In this week’s edition of Got You Covered, two frequently featured cover artists show down for the top spot, as Team Vertigo takes the top two spots. Who are they? Find out below.
5. Wolverine MAX #1
Art by Jock
Continuing from the theme of last week’s column (KISS, or keep it simple stupid), we have this cover from Jock. It’s a simple image of Wolverine’s iconic paw cutting into Japan’s rising sun symbol, but with detail worked into it. It works on multiple levels, but I just love the depth of the storytelling and how the red and white contrast to make the whole endeavor pop. It’s a really solid cover, although not quite to my optimal Jock level.
4. Astonishing X-Men #55
Art by Phil Noto
Originally, I had this at #3, but I dropped it simply because I realized I enjoyed #3 way more. Not that this is bad, but it’s definitely a notch below the next one. I like the design of this cover more than I like the execution. The idea of this team being just weapons for someone to be used, and the way they are organized in the chain of bullets. The storytelling of it is great. For me, the thing that holds this back a bit is the staid color pallet and the boxy, angular nature of the line work. Noto is great, and this has elements of that, but it’s not all the way there.
3. A-Babies vs. X-Babies #1
Art by Skottie Young
There’s something wonderful about Skottie Young’s covers. It’s just fun looking around this cover and seeing the little touches – Magneto taking Iron Man’s costume to pieces, a deranged looking tiny Wolverine going after Iron Fist, Psylocke pulling Black Widow’s hair, Storm shocking Black Panther…you name it. There are all kinds of little showdown elements that bring a smile to my face, and that’s just because Skottie Young’s effervescent style and spirit and his knowledge of these characters and their relationships. It’s just wonderful work.
2. The Unwritten #42
Art by Yuko Shimizu
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before, but I LOVE Yuko Shimizu’s work. She’s one of the best around, and each and every month she blows me away with her work. This one is more of the same greatness, but I love the way she makes everything on the page darker, more bland colors to make the color of the butterflies and the fire stand out all the more. She has a keen eye for design, and even in the best of the weeks her work stands out.
That said, she doesn’t get number one this week for once.
1. Fables #122
Art by Joao Ruas
This is my favorite Joao Ruas cover on Fables yet. The guy who will be perpetually compared to James Jean because he followed Jean up on the book created undoubtedly the best cover this week, and it a simply splendid work that is both just a gorgeous image and fantastic design. I love the way the title and its number are laid out on this cover – it fits perfectly without distracting from an image. Not only that, but the clean, white border around the side give it even more of a story book feel. Then you throw in the gorgeous image he creates with intermittent bursts of red standing out even more against the muted color pallet, and this is just a remarkably well crafted cover.
It just makes me want to read the comic. I buy it and read it regularly, but still, there is a tremendous amount of value in a cover creating that feeling in a reader, I’d say.
