David’s out this week, so you’re going to have to deal with me. Watch as I ruin his legacy! (Or, maybe not. I don’t know. I might have OK taste after all.)
5. Dark Avengers #175
Art by Mike Deodato
What a sweet way to ring in the new and destroy the old, right? Smashing the previous title and jamming a sword in it’s “head,” the new cast of characters stand upon the ruined “Thunderbolts” logo while the “Dark Avengers” title remains emblazoned upon them, and original “Dark Avengers” artist Mike Deodato handles it all quite well. It’s a smashing way to start things off (pun intended), and the “1st Issue of a New Era” addition that’s been on several Marvel covers now (let alone having been on “Thunderbolts” in the past) is a nice touch to say, “Hey — come take a look at what’s inside!” Definitely the most attention-grabbing Avengers-brand cover we’ve seen in a while.
4. Morning Glories #19
Art by Rodin Esquejo
Rodin is such a fantastic cover artist. His characters always feature a nice touch of realism to them, and this cover is no exception — as obscured as it is, the fear you can catch in Hunter’s eye as Zoe walks toward him is incredibly palpable, and the blade is so sharp you’d swear it might cut you. The falling of the leaves in the foreground adds a nice touch to the idea that this is an ending, that “fall is coming” so to say, and the glowing hue of the entire ordeal casts a dark and bloody tone over the contents inside. As ‘PE’ ends, you know from this foreboding cover alone that it is not going to end in a happy tone, and the preparation the cover ostensibly gives you only ends up enhancing the overall mood of the read.
That is, after all, what a great cover should do: set the tone for your read of the interior contents. This one does that with spades.
3. Dial H #2
Art by Brian Bolland
It’s hard not to get excited by a Brian Bolland cover, isn’t it? The shading, the coloring and the characters all scream out off the stands at the reader “Read me! Read me!” While it’s a shame Bolland isn’t doing interiors too, it’s hard not to stop and enjoy this cover for all of it’s beautiful weirdness. DC is marketing this book as more off the cuff than the rest of their superhero pantheon, and a better artist than Bolland to establish that at a “judge a book by it’s cover” level you could not find.
2. Extermination #1 Variant
Art by Frazer Irving
I love Irving’s art. The guy is, to put it lightly, an absolute beast — and a stylish one at that. Irving has done quite a few covers for BOOM! now, and those covers alone always make me want to check out the images on principle alone.
And seriously, what’s not to like? Irving’s sense of blocking is fantastic, with the menacing alien being framed in the middle with our “heroes” in the foreground along the edges, and the offset colors for Nox and Red Reaper against the alien creature helps to uniquely bring both characters firmly into your vision at different levels. It’s almost a 3D image with its colors (not literally, but you get it), and it certainly calls to attention in a more stylish way than the other violence-heavy covers for the first issue do.
Not that the other covers are bad, mind you. They’re all quite good in their own way, truthfully. Irving’s is just the best. Irving’s cover is a cover that beckons the reader in, whereas the others do so at gunpoint with promises of more hyper-violence. That’s all well and good, but you’ve got to love how much more menacing Irving’s cover is overall.
1. Hulk #53
Art by Dale Eaglesham
I have nothing but love to give to “Hulk”, always and forever. Ever since Jeff Parker started writing it I’ve been a massive fan, and the rotating art team has always been a part of that. Now, with a story set in Canada and co-starring Alpha Flight, former “Alpha Flight” artist Dale Eaglesham hops aboard and delivers a quite a fantastic cover.
Seriously. Just look at that thing. How can you not look at that and not immediately be imbued with thoughts of ancient temples and foreboding prophecies? The arc, ‘Mayan Rule’, obviously has an obvious element it wants to put in your head with its story, and a cover like this is a surefire way to get the ball rolling in the right direction. The level of detail and attention to historical elements is astounding, the red glaze over it all is infinitely appropriate and, if nothing else, this is a cover that delivers its message in one powerful image. And hey, if you like the cover, the interior art is done by the same guy, unlike every other cover picked this week! How is that not incredibly exciting?
I honestly find it hard to understand why this title isn’t in everyone’s pull.
