Great Covers – HORRIFIC #3

This Don Heck cover to HORRIFIC is chock-full of impact, even if the coloring lets the image down a little bit. It’s such a simple idea, and executed with such minimalism, that it hits the viewer right between the eyes.

Great Covers – SPIDER-MAN #5

A killer Todd McFarlane SPIDER-MAN cover. The key to this one is how torn up and ruined Spider-Man’s costume is, which sells the extent of the building collapse that he’s just been involved with. The intensity of his scream, through his typically-concealed mouth, provides energy and emotion.

Great Covers – SUPERMAN #41

And sometimes, you don’t have any good ideas for a cover at all. This Wayne Boring SUPERMAN cover is self-referential and meta, in an era when such ideas weren’t common. The strong yellow background makes the image vibrantly pop off the page.

Great Covers – WOLVERINE #27

Possibly THE classic Jim Lee WOLVERINE cover, this one is all movement and energy and savagery. I don’t love the bits of copy stuck in on the left side, but they don’t do enough to completely ruin the composition. This one works completely based on how well Lee captures the essential qualities that everybody loves … Continue reading Great Covers – WOLVERINE #27 →

Great Covers – INCREDIBLE HULK #37

Another in Kaare Andrews’ great run of HULK covers, here the title character is abstracted down to simply a massive shape, one that still dominates the image. The reticule graphics provide some good viewer context–you are the tank commander confronted by the unstoppable power of the Hulk. And the fact that the Hulk is mostly … Continue reading Great Covers – INCREDIBLE HULK #37 →

Great Covers – ALL STAR COMICS #17

I first saw this Joe Gallagher ALL-STAR COMICS cover featuring the Justice Society of America reproduced tiny and in black and white in the STERANKO HISTORY OF COMICS, and it made a great impact on me. It’s a simple, story-driven image, with the diagonal of Brain-Wave’s descending foot guiding the eye to the running forms … Continue reading Great Covers – ALL STAR COMICS #17 →

FANTASTIC VOYAGE

Around 1975 or so, my father let me know that we’d be getting a new television station. This was back during the era of antenna television, where the number of choices was slim. So slim, in fact, that this new station wasn’t on the main dial of 13 options, but rather to be found on … Continue reading FANTASTIC VOYAGE →

Great Covers – STRANGE ADVENTURES #207

A great STRANGE ADVENTURES cover by Neal Adams, who at this point was making a real name for himself as an extraordinary cover artist. Adams tended to color-direct his own pieces, which meant that the coloring was worked into the design, as it is here. The red of Deadman pops beautifully against the subdued greens … Continue reading Great Covers – STRANGE ADVENTURES #207 →

Great Covers – ACTION COMICS #52

Another beautiful and patriotic WWII-era cover by Fred Ray, for ACTION COMICS. A great use of primary colors to pop the figures forward–that yellow in the background could not be any stronger or richer. It’s largely been forgotten now, but three of the five characters pictured on this cover headined movie serials during that same … Continue reading Great Covers – ACTION COMICS #52 →

Great Covers – INCREDIBLE HULK #49

It is an obvious and blatant homage to Maurice Sendak, but this Kaare Andrews HULK cover totally works even on its own in the manner in which it channels Bruce banner’s inner rage demons into monsters following in his wake. The typical logo is modified for this issue as well, to better evoke the source … Continue reading Great Covers – INCREDIBLE HULK #49 →