Great Covers – FANTASTIC FOUR #276

Great conceptual FANTASTIC FOUR cover by John Byrne. What really works about this one is that all of the elements of the trade dress cast shadows as well.

Great Covers – SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2

It was a rare thing to see a painted rendition of a super hero in 1968 when this John Romita cover for the second issue of SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN magazine hit the stands, to say nothing of one that was so well done. Romita channels a little bit of Ditko influence in the positioning of Spidey … Continue reading Great Covers – SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #2 →

Great Covers – MARVEL 75th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION #1

It’s maybe a little bit of a cheat to include this one, as I did the original concept sketch for it, but this excellent painted cover by Paolo Rivera for the MARVEL 75TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION does an incredible job of communication three-quarters of a century’s worth of wonder and imagination in a single evocative image.

Great Covers – STRANGE TALES #79

Great sense of scale on this Jack Kirby STRANGE TALES cover. Most of these prototypic Marvel monster stories tended to tout the creature-of-the-month fully visibly on their covers. This piece takes the opposite tact, concealing most of the monster and creating intrigue.

Great Covers – THE FALCON #1

This FALCON piece combines the Badass and the Hero In Trouble cover approaches for a piece that delivers the best of both. For his first solo series, Paul Smith gives us a Falcon who can take a beating, and still be ready to dish one out.

Great Covers – WOLVERINE #1

Inspired by Clint Eastwood, this Frank Miller WOLVERINE cover is one of the quintessential images of the character. Everything about his outlook and attitude is communicated in this simple image.

Great Covers – AVENGERS THE ORIGIN #2

Phil Noto delivers a knockout punch on this cover for AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN. Rarely has the power of the Hulk’s blows been so viscerally communicated as here, where he trashes the early Iron Man with a single punch.

Great Covers – DAREDEVIL #1

Paolo Rivera pulls you into the world of DAREDEVIL on this cover, visually getting across both that Matt Murdock is blind, and the manner in which his other senses allow him to navigate the city that he lives in. The graphic treatment here is strong, and by keeping the background in greytones, the lead figure … Continue reading Great Covers – DAREDEVIL #1 →

Great Covers – RUNAWAYS #18

The brilliant Marcos Martin uses design and negative space to the upmost on this RUNAWAYS cover. The joy of the vignette of the friends enjoying one anothers’ company is deftly undercut by the understated cover copy, which signifies tragedy lurking in the future.

Great Covers – AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #611

As is typcial for his work, Skottie Young incorporates humor into this AMAZING SPIDER-MAN cover, which is simultaneously funny and communicates an essential difference between Spidey and guest-star Deadpool. The UPC barcode is move to the top in order to keep it off the characters, which makes it more prominent than I’d like, but a … Continue reading Great Covers – AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #611 →