Covers in the 1970s tended to lean towards the cluttered, with tons of characters and blurbs all crammed into a relatively tiny space–a more-is-less approach that kept most of them from being truly memorable images. But this Ed Hannigan FANTASTIC FOUR cover isn’t too bad in this regard. Still, it requires a burst, two captions … Continue reading Great Covers – FANTASTIC FOUR #170
A very cool and intricate WARLOCK cover by Jim Starlin. This would be the final issue of the series.
Another great Alex Schomburg CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS cover, this one illustrating in horrific fashion the fate actually befalling Jews trapped in Nazi territory. Schomburg often leaned on horror as well as action in his covers, but this may have been his most horrific cover of all–because it was really happening.
And finally, an example of a limited palate being used extremely well. Would this Jim Steranko X-MEN cover be so memorable were it not colored thusly? Cuing in on Lorna Dane’s green hair as the basis for the color scheme of the piece lends the image, and indeed the character herself, an air of mystery … Continue reading Great Covers – X-MEN #50
This Jack Kirby FANTASTIC FOUR cover similarly uses knock-outs and a limited palate, but it’s way more successful. By any stretch of the imagination, this is an odd image for the cover of a super hero comic book–Stan pretty much makes it work by calling it out as the most off-beat ending of the year … Continue reading Great Covers – FANTASTIC FOUR #87
DC weren’t the only ones who could louse up a perfectly good Jack Kirby cover in color, Marvel did it occasionally as well, as on this FANTASTIC FOUR cover. Knocking all of the other elements back to browns and reds definitely helps Crystal to pop as the center of the composition, but it’s actively unattractive. … Continue reading Great Covers – FANTASTIC FOUR #81
Here’s a first, from the great Alex Schomburg: the first time in comic book history a cover promoted an epic battle between two separate super heroes, in this case the Human Torch and the Sub-Mariner. This MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS cover must have proven exciting to readers, as Timely went on to stage several other Torch-Namor … Continue reading Great Covers – MARVEL MYSTERY COMICS #9
A great DAREDEVIL cover by Wally Wood, debuting Daredevil’s iconic and sleek red costume. On top of Wood’s slick line once again the coloring has been composed for maximum effect. Daredevil is surrounded by light blue air bubbles against which his red outfit really pops. The deep purples of the background make Namor come forward … Continue reading Great Covers – DAREDEVIL #7
A cool painted cover for RAMPAGING HULK magazine by Earl Norem, produced during a period when it was rare to see a super hero rendered so realistically. I’m not wild about the way all of the copy is handled on this one, mostly in terms of color (TO AVENGE THE EARTH is a bit hard … Continue reading Great Covers – THE RAMPAGING HULK #9
A very simple and effective ALPHA FLIGHT cover by John Byrne. This is the infamous issue, released during the April Fools-ish “Assistant Editor’s Month”, that contained five blank pages with only word balloons and sound effects, as Snowbird battled the Wendigo in a snowstorm. Legend has it that Byrne not only insisted on being paid … Continue reading Great Covers – ALPHA FLIGHT #6
The Tom Brevoort Experience 