The Best of the Week in Covers – 04.10.2013

I have difficulty sometimes talking to people who don’t race comic book covers. When I was a teenager, I crewed Larchmont to Nassau on a 58-foot sloop called Cantice. There was a little piece of kelp that was stuck to the hull, and even though it was little, you don’t want anything stuck to the hull. So, I take a boat hook on a pole and I stick it in the water and I try to get the kelp off, when seven guys start screaming at me, right? ‘Cause now the pole is causing more drag than the kelp was. See, what you gotta do is you gotta drop it in and let the water lift it out in a windmill motion. Drop it in, and let the water take it by the kelp and lift it out. In, and out. In, and out, till you got it. The voters aren’t choosing a plumber, Mr. President. They are choosing a president. And if you don’t think that your family should matter, my suggestion to you is to get out of professional politics. And if you think that I’m going to miss even one opportunity to pick up half-a-knot boat speed, you’re absolutely out of your mind. When it costs us nothing, when we give up nothing?! You’re out of your mind.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #1
Cover by Dustin Nguyen

Dustin Nguyen’s playful, lighthearted rendition of Gotham’s best and worst recalls not only the halcyon days of the pre-52, but Timm and Dini’s seminal Batman: The Animated Series. It feels like home to so many of us. It’s grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup.

Hawkeye #9
Cover by David Aja

So, I could do without the Marvel stamp on the shirt, but otherwise, I kind of want this shirt. The image itself feels like an Obey stamp, a simple woodcut image for the street team to plaster on signs and bus shelters, spreading the gospel of Hawkguy. The Tao of Clint.

Saga #12
Cover by Fiona Staples

War isn’t just hell, it’s oblivion. And who better to portray that existential ennui than Prince Robot IV and an absurd, even haunting color test pattern. That the rest of the image is so desaturated in comparison, makes it all the more disturbing.

The Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #3
Cover by Walt Simonson

Love this composition with the characters’ opposing trajectories. You get this god image of the Rocketeer himself, but it’s not just a heroic pose amongst the clouds. He’s taking in the scene below, perhaps from an adjacent rooftop, ready to come to this woman’s aid. I can’t say I’ve ever dreamed of a Walt Simonson rendition of Rocketeer before now, never paired up artist and character in my walking day dreams, but this is a match made in the stratosphere, if not much, much higher.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #20
Cover by Phil Noto

Noto portraits are always lovely, but this one’s elevated by the collage effect. An elegant use of Xander’s eyepatch as the epicenter of his mind’s eye. He’s literally colored by thoughts of Dawn.

Batman: Li’l Gotham #1
Variant cover by Chris Burnham

Bat Cow lives! And who knows just which rogues are making off with Gotham’s silverware down below.