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
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
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
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
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
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
This WAYWARD cover by Jorge Molina gets across both the series concept and the overall tone of the book very elegantly. Great use of both the color white (often overlooked) and negative space. The type treatment on the trade dress elements is also nicely unified into the overall aesthetic.
It’s been homaged an awful lot over the years, which is a testament to how striking this John Byrne X-MEN cover is. That wanted poster calling out the final fate of so many characters is immediately riveting, as are the figures of an older Wolverine and Kitty Pryde. The damaged and cracked logo at the … Continue reading Great Covers – UNCANNY X-MEN #141
I suspect this Carmine Infantino ACTION COMICS cover has the opposite effect than was intended. Rather than feeling sorrow or sympathy for the Man of Steel who has no further mission, it instead makes Superman come across as kind of a jerk–a guy who’d happily live in a world of violence and hatred and crime … Continue reading Great Covers – ACTION COMICS #368
A very simple FANTASTIC FOUR cover by John Byrne that focuses on arch-nemesis Doctor Doom, who’d be the focus of the issue. Especially fun here is the fact that the splash page glimpsed through the crumpled, torn cover is indeed the splash the reader will see when he opens the book.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 