Where comic book covers lead, comic book sales follow. Apparently all the comic publishers got together and decided to drop all their best books this coming Wednesday. We pick our favorite and least favorite covers and fill you in on all the books coming out with a handy release list at the bottom. Can you guess what three books will make it into ComiX Weekly this Wednesday?
Brendan’s Cover of the Week
The Boys #72
Brendan: After seventy-two issues, The Boys is leaving us not with a bang, but with a flush. This cover is fantastic because it perfectly summarizes what The Boys was all about. With constant reboots, mega-events, reimaginings and restarts, cape books are in the toilet. When The Boys started up just six years ago, it brought upon us a funny, snarky commentary on Superheroes and their books in general. I’m sad to see it go.
Dave: I only read the first story arc of The Boys and I wasn’t the biggest fan. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the covers however, and considering how drab most of the past covers are this is a very good cover, especially for The Boys. The detail is in each hero is good which forces you to take in each hero as if it’s a Where’s Waldo of heroes.
Dave’s Cover of the Week
Thor: God of Thunder #1 (Variant)
Dave: I chose each of my covers this week for different things covers typically do to capture an audience. First up is this marvelous cover by Acuna that tells a story by setting an interesting scene. The lightning in the background seems to blow out from Thor as if he is the lightning, the weapons all point up as if to stop this berserker yet he is completely fearless. It’s exciting and defines the hero nicely.
Brendan: I’m not a huge fan of this painted style but I have to admit this cover pulls it off nicely. I also enjoy that while in most instances you’ll find Thor in front of fat, cartoonish bolts of lightning Acuna has gone for a more realistic approach. Overall I think this cover is pretty great.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions
Saga #7
Dave: What is more scary than a smirk on a person completely covered in blood? I love how Staples painted the blood on Marko rather than give it a viscosity. It’s thin stuff, especially where it’s dripping off his chin or sleeve. It looks like a slippery mess, which is translated here beautifully.
Brendan: Finally! We finally have a cool Saga cover. I’ve found every cover thusfar to be rather bland and uninteresting, which seems counterintuitive when the book’s content is such a over the top sci-fi epic. I think my favorite detail of this cover are the small feathers floating on the right side. It gives the cover this fun sense of the action that has just concluded.
Courtney Crumrin #7
Dave: Talk about interesting character design. Naifeh is writing and drawing this series, and honestly I haven’t read a single issue, but I just might after checking this cover out. This creature seems to be something made from a child’s imagination, but also the remnants of the things floating around in a bog. It’s fun to look at all the pieces that make up the beast and think about where they’ve come from.
Brendan: The character design is top-notch, but I’m a little bummed that it’s all this cover has to offer. Just imagine what awesome, murky environment such a creature would live in! I want to go there!
Billy the Kid’s Old Timey Oddities and the Orm of Loch Ness #2
Dave: You can throw a million things on a cover and easily have it make little sense, unless of course you’re good at composing them in the frame just right. The snake that curls around the top and left help bring the viewer’s eye around to the vamp chicks straight on to the tub. But lo, what is waiting for us but a freakish baby thing carrying a gun the size of its body! Your eye eventually ends with the tattooed woman disrobing and the vampire man looking right at us. Oh the shame he makes us feel.
Brendan: This cover definitely could have been a mess, but Hotz pulled it off excellently. There is a definite flow that allows you to seamlessly transition through all of the characters present. I dig the character design and while a blank red background would fail on another cover I think it works excellently here.
Conan the Barbarian #10
Dave: Usually a sword is something that is being thrust or swung to show their power, but here it simply rests on Conan’s arm and thigh, yet still exudes power. It might be due to it resting so awkwardly, or the fact that Conan is completely relaxed as if he’s a viper ready to strike. The fingers on the arm rest appears to be tiptoeing its way towards us. Probably to cut our throats. And I haven’t even gotten to the skull, the facial expression or the beautiful deck of the ship. Great stuff.
Brendan: This cover has a creep-factor of 8. Conan’s lethargic pose somehow exudes this sense of strength, as if we aren’t even worthy of proper posture. Like Dave said, the details here are incredible. By the time you’re done looking over the ruined ship, you find yourself stricken by this phantom skull. But almost as soon as you find yourself focused there you’ll just as quickly find yourself lost into that epic starry sky.
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions
Invincible #97
Brendan: Sure this is just another generic reflection cover, but it’s a reflection cover done right! I love the inconsistencies of the blood splatter and the lighting and detail of the fist in the foreground is top notch.
