The Best of the Week in… Covers (06/24/09)

The comic book cover.  The last, best chance that a book has to catch a potential reader’s eye.  So why is it that so many are just so bland and cookie-cutter?  The world may never know.  On the other hand, without all the boring and uninspired covers, we would probably appreciate the good ones less. 

Which covers really impressed this week?

Transformers: All Hail Megatron #12
Cover by Trevor Hutchinson

I can say in all honesty that while I have never read a single issue of this comic book, I notice it every time it comes out, and that’s because it has the most unique cover designs in all of comics. It’s almost a fusion of utilitarianism and pop art.  I wish that the interiors were done in such a unique style.


Thor #602
Cover by Marko Djurdjevic

This cover is sneaky good. When I first saw it I noticed Thor himself and thought that it was a nice rendering of the Odinson. It wasn’t until I looked again that I noticed that he was actually composed inside his hammer. And it wasn’t until I looked a third time that I noticed that Mjolnir was crumbling. Great design.


Viking #2
Cover by Nic Klein

I may not have enjoyed the story in the first issue so much, but the striking quality of the art was undeniable.
And it continues here. I love this cover for many reasons. First, I love the red and blue color scheme. There are other colors present, but they all filter through the reds and the blues. Second, I love that this cover is full of triangles – from the boat, to the way this guy is sitting, to his weapon, the eye is drawn so many places. I also like that everything is slightly tilted, as if we were on the water with him.

Those are my favorites. What are yours?

Comments

  1. I agree on the All Hail Megatron covers.  I love them all.  I have never read the book, but the first trade is on the way to my house and I eagerly await it.

    I also really, really like the cover of the Sinestro Corp trade this week (are trades eligible?): http://www.ifanboy.com/comics/dc_comics/green_lantern_tales_of_the_sinestro_corps_tp/cover-large.jpg  I know I shouldn’t like it (to cliche), but I’m a sucker for solid backgrounds and dynamic images.

  2. Detective Comics has to be one of my favorites this week. Much like Viking in the fact that the great art didn’t stop at the cover.

  3. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #15 – A telepathic dog and a bipedal, heavily armed racoon. Both in space siuts. What’s not to love?

  4. All I can think about with that Transformers cover is "Toy Story". That’s buzz lightyears and his enemy what’s-his-face. Ugh.

  5. Thor would be my pick of the week for covers, followed by Viking. Other than that I wasn’t really "Wowed" by any other covers this week.

  6. What’s also cool about the Thor cover is that it actually has to do with the plot. My favorite cover this week was Superman. While generic, there is a sense of motion conveyed by Mon-El’s arm slightly going beyond the bounds of the page and the three panels behind him clearly denote the travelogue concept of this issue. It’s nice to see some books can tell you what the book will be about still. 😉

  7. Viking and Detective were easily my favorite covers. My only problem with Detective is DC plastered too much shit on it: the big "Batman in Detective Comics", the Batman Reborn thing (they really could’ve left this one out), and the Second Feature on the bottom.

  8. The Avengers Invaders finale cover by Alex Ross is pretty sweet.

  9. So, I’ve never heasrd of Viking before, but after seeing that cover, I kind of want to read it now.

  10. I love those ‘All Hail Megatron’ covers. They are just so well designed and very easy on the eye. Propaganda art at it’s finest.

    No love for the Amazing Spider-Man cover? You know: ‘The Craziest ****ing thing I have ever seen’.

  11. Last Days Animal Man #2 is my favorite cover of the week. It has a green lantern wale and that makes it awesome.

  12. All hail awesomness.

  13. I too loved the Blue Whale Green Lantern on Animal Man. Plus it’s Bolland, so what’s not to love.

  14. The Amazing Spider-Man cover is certainly eye-catching.

  15. vikings art is badass, I just hope the story perks up

  16. Good choices. I don’t read the book, but I’d love some ALL HAIL MEGATRON posters. I love the pop art/propaganda style.

    My 3 would probably be: The Literals, All Hail Megatron, & Green Lantern (variant).

  17. That Thor cover had me saying "whoa" and that’s good.

  18. I don’t buy Daredevil, but that cover is cool. And the Uncanny cover, with it’s 19th-century sensibility and curled edge effect. It’s like LOEG or Currier & Ives. 

  19. Detectiv Comics was easily my favorite cover of the week. The pencil work was excellent and the faded coloring with the bright red just popped out. Excellent stuff. 

  20. Dectective did have a great cover, but my favorite of the week was Uncanny 512. like patio said, big LOEG vibe to it. Second, for me, was Dark Reign Zodiac, but that’s mainly due to me being a HUGE Nathan Fox whore.

    Viking was great too.

  21. Yes, no, no.

    Is the All Hail Megatron part of a series of covers in the same style? Like it loads. 

    Daredevil 119, Iron Fist (Djurd variant), Nova 26 (decade variant), Red Sonja (renaud variant), Rotten, Weapon X 3 and Land of Oz manga all got the high marks from me this week… I love scrolling through Comixology 🙂 

  22. Classy.

  23. I liked the Dark Avengers/X-men Utopia variant cover with Iron Patriot holding Scott Summers above his head

  24. I’d have to agree that the Detective cover was rather mesmerizing.  Did anybody get to see the variant cover?  I loved that one even better then the regular one.  It was like a side action shot with Kate kicking ass.  Out of the 3 above, I think Viking was the most capturing.