5. The Unwritten #38
Art by Yuko Shimizu
This is another great cover from Yuko, one of the best in the business, that connects with issue #37’s cover of Tom Taylor. The power of the written word is leaving the world, and those who have most been impacted by it, in this case Madame Rausch, are brilliantly depicted by Yuko as having it actually leave their person in a stream of color. One of my favorite things that Yuko does is blend powerful uses of color, and in this effort she bridges the gaps between the white space, Rausch and her puppet strings and the fiction leaving her, and what comes together is fantastic indeed.
Art by David Petersen
David Petersen is a killer, and whenever we get a cover from him, we should consider ourselves lucky. In this effort, he gives us a hyper detailed look at Splinter’s room as he meditates and drinks tea. The composition is fantastic, especially the way he uses the light of the candles to give the room a thoughtful, dimmed atmosphere, and the little things he includes that shows how Splinter has ingratiated himself into his new home (i.e. a I
Art by David Yardin
David Yardin has been putting together a sneaky great run of covers over the last while on X-Factor, and this is another strong example. I love the usage of color to imply mood and the mosaic of images that show what everyone in the sprawling cast is up to, all built around the central mystery of the story…is Banshee offing people in her free time? Not likely, but it’s a good read. And thank god for Yardin’s cover, otherwise this issue would be completely bereft of good art.
Art by JH Williams III
Some would say that Williams goes back to the well too often with his compositions, but I wouldn’t. This highlights the things that Williams does outrageously well as both a cover and an interior artist: using color and the absence of color to create a dynamic and appealing contrast; pitch perfect titling; unique design that ties into the story; and, simply put, some of the straight up best line and character work out of everyone. The guy is a god amongst men.
Art by Fiona Staples
After a one-issue drop off for the book, Saga returns to my list with a vengeance, as Fiona Staples kills it with the fourth issue’s cover (and that’s not just because The Will and Lying Cat are my two favorite characters of the story so far). One of the best things she did was bring back the full cover color coordination, as the front and back are dominated by a muted yellow that connects the whole piece. Then, the laissez faire pose of The Will and Lying Cat as they observe something (or nothing much at all) in the distance is just fantastic. Many have made the argument that waiting for trade is the way to go in this day and age, but with Saga? You’d be missing out on some incredible covers that deserve to make it into your collection.
