Another Jack Kirby piece, this KAMANDI cover really shouldn’t work at all–and yet it does. The tiny figure of the hero with his back towards the camera, lots of dead space and only sparse wreckage to give it all a sense of place. But the two bits of Kirby cover copy cement the whole piece … Continue reading Great Covers – KAMANDI #20
Boy, they don’t make ‘em like this one anymore–if they ever did! This is the cover of PREZ, one of the most insane series ever produced by mainstream comics. And this cover by Jerry Grandinetti defies you not to pick it up and look inside. I’ve got a few qualms–I don’t love the balloon lettering … Continue reading Great Covers – PREZ #3
An acknowledged classic, for obvious reasons, this SUPERMAN #233 cover features a Superman who is lean, powerful, dramatic and realistic (at least within the context of a super hero comic book cover.) The yellow-orange background silhouettes and pops his figure perfectly. This is also the first time that the trick of the “Big #1” is … Continue reading Great Covers – SUPERMAN #233
If there is a better WWII-era SUPERMAN cover than this Jack Burnley masterpiece, I’ve never seen it. The whole story is there in a single image: the sinking of the American steamer, the terror on the part of the Nazi submariners, and the terrible anger of Superman himself. The outcome is never in doubt. (If … Continue reading Great Covers – SUPERMAN #23
This is a brilliant, excellent modern comic book cover by Jock for DETECTIVE COMICS #880. Simple, imaginative, elegant and graphic, it captures the attention and says something about the character–in this case, how the Joker’s fluttering thoughts are all focused on his arch-rival, the Batman. The simplified palate of black, white and red is used … Continue reading Great Covers – DETECTIVE COMICS #880
For all of their crudity, there’s something very elegant about the covers to many of the earliest comics. Those big, bold, brash title mastheads, the clean design aesthetic. Moves all copied from the pulp magazines, but adapted and copied with more simplicity, as the artists creating them just weren’t as accomplished. This cover to DETECTIVE … Continue reading Great Covers – DETECTIVE COMICS #31
For clean simplicity, it’d be difficult to find somebody more skilled than Carmine Infantino. His open lines, expansive vistas and idiosyncratic figures often combined for concept pieces that were immediately readable from a distance, and which drew a prospective buyer in to purchase the magazine. This cover to FLASH #153 is a case in point. … Continue reading Great Covers – FLASH #153
A very simple cover by Ross Andru for FLASH #184, this image simply demands that you buy the comic and read the story. It’s primarily a triumph of typography, as the image is more than ¾ lettering. But that Flash figure, with his face hidden in his hand and his defeated stance, makes an impact … Continue reading Great Covers – FLASH #184
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nick Cardy was virtually DC’s go-to cover artist, and he produced dozens of memorable, well-designed covers. Often he’d work off of sketches by cover editor and eventual publisher and president Carmine Infantino. This cover to BAT-LASH #2 is a great example. The white border perfectly frames the action, … Continue reading Great Covers – BAT LASH #2
Here’s a nice SUPERMAN FAMILY cover by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez. This one owes much of its success to the color choices. While the overall design is nice, it does become a bit cluttered. But by knocking out the background to a black and white monochrome and only using full color on the key figures, the … Continue reading Great Covers – SUPERMAN FAMILY #189
The Tom Brevoort Experience 