Covers are like mittens. No, that one doesn't really work. Well, they're both nouns I guess. Other than that though. Well, they're both functional and decorative. And if you're wearing mittens, the cover might be the only part of the book you see because it'd be hard to turn the pages.
I'm glad I don't live on a base station in the arctic.
Okay, so covers that were good this particular week:
American Vampires #3
cover by Raphael Albuquerque
Oh, young bloodsuckers in love. This is the latest in a string of truly striking covers, all with a similar layout and treatment. The murky graytones used to color this undead Bonnie and Clyde really sell it for me. It's as if they're covered in a wash from the artist's dirty water cup at the end of a workday. These two don't have a pulse between them and they sure as hell don't want 'em. That cool blue helps to pull even more wamth out of the image, but more importantly, it draws attention to that slight tinge of pink in their noses. They've just fed, so they're high on the afterglow of spent plasma and the thrill of the hunt. True romance. Like The Great Gatsby with a little more abandon.
The Spirit #2
cover by Ladrönn
Ladrönn and Moritat are doing something pretty special with this latest take on The spirit, the former on the outside and the latter on interiors. For Ladrönn's part, we have some simple, if absolutely iconic freeframes that totally capture the tone and character of Will Eisner's masked gumshoe. Everything you need to know about the Spirit as a character is here in this image. The wide eyes behind the domino mask, the crumpled tie, and that femme fatale's legs. those legs that go all the way down to the floor. The integration of the logo and First Wave banner as well as the graphics for the Second Feature is decidedly elegant. All cold and blue with little hints of red in the skin tones, the pavement, and even in the texture of the debris in the background. Then there's that real flash of red with his tie. So much more subtle than the marketing campaign for the Frank Miller film, and that makes it all the more sophisticated and cool.
Age of Heroes #1
cover by Greg Tocchini
Okay. We're going to ignore the horrendously ugly Heroic Age banner as well as the title logo, because really, it's the only way we can possibly cope. If you haven't been reading Rick Remender's totally raucous Last Days of American Crime comic, you're missing out on the debut of Greg Tocchini's positively mesmerizing sequential art. If there's a Heaven, you won't be invited there after looking at his stuff, but I'm thinking you're not gonna mind. Here we have sometihing a little more mainstream, a little more wholesome, if just as tantalizing. Note the fisheye lens perspective, an angle that immediately sets this pinup apart from its peers. This is the POV of a kid on the street, lucky enough to be in possession of a camera phone at a moment when the Marvel heroes are ready for their closeup again. This really captures the spirit of the new status quo, and does so with one of the day's best and brightest new artists.
I'm including the original art, sans bar code, Heroic Age bedazzlement, and logo. That's the image that I fell in love with and is a much better reproduction of the original colors.
Aight, what I miss?
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The Marvel cover looks way too "photoshopped" to me…It reminds me of Colorforms in that it looks like the character’s were placed in scene haphazardly.
Colorforms.
I love the American Vampire cover. I also liked the Streets of Gotham cover very much.
The Age of Heroes #1 cover is fifty thouand times better than the Avengers #1 cover.
@Diabhol: I liked the Avengers #1 cover, the interior had it’s problems but the cover was good.
I got a couple new covers up here for my new Image series, have a look:
http://kodychamberlain.blogspot.com/
@JesTr: I agree on Streets of Gotham. Although I’d vote for that pretty much every week since Nguyen’s been on covers. That guy’s been knocking it out of the park.
These are all good picks. Age of Heroes is my fav.
@Kody – Really gorgeous work there. Will definitely be on the lookout for SWEETS.
I notice– and I’m ashamed to say that I notice– that Meggan appears to have gotten more modest since the Age of Heroes cover got finalized.
Perv.
(I noticed this as well).
Even still, this is Disney Princesses in comparison to Last Days of American Crime. Phew.
The Spirit # 2 cover made me pick up that book and issue #1 this week. Glad I did!
On the Age of Heroes cover, I only recognize about half of those folks. Anyone have a character list I can check out?
I had no idea the Elephantmen/HipFlask team was involved in The Spirit. Kinda want to check it out now.
Aww. No sexy party Deadpool with Deadpool #22 cover? I thought it was really funny.
The Rest: Walking Dead has had a bunch of great covers to show the unease of the characters in their new world. The best of the bunch so far was this week in Walking Dead #72 with Michonne hiding her sword. It’s my weakness but, The Simpsons Comics #166 had a funny cover. Also, another kids comic, Batman the Brave and the Bold #17 had a funny homage to a Golden Age idea.
The Worst: Sarah Palin Rogue Warrior. Not gonna get political here, but look at her face on the cover. Did they use the Crypt Keeper model in order to draw her?
Best Trade Cover: Atomic Knights HC. It takes a lot for just a cover to get me interested in a comic. With this trade, I have no idea what is going on and it is crazy as hell. But I wanna read it now because it’s so crazy.
batman streets of gotham was really cool too.
@Preacher…. Colorforms?…….wow…….**eyes glaze over**…. (accurate tho)
Black spider-man is always the coolest. It makes me want to actually pick up an issue rather than animated series spider-man blue.
How is it that the color reproduction is so much worse on the Marvel cover after the banners are added? I’m an audio guy, and the difference between the images seems like some kind of compression was added – there is less dynamic range in the pic with the banners.