Welp, Monday has once again reared its ugly head. As you sit down at your personal computing station, wondering how on earth you’ll force your way through another dreary work week, we once again offer you this small slice of happiness we refer to as the Comic Preview. Join us as we take a look at the covers that will garnish the front of this week’s comic offerings and decide which are true works of art and which are just downright unfavorable.
Brendan’s Pick
All Star Western # 11
Brendan: I have been consistently digging these All Star Western covers. I love the rough, gritty art style that brings together these three portraits. If focused on separately, the three sections can really stand alone, yet at the same time they come together in a cohesive fashion. I just love it.
Dave: I’m a sucker for covers that tell a story and there’s a good one here. Three mercenaries, some would say bastards, are after a ring and they’re locked and loaded. Or maybe somebody stole their pie and they’re all cranky pants. Who knows?! Exciting stuff.
Dave’s Pick
Goon #40
Dave: It’s incredibly difficult to draw a car in motion. Usually one would use speed lines or some other object to showcase movement. Powell does it here, albeit with an exciting lightning bolted title, but it’s the story around the car that incites the most excitement. I love how we see a very flat Goon at top, with the car at center flying into the air and the bad guys all sneering at bottom. Like a movie poster, this cover forces the eye to move around but also tells a story.
Brendan: Once again we all fall for the retro movie poster cover. This cover is several well-drawn items that all work on their own yet they also come together to create one great piece. Powell gives you a lot on this cover, yet it doesn’t feel clunky or cluttered. It’s just some nice, crisp and clean art.
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions
Exile On The Planet of the Apes #4
Brendan: Man, would anyone have ever thought that an army of monkeys would be frightening before Planet of the Apes? Did anyone think of “monkeys with guns” and not immediately chuckle to themselves? For certain, this army is nowhere near amusing. This is a great piece of art by Gabriel Hardman. There is a lot of depth to the charging army that really immerses you within the image. The drawings are crisp and well executed and the contrasting cool and warm colors allow you to get the general idea of the contents of the comic just from the cover.
Dave: Horses, hummers, and guns, oh my! Aside from some well-rendered primates this cover doesn’t do it for me. The green, while cooling as Brendan says, is a little funky when contrasted with the orange. The eye patched ape pulling a Lion King in the clouds is laughably weird.
Flash #11
Brendan: If I had one eighth of the talent that Francis Manapul had, I would be a happy man. Now, I never really picture Flash as a heavy lifting guy, but that just adds to the sense of dream that is depicted on this cover. Heatwave has always been a favorite of mine and it’s good to see him looking positively terrifying. Although, that bitty doesn’t really look concerned about much.
Dave: Hot damn, it’s getting hot in here. Manapul has been drawing exciting cover after exciting cover on this book and again he does a great job here. I love how the figures, while slightly cartoony in nature, are still just as complex and interesting. Also, that chick is gorgeous.
Debris #1
Brendan: This cover is pretty sweet. I love the mechanical-dragon silhouette that is about to consume our heroine. I love the simple details of the surrounding city and the crest of land she stands upon. This cover is nothing if not quality.
Dave: Gotta love big guns and layered works of art. The machinations of the dragon draw the eye straight to our heroine and the grassy outcropping she stands on is a perfect contrast to the rest. Throwing a title on this cover would certainly ruin it.
Witchblade #158
Brendan: I can’t say I necessarily “get” the whole steampunk thing, but this cover is swaying me. Really cool outfits and lots of great character design sell me on this cover. Also, it’s nice to see Witchblade wearing some gee-dee clothing for once. Women are always much more formidable when they aren’t dressed as trollops. I should note, I wanted to pick the wraparound image cover for this issue, but I couldn’t find a large enough image to present to you. You’re only missing a large flag that Witchy is holding, but it really makes the entire image a bit more grand.
