The Best of the Week in Covers – 09/09/2010

Sometimes you look at a cover and you think, man, great art can change the momentum of the day. Then sometimes you look at a cover and you think, man, my Alpha-Bits cereal is conveying a message from Quetzalcoatl. And then they take your shoelaces. 

Heres some covers that made me smile:

Batgirl #14

Cover by Stanley "ArtGerm" Lau 

Dig the vintage schlock movie poster feel and distressed finish. It's almost insanely busy, but everything works. And believe me, the rest of the book is just as fun as this cover. Don't miss it. 

 

 

Amazing Spider-Man #641

Cover by Paolo Rivera

 

This is a sensational use of negative space. I'd be curious to see what it might look like with a less saturated blue because this walks a razor's edge toward bleeding out. Still, I love this concept and this pose. MJ's hair is almost eerily photo-real. Beautiful. 

 

 

Thor the Mighty Avenger #4

Cover by Chris Samnee

 

How about another hug against negative space? This one also serves as a perfect metaphor for the book itself. Anyone who reads this series will attest, it's like a big, warm hug in comic book form. Look at the unbridled joy here. And Thor's own knowing glance to the viewer. It's like Bigs Bunny and the abominable snowman. You have to smile, and smile big. 

Comments

  1. Hey Paul, is any lack of background negative space?  I wouldn’t have thought to call that negative space in the Thor one.  (sincere question, still learning)

  2. @gobo – Negative space is defined as the area that isn’t the drawn image in a two dimensional work of art. So technically, everything has negative space. Take it from someone with a degree in art.

  3. [edit]:…isn’t the drawn image OR THE SUBJECT in a two dimensional work of art, OR WHAT IS BEHIND A THREE DIMENSIONAL WORK OF ART…

  4. @gobo – A completely fair question. Anything that isn’t the subject is technically negative space. An object is positive space that disrupts that negative space, or maybe negative space is what envelops the object. I only call attention to the negative space in the Thor cover because it’s stark white when it could’ve been sky and trees or the walls of the tavern or Jane’s apartment. I liked the choice on Samnee’s part to leave it as a vacuum. Here, the negative space actually–don’t hit me–accentuates the positive. 

  5. Great covers Paul! I would have added America Vampire this week too.

  6. @ActualButt @Paul Thanks guys!

  7. Man that Spider-Man cover is gorgeous.

  8. I agree enthusiastically with the first two picks. They are brilliant covers!

  9. Oh, and the SM cover is great example of the use of negative space to botth define and envelop the subject. It creates a lot of visual flow and it makes it so extremely interesting to me!

  10. So, is this connected to the “negative zone”?

  11. That spiderman cover is a textbook case study on how all those figure-ground studies you do in your first semester Design 1 class (black paper geometric shapes on white paper) are indeed not torture, but actual ways to create brilliant layouts and design down the road. Thats such a nice cover, its a crying shame there is that big honkin bar code on there. Shakes fist at commerce!

  12. All three of the cover picks are great, I completely agree with the choices!

  13. @Wally: Actually, the barcode, I think I like it… I’m not sure why. It works for me for some reason.

    Also, I love the typography.

  14. Asm instantly earned a spot on my favorite cover list of all time

  15. Love all three – nice picks. That said why is the Asm cover so off centre? MJ’s hair is fab.

    (also: so tempted to join in on neg space chat but suspect time has passed).