Great Covers – ARCHIE’S MADHOUSE #2

Pretty sure this ARCHIE’S MADHOUSE cover is by Harry Lucey, and it’s a bit more surreal than is typical of the Archie fare of its day–MADHOUSE being the title in which Archie went for surrealism. It’s a very simple idea, almost so simple that you wonder why it never happened before. The only misstep to … Continue reading Great Covers – ARCHIE’S MADHOUSE #2

Great Covers – BOY COMMANDOS #24

Credited to the Simon & Kirby Studio, this BOY COMMANDOS cover might be the work of Jack Kirby, or it might not. Either way, it makes its impact through the juxtaposition of the immaculate attributes of Superman and the down-to-Earth dead-end kid values of Brooklyn. As always, the yellow background functions like a spotlight.

Great Covers – BATMAN #209

There’s some weird anatomy at play on tiger-Batman, but this Irv Novick BATMAN cover packs the sort of impact more typically reserved for DC’s mystery comics of the era. I don’t know what it means either, but I certainly want to crack it open and find out. The only misstep, I think, is in making … Continue reading Great Covers – BATMAN #209

Great Covers – X-MEN #49

A beautiful Jim Steranko image from X-MEN. a series that was decidedly third class for most of the 1960s period in which this cover was produced. Great overall composition and use of white negative space, and those skull-eyes gazing upwards at our heroes are very cool. Steranko reportedly hated the logo, so for the next … Continue reading Great Covers – X-MEN #49

Great Covers – MARY MARVEL #5

In terms of summing up a series in a single image, this Jack Binder MARY MARVEL cover is hard to beat. It’s elegant, whimsical, and has a strong element of fantasy to it. The black background tapering down to a deep midnight blue is attractive and helps to spotlight both the butterfly and Mary’s red … Continue reading Great Covers – MARY MARVEL #5