Dave: I like how this image looks like a relief one would find in a church or in Egypt. That adds a layer of prominence and history to the image.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions
Moonstones Modern Myths Thor Thunder Christ #1
Dave: This is how the BFG should have gone out and no, I don’t feel bad saying it. If this dude is Thor, by all means Marvel, let’s have a swift change as he’s not only tribal but much more badass. I also can’t help but share the solicit which reads, “Real Gods don’t get nailed to crosses, they bludgeon their enemies to death with giant hammers.” Hell yes. That river of blood spilling into the snow is pretty sweet as well.
Brendan: This cover proudly screams “fuck yeah”. I love the character design and the simplicity of the cover. It easily sums up both the character Thor and what we can assume are the contents of the comic. This is a barbarian Thor and he murders big things with a hammer. I’m sold.
Captain America And Iron Man #634
Dave: This cover is a lot of fun and hearkens to the cartoons. Iron Man is positively in charge here and the bullets splashing off Cap’s shield add a lot of drama. The placement of each character enhances the title as if it’s being screamed or yelled in excitement.
Brendan: I’m not really sold on this cover. The characters overlapping the title throws me off and while everybody is frozen in time mid-action there isn’t much action to speak of. Right now it looks closer to one of those “okay, everybody jump at once!” photos you see on the Facebooks. Tony mistimed his jump.
Astonishing X-Men #52
Dave: Is that a sick bionic leg or what? Seeing a human with a bionic leg is unnerving enough, but the tune up process looks pretty tricky. Look at all those bolts just laying around. If she suits up she’s in a world of hurt if that thing falls off. Not to mention the trouble when battling Magneto with that thing. Also, me wants that X-Men laptop.
Brendan: I like this cover because it gives you a glimpse of a different side of the X-Men. It isn’t often enough that you get simple character pieces like this. This is a cover that doesn’t involve screaming heroics or vicious end-all battles. It’s just a quiet moment in time for a girl in her room. I like that a lot.
WTF? Category
Where we don’t understand, are insulted by or would rather stab our eyes with acid pops than look at these covers for various reasons.
Grim Leaper #3
Brendan: You know what I’m happy about? I’m happy to finally have another image that deserves our WTF label. I mean, some weeks we just have to pick apart some poorly done covers while during other weeks we get gems like this cover. Like, seriously, What the fuck is going on with this cover? The twisted tongues forming a heart and the oddly stagnant saliva coming from the overly shiny, serpent-eyes faces on each side leave me saying, “Nope. No thank you.”
Dave: Are we sure that’s saliva, Brendan? I imagine this will turn lots of heads at the comic shop and promptly disgust anyone enough from touching it.
Wonder Woman Adventures #1
Brendan: This cover just seems flat and uninteresting. The oddly proportioned Catwoman and Wonder Woman don’t have any emotion to them. The ripped clothing also doesn’t seem very necessary. All in all I’m simply left bored.
Dave: Hey Catwoman, the whip isn’t to be played with. You flail that whip straight up like that and somebody is going to lose an eye.
Ultimate Comics Ultimates #13
Dave: This is a pretty awesome cover made even moreso by the hand seemingly touching the heart of an explosion. The scratched and chipped shield adds a weathered effect to the calm and collected Cap. No, my WTF moment here is the goddamn bullet in Cap’s teeth. Seriously? How cheesy and stupid. Throw a grenade pin in there and maybe this is fixed. Just maybe. The only thing that should be between Captain America’s teeth is a bloody cheeseburger.
Brendan: At first I thought it was a cigar and I was okay with that. Then, on second look I realized it was a bullet and I thought aloud, “Well that’s stupid.” Catching bullets in teeth should be left to spoof movies or over-the-top grindhouse flicks. Another nerd-gripe would be the chip in Cap’s shield. The whole point of the shield is that that shit can’t happen. No cracks, no dents, no nothing. It’s literally the strongest material on earth. And as a closer, I must mention that I looks like Cap is shooting a fireball with his right hand. That is all.
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