Great Covers – MASTER COMICS #27

Another great of the golden age, Mac Raboy produced beautiful, illustrative covers that seemed realistic enough that they were simply more plausible than most of everything else that was on the racks. This MASTER COMICS cover is a fine example, embodying the spirit of patriotism and righteous vengeance that most American citizens felt in the … Continue reading Great Covers – MASTER COMICS #27

Great Covers – CATWOMAN #53

Adam Hughes has done a great deal of excellent covers over the years, including a run on CATWOMAN from which this entry comes. Pushing the background to blue allows the central figure to pop nicely, and the combination of the tentative step out into nothing and the expression on her face very subtly but very … Continue reading Great Covers – CATWOMAN #53

Great Covers – SUPERMAN #51

And some covers need no copy at all, such as this Wayne Boring SUPERMAN cover. This was the post-War period where the selling trend was towards comedy, and so the Superman covers of this period tended to be absurd and goofball, like this classic entry.

Great Covers – DAREDEVIL #42

Another copy-heavy cover, this Charles Biro DAREDEVIL cover makes the most of the situation; Daredevil being unmasked. Biro’s self-signed message to the readers is sort of a precursor to the kind of self-referential copy that Stan Lee would later employ.

Great Covers – BATMAN #184

This Carmine Infantino BATMAN cover is almost all copy, and intriguing as hell. Unfortunately, as was often the case, the story inside didn’t and possibly couldn’t live up to the promise of this cover.

Great Covers – MARVEL SUPER HEROES SECRET WARS #4

Another cover where the copy puts it over the top. This Bob Layton SECRET WARS cover has a strong idea behind it, hearkening back to Steranko’s classic HULK ANNUAL #1 cover. But it’s the copy that sets the stakes and the tone, and helps to create the overall effect.

Great Covers – PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #19

Here’s an instance where the cover copy makes all the difference. This Jim Lee PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL cover is a nice drawing, but not especially a grabber. But the cover blurb is so ridiculous and over-the-top and tongue-in-cheek that it makes the entire image work, and sets a very specific tone. It’s funny because it’s … Continue reading Great Covers – PUNISHER WAR JOURNAL #19

Great Covers – SUPERMAN #14 Original Art

As preserved in the personal art collection of Batman great Jerry Robinson, here’s the original artwork to that Fred Ray SUPERMAN cover.

Great Covers – SUPERMAN #149

It’s tough to make a pink background work on a super hero comic book cover, let alone a yellow and green logo, and yet this Curt Swan SUPERMAN cover does just that.  Part of it is simply that the concept is so strong–this is the first time we’ve ever really seen Superman dead on a … Continue reading Great Covers – SUPERMAN #149

Great Covers – CAPTAIN AMERICA #321

This Mike Zeck CAPTAIN AMERICA cover is all about contrasts and expectations. It’s a pretty shocking image, in that we expect to see Cap brandishing a shield, rather than an automatic weapon, and the look of anger and hatred on Cap’s face is similarly unexpected. How could you not want to crack open the book … Continue reading Great Covers – CAPTAIN AMERICA #321