This week on Got You Covered, I have the breakdown of the best of the best in the world of comic covers for the week. New names and new titles enter the ranks this week, as one long time favorite gets skunked. Find out the what’s what and the who’s who of this week’s comic covers below.
5. Elephantmen #45
Art by Fiona Meng
I have to say, the thing I enjoy probably the most about Elephantmen’s covers (save for on the recent Brandon Graham illustrated joint) is the fact that they so often feel like strangely smutty romance novel covers. There’s an oddly passionate vibe to them, quite often, and the 45th issue’s cover is no different. That said, I want to give two other aspects props. First off, I’ve never seen work by Fiona Meng – or realized I had, at least – but it’s tremendous, powerful stuff. Her work really blows me away, and the colors are incredible as well. Second off, a shout out to Richard Starkings for what I can only assume is his design work on the cover. The master letterer strikes again with great design and font choices that accentuate the emphasis of the book perfectly.
4. Savage Wolverine #1
Art by Frank Cho
I really dig this cover – and this book – which is strange, because for the most part I don’t enjoy Frank Cho’s work. Yet, on Wolverine, it works really well, especially when it’s taking place in Savage Land. That gives Cho the chance to a) draw scantily clad Shanna and b) draw dinosaurs. This cover though works perfectly because of the very pulpy feel to the entire production (which permeates throughout the whole book and is an admitted goal according to the backmatter), the phenomenal coloring and the just incredible figure work. Say what you will about the “cheesecake” aspects of Cho’s work, but good god, his Shanna is completely stunning. Strong work.
3. Bionic Man vs. Bionic Woman #1
Art by Chris Eliopoulos
We’ve been getting a lot of cute covers from Skottie Young over at Marvel that feature baby/child versions of various heroes, and now Dynamite is doing the same thing with this variant to Bionic Man vs. Bionic Woman. Instead of Young on art, it’s another of my favorite artists in the form of Chris Eliopoulos, a man who’s work has developed over the past few years to have great little design aspects to it that take it to another level. For example, I love the dirty feel to the outer edges of the paper, and the very stripped down, pure version of this story being told. It draws readers eyes straight to where he wants us – on the adorable action. Great, great work.
2. All-New X-Men #6
Art by Stuart Immonen
I love this piece just because of the elegant simplicity to it. I have to say, I’m not reading All-New X-Men, so I can’t say if this is just a metaphorical cover or is literal, but either way, for someone like Kitty Pryde the spectre of Professor X is always looming. As the latest headmistress of the school, she has a legacy that precedes her, and Stuart Immonen very beautifully illustrates that with this piece. Immonen is one of the absolute best at morphing styles to best emphasize the piece he’s working on – he’s an art chameleon – and this is one of his best covers in some time in my opinion.
1. Captain Marvel #9
Art by Jamie McKelvie
There’s something just simple and iconic about McKelvie’s work on Captain Marvel. Every issue, it seems like he starts off with a pretty simple idea, yet what comes out is instantly memorable and powerful. It just pops off the racks and sticks into your brain. I suppose that makes sense, as that’s been a gift of McKelvie’s since we first took notice of him, but on Captain Marvel it, for some reason, seems to stand out all the more whenever he touches the character. And any time you can drop the word “iconic” about a cover, it’s clearly something special.
