just aesthetically pleasing and informative. They also ward off bats. If you rub a good cover into your carpet, it can eliminate pet dander. If you're in a helicopter and the engine gives out, a good cover will keep you entertained as you enter a death spiral. A truly great cover is like the sixth lion in Voltron. If you look at one great cover every week for 4,160 weeks, you'll live to be 80 years old. Covers make it okay that The Wonder Years isn't on DVD.
Covers. Save. Lives.
Who is Jake Ellis #3
Cover by Tonci Zonjic
I could tell you I like this cover because of the elegance. I could say I am drawn to the clean, albeit jauntily positioned banner. I could fumble in my attempts to describe the illusion of motion created by the offset colors. Or even highlight the Where's Waldo gag inherent in the title character's cameo. But if I am to be honest with you, I will simply say that it is 3AM, I am parched, and this looks like a box of grape drink.
Jonah Hex #66
Cover by Fiona Staples
Earlier this week my father turned 51. He is a mild mannered, relatively quiet, exceptionally kind auto mechanic. He loves his dogs, his CBS sitcoms, and going out to reasonably priced restaurants with his wife (coincidentally, my mom). He has never and would never harm a soul. And so it was that my father remarked to me one ordinary afternoon some years ago after typical conversation had long since dwindled, that it might be something of a thrill to find a dead body while walking along a wooded path. Not that he wished unnatural death on anyone, even those who refused to pay the bills for their new transmissions. But if someone were to meet their demise anyway, as mortal men are bound to do, the stumbling upon ought to amount to no small adventure for a man out walking a dog or responding to police dispatch to tow a wrecked Subaru. I asked my father if he'd ever seen Stand By Me. He said he hadn't, and we ultimately ended up talking about The Sandlot, with him asking me to check the computer to see if I could find P.F. Flyers in his side. This cover is a little like that.
Axe Cop: Bad Guy Earth #2
Cover by Ethan Nicolle
Because. Ya know?
Fear Itself #1
Cover by Steve McNiven, Stuart Immonen & Paolo Rivera
There is a lot going on in this rectangle, but that's okay because the structure of the thing is very competently composed. It feels solid. It feels dramatic like an event book ought to. It's less about the bedroom wall pinup images of the top then it is about the bold banner and the image of a pummeled Thor Odinson.
Doom Patrol #21 / Madman: All-New Giant-Size Super Ginchy Special / Batman Beyond #4
Covers by Matthew Clark / Mike Allred / Dustin Nguyen
Much as I love the Vitruvian Man, this has spun far, far out of control. Thumbs up to Leonardo Da Ginchy though.
What covers tickled your fancy this week?
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I really like the bottom half of the Fear Itself cover. Feels very visceral.
the Top half of “Fear” Itself looks like a repanel from Civil war.
I’m tired of Marvel’s designs for recent events – a couple of images and block title box occasionally, yes, but not on every issue. Siege was particularly annoying, with one third of every cover showing what looked like a power station.
That Jake Ellis cover is just lovely. Jake Ellis is the son of my pal Tony Ellis. His sister is Gina and his mother is Sue. They say ‘hi’.
Just to be clear, Paul, nothing makes it OK that the Wonder Years isn’t on DVD. But covers make it bearable.
Seriously nice haul this week though.
The Jake Ellis cover is great because of the system they’ve created that carries over across all the issues. Grape Drink Box..LOL. it kinda does!
The Fear Itself cover has a nice layout, but that logo…i just can’t get over it. They O.D.’ed on the kitsch this time.
I almost picked up Irredeemable this week for the cover alone. I dropped it about a year ago I think and the cover made me want to start reading it again.
The cover for Vertigo’s Aaron and Ahmed was very evocative. Got it off amazon to save $$ so I won’t get it til next week, though.
Nonplayer, Sweet Tooth, and Vertigo Resurrected Hellblazer: Bad Blood were also great!
The Jake Elis cover makes me want to wear 3D glasses.
@uvayankee1 Read this, it just might make up for the fact that there’s no DVD’s.
http://blog.netflix.com/2011/03/glee-available-to-watch-instantly.html
I decided to treat myself this week and picked up Jonah Hex. I was not disappointed.
Very pleased that I picked up the Immonen Fear Itself Variant with Odin towering over Thor.
BUT the covers for Nonplayer and Blue Estate were the reasons I picked those books up this week and that doesnt happen that often.
@AlanRob Nonplayer and Blue Estate were both fabulous covers. Thumbs up.
But today, the beauty of this column does not lie in the covers themselves. Well done, Paul. 😉
@ato220 I did the same. And man! Front to back, this was brilliant.
Thinking about grabbing some Fear Itself Variants but my favorite covers this week were Infestation #2 cover B and Annihilators #2 Rocket Raccoon/Groot variant by Guy Davis.
that cover to Fear Itself really is not good. And i say that as a working graphic designer