Cover to Cover is something new I'm going to be trying out this week. It's basically a glorified Cover of the Week post that also includes an analysis of various covers from the past week's comics, including what I liked about them, maybe showing what a cover was an homage to and so on.
As this is the first time I'll be doing this, please let me know if this is something you'd like to see more of, what you liked about it, what you hated, if I should just make it a single Cover of the Week, a brief caption and that's it or if you like the comments on the various covers. Basically, anything you feel is relevant.
As this is the first time I'll be doing this, please let me know if this is something you'd like to see more of, what you liked about it, what you hated, if I should just make it a single Cover of the Week, a brief caption and that's it or if you like the comments on the various covers. Basically, anything you feel is relevant.
Cover of the Week - Kick-Ass #1 Cover by Steve McNivenKick-Ass #1 gets my cover of the week because it screams, "READ ME!", whenever I see it. When I saw this cover of this random guy, who looks like he's had his own ass kicked numerous times, standing there defiantly in a, "Is that all you got?", kind of way while bleeding all over himself, I knew I had to read this book. Combined with detailed and violent nature of the image and the striking red, white and black colour scheme and I just had to know what happened to this guy in this issue, which is what all covers should strive to do.
Daredevil #105 Cover by Marko DjurdjevicIt was a toss up between this cover and the Kick-Ass one, but I found, as good as this cover is, it's very safe at the same time. Like a Blizzard (World of Warcraft, Starcraft, etc) video game, it excells in composition, technique, etc, but it offers nothing new and is a typical cover you'd see every other month, but with prettier artwork. You could say the same thing for the Kick-Ass cover, but I found the colouring scheme, the fact it was a first issue and the state the main character was in turned a typical hero posing cover into something quite unique and visually striking. This DD cover has all the elements of a great cover, but lacks any imagination and doesn't set itself apart with anything except better art. Still an exceptional cover though.
Blue Beetle #24 Cover by Rafael Albuquerque & Batman #674 Cover by Tony DanielI just wanted to talk about how two similar covers can illicit different responses. Both of these feature the hero battered and beaten with the off panel villain moving in for more punishment / the kill.
However, the Batman cover is far more dramatic and engaging, to me, than the Blue Beetle one, despite both featuring excellent artwork and similar composition. The Blue Beetle cover suffers from the hero being the Blue Beetle and not Batman, simple as that. I see Blue Beetle's cover and I see a new hero, most don't know him, he's down and out, but meh, why should I care about him?
The Batman cover, on the otherhand, features (the goddamn) Batman bound and bleeding, he's got drill holes in his shoulder and the off panel villain has the drill in hand and is moving in to dish out more punishment. I don't expect Batman to die or anything, but I sure as hell want to see what happens next and the Blue Beetle cover doesn't elicit the same response to me, despite my undying love for that book.
Of note, I love the use of the text bubble on the Blue Beetle cover. That really sets the two apart in terms of style and tone. Blue Beetle is a much more carefree book and reminds me of a more modern version of the 70's and 80's comics and few comics use text bubbles on covers anymore and only go for the 'magazine cover' look. Props for something so simple, but hardly used anymore.
However, the Batman cover is far more dramatic and engaging, to me, than the Blue Beetle one, despite both featuring excellent artwork and similar composition. The Blue Beetle cover suffers from the hero being the Blue Beetle and not Batman, simple as that. I see Blue Beetle's cover and I see a new hero, most don't know him, he's down and out, but meh, why should I care about him?
The Batman cover, on the otherhand, features (the goddamn) Batman bound and bleeding, he's got drill holes in his shoulder and the off panel villain has the drill in hand and is moving in to dish out more punishment. I don't expect Batman to die or anything, but I sure as hell want to see what happens next and the Blue Beetle cover doesn't elicit the same response to me, despite my undying love for that book.
Of note, I love the use of the text bubble on the Blue Beetle cover. That really sets the two apart in terms of style and tone. Blue Beetle is a much more carefree book and reminds me of a more modern version of the 70's and 80's comics and few comics use text bubbles on covers anymore and only go for the 'magazine cover' look. Props for something so simple, but hardly used anymore.
Captain America #35 Cover by Steve EptingOne word describes this cover - generic. I don't care about this cover and, if I wasn't an avid reader of this title, I wouldn't even give it a second glance. Why is Captain America posing in the foreground while a riot goes on behind him? Nothing on this cover really goes together and it looks like they just pasted a standard sketch onto a background and slapped the logo on it. Great book, terrible cover.
Young Avengers Presents: Hulkling Cover by Jim CheungI just wanted to point out that those background images are all drawn by Cheung. He referenced all the old comics with Captain Marvel and drew each individual image with the style of the different artists and eras that defined the character. I'm sure many probaby assumed they were stock photos Photoshopped into the image after the Hulking was drawn, but that's not the case. A+ for effort on an otherwise minimalistic cover.
