Welcome back to your new favorite column. Or maybe it’s your old column. Or maybe you’ve never even heard of this column before. Hello. Welcome! This is the column where I look at covers and pick the top ones of the week, count them down, and tell you what’s so great about them.
Intrigued? Well, if you aren’t, here’s a gif of Kristen Bell from Veronica Mars:
I don’t have a legit reason for posting that. Last week I posted a Doctor Who gif, and it seemed like a good thing to start doing weekly. So until I come up with legit reasons for these things, just enjoy the madness.
Check behind the cut for this week’s covers.
For some reason, in my head whenever I think of Jeff Parker and Thunderbolts I think of two people: Declan Shalvey and Kev Walker. The reason for this – most likely – is the two artists are the most prominent to be working on the title under his pen. Fancy that, right? And now as Thunderbolts gets a double-sized extravaganza (although I’m not totally sure why), we get the above gorgeous image that brings Thunderbolts into Fear Itself.
Emblazoned on the cover we have all of our regular and key characters, with Crossbones back on the cover and John Walker getting a nice portion of the image as well. The issue gives a few extra stories highlighting what Crossbones and Walker, as well as others, do once the Raft is destroyed when Juggernaut gets his hammer, and the image above is a nice representation of what you can expect inside. While the Juggernaut really has no major part in the story aside from being the catalyst over in Fear Itself, the explosion of the Raft still has a big part to play in the storyline.
The banner and additional information are also well placed along the cover. The Fear Itself banner doesn’t take anything away from the image at all except a bit of the horizon, which is fine all things considered, and the Marvel logo and barcode are pushed to either corner. The Marvel logo itself looks like a mini version of it’s regular size, which helps to keep focus on the image and not take away from the presentation. If there’s one thing Marvel does consistently, it’s put their covers very well to take as little away from the image as possible.
Simple. Clean. All white, with Ultimate Uncle Ben walking off into nothingness with poor Ultimate Peter Parker. A requiem in the form of a cover if ever there has been one before, as we fans say goodbye and so does the character. Additionally, the tiny bit in this image of Peter grabbing onto Uncle Ben’s coat is just a great touch on Quesada’s part, given the emotional turmoil felt when Peter failed to save his life some final closure now that they’re together again.
Of course, it’s a bit hard to show you the actual cover, considering it’s one of those “ultra rare variant” things. However, the best I can do to show you how it looks in actuality is this image taken from an eBay auction:
So much better in it’s actual form, isn’t it? The added word bubble of Uncle Ben assuring Peter of his heroism is incredibly touching (it reads “You did good, kid,” for those unable to tell). It’s a very well formed image by Joe Quesada, perhaps the best thing he has done in years (let alone his entire career).
There’s also no additional text or what have you on the cover, due to the polybag. So really, this image gets to just stand alone for the buyer to do what he wishes with it, making it all the more better in my eyes. (I would suggest grabbing a frame if you have one handy.)
Continued belowAnd seriously, what a great issue in general. Marvel and friends were just firing on all cylinders with this.
On occasion, a cover will be enough to make you want to pick up an issue.These things happen. Quite frequently, even. Some people find it misleading, because what happens if the cover you get is better than the interior art? That happens too. However, since we’re here to discuss covers, lets discuss the best Flashpoint cover this week: Francis Manapul’s.
Covering Kid Flash Lost, Manapul illustrates Bart Allen trapped in the lightning bolt as he is cascaded throughout time. It’s a great image that captures the feel of the entire issue, let alone the basic premise. Bart has disoriented, and that’s visually apparent here on the cover. You can’t even tell if he’s falling backwards or attempting to run forwards, both of which seem entirely plausible for the storyline. It’s a very good thing that Manapul will be continuing working on the Flash post-Flashpoint, because he is an artistic talent to be reckoned with over at DC. Even if I never planned to look inside the comic, I’d grab this for $2.99 no question.
The extra bits are well placed this week as well. A nice Flashpoint header, the “Kid” and “Lost” bits of the title working around the Flash logo, and everything else being pushed to the left side of the cover in an even line. And the good news is: the Green Lantern banner is gone! The thing that had gained consistent ire from yours truly is now gone, no longer to be seen anymore and not taking up vital space that can be used for better things. Like Francis Manapul’s drawings. I approve, DC. Thank you for that.
Trevor McCarthy is a relative newcomer (as far as I know), but so far I’m impressed. I try to stick to as little Batman as possible in my weekly reading habits, but well designed covers and nice interior work will make me give anything a shot (let alone the name Scott Snyder). What’s even more interesting, though, is that McCarthy’s covers are actually better than his interiors. I don’t say this in a snide or snarky way, but the amount of detail he has given to this – channeling his inner JH Williams III – really helps to make this cover stand out over every other average Batman book available.
Design is important. If you don’t have any style, you just have an average cover – and you don’t make this column. This is a column to celebrate covers that go the extra mile to be interesting, and McCarthy’s got that covered. The entire structure of the cover, from the emblazoned bat faces to the gargoyle to the statues at the top representing the founders of the city all scream to the intricacy of the title, which delves into the history of Gotham as a beast in it’s own right. McCarthy captures that premise in the image, and it in turn makes it more intriguing in a sea of run of the mill Bat-books.
DC also doesn’t clutter the title too much. While the “Gates of Gotham” bit does cover the statues of the founders, it doesn’t inherently take away from the cover too much. In fact, in it’s own way it adds to it, obscuring their faces to add an air of mystery to their identities. The other information, unlike with Flashpoint which is pushed to the left, features the barcode laying horizontally as to not infringe on Batman’s right to facetime on the cover with the creators in the opposite corner. It maximizes space for the imagery and only takes away from the fringes, which is alright all things considered.
As I said in my review of the issue, Coipel’s work alone is worth buying the title – and you call tell that right from the cover. Easily my favorite cover of the week, this is as big and imposing as the storyline it refers to, and it’s definitely the type of image I would frame and put up on my wall.
The issue features Thor duking it out with the Surfer in order to keep Galactus out of Asgard and away from a mysterious seed. What we get from the cover is the implied elements of the storyline: Galactus looming with his oh-so-familiar head on the horizon illuminated by the sunset, which is casting a blood-red sky across the land as Thor stands in the center on the ruins of Asgard ready for battle. While I know several people who have commentary against the story inside the book, I can’t take anyone seriously who doesn’t absolutely love Coipel’s work on the covers here – this pulls me right to the book as soon as I see it in the shop and as soon as I get home.
Marvel places all of the informational bits in the corner here, letting the Mighty Thor logo take over the top in a translucent form as to not take away from the imagery Coipel is providing. It overlaps a bit, but not in a way that hurts the image it’s covering (especially since you can, you know, see through it). And with the creator names lined up neatly on the bottom, it’s very easy to just focus your attention on the center of the cover at Thor as he prepares for battle. A powerful image, and the winner of this week’s cover of the week.
The Blunder Award Of The Week goes to DC comics for publishing the wrong cover to Superman #712 (let alone the entire wrong issue).
This is what came out:
This is what was supposed to come out:
Oops! Better luck next time?
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That’s it for this week’s Got You Covered. Here are your weekly stats, based on appearances on the list:
Adi Granov — 13
David Finch — 12
Jae Lee – 8
Dave Johnson — 8
Jock — 7
No changes this week, as everyone features this week has never made it to GYC in the past. Weird, given their talent, but that happens.
Tune in next week for more eye candy.
