When we look back at 2010 as a whole, there was a lot of greatness. In particular, we saw a lot of artists pack a lot of punch in a small space. That space? The cover. Comics covers are an artform unto themselves, and for some, they can make the spot sing. For others, it isn’t so easy. After the jump, you can find our choices for cover artists of the year.
Before we get there though, I wanted to give a shout out to some that didn’t make the cut. Namely, Yuko Shimizu, Fiona Staples and Jim Cheung. Three of the best in the biz right there, and I was sad to see them not make it.
Why His Covers Are Some of the Best (Walt): When I got back into comics just a few years ago, I was primarily interested in writers, not artists. Sure, I knew a few legendary artists (and some legendarily bad ones), but I was more interested in the story that was told than how it looked. Eventually, though, I noticed that whoever it was illustrating the later half of Paul Dini’s Detective Comics was really, really good. Ever since then I have been a huge fan of Dustin Nguyen’s work. As impressive as his actual sequential art is, though, his covers are something else entirely. When he busts out those watercolors his pencils and inks truly come to life, and thankfully we have gotten to see him do just that on a ton of covers this year. In fact, his covers have become so impressive that they are nearly enough to persuade me into picking up titles I don’t particularly care for. Yikes!
3 (tie). Skottie Young
Why His Covers Are Some of the Best (Matt): When delivering proper cover artwork, one of the key elements of this is to show the readers effectively your interpretations of the characters with a definitive, unique, and recognizable style. While every artist on our list assuredly meets that mark, none ever manage to also get the ever-so-frequent “adorable” factor that Skottie Young brings to his work every single time.
What’s uniquely amazing about Skottie Young however is that, for all intents and purposes, his artwork shouldn’t be as cute as it is. It isn’t at all the average standard with big round circles and shiny coloring that evoke memories of the cuddle-friendly Carebears or Pound Puppies. No, Skottie Young uses straight and often jagged edges with hard inks and very specific shapes, but there is no denying that his covers aren’t always entertaining and essentially cute every single time. Even his Venom Kitty from the #MRVLCTS trend was much more adorable than it should have been! I mean – VENOM as a kitten! That almost assuredly spells ugly, but Young’s style always brings it home.
Young has very quickly made his style one of the most recognizable ones to date, oftentimes luring folks like us at MC to purchasing comics we might not normally look at. All Ages titles like the Oz (which also features his interiors) books as well as X-Babies have become staples and frequently referenced comics in our collections, and his upcoming covers for the Deadpool Team-Up books almost make us buy them on principle alone. Heck, the only real disappointing thing about Skottie Young covers is that if we grab a comic featuring one we don’t always open them to see the interiors matching the exterior!! When an artist has covers that eye catching and that frequently awesome that the interior art becomes disappointing somewhat on principle, that’s when you know you’ve got a great cover.
3 (tie). Adi Granov
Why His Covers Are Some of the Best (David): Adi Granov is an odd pick for me, personally, because he isn’t hip on the things I love about covers. However, there is something to said about pure power and beauty of imagery, and that is something that Adi Granov has never had a problem pulling off. No matter what book he’s working on, Granov has always had the uncanny ability to take a rather simple image and turn it into something that resonates with viewers and leaps off the page at them as they peruse the racks. Sure, it may be a book you have limited interest in, but when you see that cover? It does a whole lot of selling for you.
Continued belowA great example? When “Astonishing Captain America” was announced, I had little to no interest in reading it. But then I saw Granov’s cover and I was blown away. When you get down to the fundamentals of a cover, it’s supposed to work as the comic’s sales pitch. Granov is the Blake of “Glengarry Glen Ross” of cover artists. He’s always closing.
2. Jock
Why His Covers Are Some of the Best (David): Jock is my favorite cover artist, and I have to admit, I’m biased. It’s because he does the covers of “Scalped,” which is my favorite comic. Actually, that isn’t quite fair, because part of the reason “Scalped” is my favorite comic is because Jock’s covers are so consistently great.
Jock does what very few cover artists do, and that’s not only deliver a striking image, but tells the story that happens within the pages with a simple cover often filled with visual metaphors and inventive design. The way he has handled his “Scalped” covers has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his run on the book rivals James Jean’s “Fables” run at this point in my mind. And that’s saying something, as I am a major fan of Jean’s work.
Not only that, but Jock also delivered what may be the cover of the year with his entry for “Detective Comics” #871. This work, from the type set design (love of heavy emphasis on “Detective”) to the powerful image of the shrouded Batman to the title of “the Black Mirror” that is found at the bottom, is nothing short of extraordinary. For a reader to pass up buying this book, that’s like saying no to Jock. And in this case, my friends, that is a terrible, terrible idea to do so.
1. Frank Quitely
Why His Covers Are Some of the Best (Matt): Frank Quitely has always been one of the top talents in the industry. When he takes on the art duties of a book (especially with a man like Grant Morrison), you are assured to get work that is breath taking with art that can truly bring out different aspects of the world. Quitely toned down his interior artwork this year, however, focusing instead on delivering cover after astounding cover that literally at times drove us to pick up specific books (see: Quitely’s variant cover for Teen Titans #89).
Quitely has been responsible for multiple standout covers this year, including all of Batman and Robin and the recent THUNDER Agents #1. Quitely’s Batman and Robin covers were just as much elements of the story as the interior artwork was, showing us a specific glimpse that – while might not be a scene readily visible in the title – always gave a glimpse of what the reader was in store for with the issue while also repeatedly being iconic. Quitely’s use of colors alone made each cover eye-grabbing, with solid colors and character poses that screamed out to the reader, “pick this book up!” With a beautiful new Superman image for the Absolute All-Star Superman book and a reimagining of a classic Gil Kane cover for DC’s 75th Anniversary Variant series, Quitely has had an incredible year worth of covers to his name.
