comicbookcovers: G.I. Combat #83, September 1960, cover by Jerry Grandenetti and Jack Adler
Great Covers – G.I. COMBAT #83
Great Covers – G.I. COMBAT #80
A terrific Russ Heath G.I. COMBAT cover taking full advantage of halftones to create a painted look to the artwork. DC production maven Jack Adler experimented with adding greytones to covers throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, often to excellent effect. The color here is marvelous as well–that fireball couldn’t seem any more hot … Continue reading Great Covers – G.I. COMBAT #80
Great Covers – TWO-FISTED TALES #26
A powerful Harvey Kurtzman TWO-FISTED TALES cover, in which Kurtzman employs his expressive and bold rendering style to its utmost. The haunting eyes of this snowbound marine are the perfect focal point, and seem to follow your gaze.
Great Covers – MAD #23
It’s the final comic book format issue of MAD before its transition into one of the most popular magazines of the 20th Century, and artist and editor Harvey Kurtzman eschews any visuals in order to get MAD’s particular philosophy across.
Great Covers – SGT FURY #75
Another cover in which gun barrels function as design arrows to lead the eye to the subject matter, this John Severin SGT FURY AND HIS HOWLING COMMANDOS piece is simple and understated, the antithesis of the kind of over-the-top action that was typically found on Fury’s covers.
Great Covers – MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #44
Gil Kane once cited this cover to MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN as his favorite of all the covers he’d ever drawn. And despite the copy- and trade dress-heavy upper half, it’s easy to see why. It’s an intriguing angle to take, the reflection of the gunslinger who has the drop on Rawhide in the pool of … Continue reading Great Covers – MIGHTY MARVEL WESTERN #44
Great Covers – SUPERMAN #53
A great Jerry Ordway SUPERMAN cover that takes its inspiration from the blatantly patriotic covers the character was featured on during the WWII era.
Great Covers – CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES #126
A super cool and graphic CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES cover by C.C. Beck. It’s a very simple idea–three logos to communicate the fact that there are three stories in the issue starring the Big Red Cheese. Again, good use of a black background to help provide contrast.
Great Covers – BATMAN #1
Impossible to say for certain who drew this iconic beauty. It’s signed by Bob Kane, and he may have even laid it out. But it’s more likely that assistants and ghosts such as Jerry Robinson and George Roussos had a greater hand in it. Either way, you couldn’t ask for a more classic image to … Continue reading Great Covers – BATMAN #1
Great Covers – AVENGERS ANNUAL #2
As best as I can determine, this brilliantly drawn John Buscema beauty from AVENGERS is the first use of that classic trope of two super-teams racing at one another to engage in battle. You would think that the back background on this piece would make it more difficult to see–white or another very light color … Continue reading Great Covers – AVENGERS ANNUAL #2
