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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