Ultimate Spider-Man #119 Cover by Stuart ImmonenThis gets the award for Most Misleading Cover. Magneto shows up on the final splashpage cliffhanger. There is no fight between the Amazing Friends and Magneto, there is no dialogue or interaction or even build up to his appearance. He just shows up at the end. USM is guilty of this practice all the time, especially with the Venom and Carnage covers, but it doesn't make this any less annoying when I see it.
Conclusion
Well, that's it for the first Cover to Cover post. I'm a fan of covers and had been thinking about doing a simple Cover of the Week for a while, but felt it ignored so many other covers from books in a given week. That lead to this more detailed post, but I'm still not sure if this is the format I'd like to stick with.
Again, please feel free to let me know what you think. Whether you would rather just a quick cover gallery with a simple Cover of the Week award, if you would like more covers featured, if you like the format I've chosen or even if you simply don't care about covers. Any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Oh yeah. It's okay to talk about the covers in the post or ones you liked from the past week as well. Doesn't have to be all about me and my post format. =p
Conclusion
Well, that's it for the first Cover to Cover post. I'm a fan of covers and had been thinking about doing a simple Cover of the Week for a while, but felt it ignored so many other covers from books in a given week. That lead to this more detailed post, but I'm still not sure if this is the format I'd like to stick with.
Again, please feel free to let me know what you think. Whether you would rather just a quick cover gallery with a simple Cover of the Week award, if you would like more covers featured, if you like the format I've chosen or even if you simply don't care about covers. Any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated.
Oh yeah. It's okay to talk about the covers in the post or ones you liked from the past week as well. Doesn't have to be all about me and my post format. =p
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12 comments:
I think covers are an art unto themselves, too! This feature was fun to read.
Your comment on Kick-Ass is really interesting, because when I looked at it, I definitely felt a "Horror" vibe rather than "superhero." The white and red coloring, as well as the guy's bare teeth and tattered clothes brought that out to me.
I like how you compared the Blue Beetle/Batman covers. To me, the Blue Beetle was more compelling, because we're looking down on him and we get to see one of his eyes, whereas Batman seems much more confident in his captivation.
As for the Ultimate Spidey title, I love the way Immonen draws limbs! I can't even explain why, it's just so pretty!
And the way he draws heads! My god, I swoon! This is me swooning!
nice new segment
Cool new feature. If you got the time I say keep doing a little write-up for each cover. At the very least it would be nice to see a two-cover comparison for best of the week.
I liked the Blue Beetle cover because it payed homage to Ted Kord's death, with Max Lord's gun trained on him, and Ted telling Lord to go to hell.
Glad to see people liked the new column. I wasn't sure if it too much exposition or if people would have rathered just to see the cover and be done. Thanks for the feedback.
@kevin t. - The Kick-Ass cover does remind me of something out of Walkind Dead or maybe a Sin City-esque cover, in that it's more gritty and dark, but I knew it was a super hero book going in so that's probably why I instinctly described it as such. But you're right, it's definitely not the standard super hero cover either.
@heavision38 - Which cover was that? I thought the death of Ted had Batman holding him in his arms and showing him to the rest of the Justice League. I might be remembering a different cover though. If it is an homage, that does add a lot more to that cover's appearance than I gave it credit for.
I don't think he means the cover when Blue Beetle was shot. He just means the scene.
The true tragedy is that the Daredevil cover isn't even an original idea:
http://www.marvel.com/i/content/st/2751new_storyimage4313094_full.jpg
Great new feature. I agree with that the Kick Ass cover was the best of the week’s releases. Seems that Marvel Icon are trying to draw in the Mature audience.
Captain America cover, as you say, is the typical great art from Epting (still love his 1990s Avengers run.)
Just a thought, how about featuring favourite covers of times past? I will suggest my all time favourite cover (and first comic that made me cry) Uncanny X-men # 141.
i've decided i love this column, keep it as is.
on another note, i'm the guy who suggested you put less spoilers in your review - but i've come to the conclusion that i'm just gonna read the reviews of the books i want to read AFTER i've read the books myself. so you've got my support in keeping those as is as well. it's not my place to tell you how to write your reviews - it's like going into a comic book store and telling them where to put all the comics.
This is heatvision38, as I can't remember my password and I've tried everything, but I wanted to comment, so I'm doing it as anonymous:
Yeah, Randall's right. I was referring more to the now semi-iconic image with Ted on the ground and Max lording over him (couldn't help it) with a gun, and Ted telling Max to rot in hell. That's why I liked this cover.
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