Dave: That sure is some reflective blood. I’m not sure why said blood is streaking a white wall and it’s too bad the mangled corpse isn’t in the reflection as well. I suppose we should just figure he’s psycho and move on?
The Massive #6
Brendan: With only a few colors J.P. Leon creates an image with such scale and detail it puts other artists to shame. I’ve chosen Massive covers a few times now, and as long as they keep coming up with interesting and vivid imagery I’m going to continue choosing them. They are always fantastic.
Dave: The scale and scope is on display here and it certainly allows the viewer to get into the espionage of the moment. Leon’s ability to use the blue that surrounds the propellers to convey light is pretty spectacular.
Higher Earth #1 (SDCC Variant Cover)
Brendan: I think this cover is simply breathtaking. There are several details that keep you engrossed within the art and I think the color choices are fantastic. This is another cover with amazing scale and depth.
Dave: Like I always say, “It’s a Blade Runner world with Tron highways man.” The fact that the ship is lifted straight out of Blade Runner is no big deal as the coloring job is spectacular. The stones, city and light show the chick is pulling off make the cover pop.
Extermination #1 (SDCC Variant Cover)
Brendan: Here’s another cover artist that only takes a few colors and some silhouettes to make an amazing piece of art. The layering of the images takes what could have been an uninteresting piece and really helps to bring it alive. There’s a great attention to minor details that makes me just love this cover.
Dave: The bottom portion reminds me of Frank Miller’s Sin City which works nicely as a base to the figures above it. I’m not understanding how these figures relate to each other, maybe they don’t at all, but that doesn’t really matter.
Note how the alien is all yellow, then bleeds into the guy pointing the gun who has some blue, then the gas masked dude has some blue in his head and white which leads to the white base. Cool flow of colors.
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.
All-New X-Men #1 (Variant)
Dave: This is the fourth time I’ve dragged this coveted cover artist into the WTF section but by god if I don’t do it who will? The man is beloved after all. A boner-inducing fan favorite!
This cover ain’t too bad in its composition but there are two glaring problems. First, Beast’s hands are way too big. I know he has big hands, but that right hand is more like a spatula. At that size it’s nearly as long as his torso. Second, why is Iceman shooting smoke out of his hands? Sadly I can’t enjoy the rest of this cover without perplexing over these two things.
Brendan: I’ve always enjoyed the way Campbell has drawn men. In fact, I find his male figure to be much more competent than his stick figure women. Maybe those hands are a bit big, Dave, but I would chalk it up to perspective more than disfiguration. Overall, I think this cover is pretty badass and despite its minor flaws I would probably choose this over the other options.
Fantastic Four #1 (Variant)
Dave: We’re about a month into baby cover inundation and I’m sick to death of these covers. Most of them go by the wayside to casual comic book nerds since they get snatched up, but if you’re me and see every single baby variant you start to grow brain-dead from the forced cuteness. Hell, even DC’s doing it in Batman: Li’l Gotham. This one particularly annoys me because Galactus’ eyes make no sense and I can’t stop thinking about Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman getting it on…in this form. Ew.
Brendan: I was a frontrunner in the advocacy for Skottie Young to grace the front of every comic in existence, and not even a month later I fully regret my decision. Cuteness overload is a real problem, people. We’re just about at critical mass.
X-Men Legacy #1
Brendan: Okay, so in one aspect this cover is awesome. Artistically it is vivid, interesting and overall just incredibly well done. But I have to complain that as a comic book cover, it doesn’t make much sense. I mean, in reality it tells you absolutely nothing about what transpires within the book. Most of the other covers for this comic were equally uninformative. Perhaps the artists didn’t even know.
Dave: Anyone remember that t-shirt in Mallrats? This would be the one:
Similar no? I never understood Charles Xavier’s son Legion. The guy is super powerful, he’s reshaped the universe and killed gods, yet has a giant head and a stupid haircut. My guess is the cover implies he’s trying to be Xavier or something, but it’s done in a shocking (hey look at this weird cover) kind of way. Nothing of value in the cover really.
Comics Being Released This Week
This is a cleaned up list via ComicList.com. Prices in USD. “AR” = Ask Retailer. Comic availability subject to change.
- BOOM STUDIOS
- Adventure Time Marceline And The Scream Queens #5 (Of 6), $3.99
- Extermination #6, $3.99
- Fanboys Vs Zombies #8, $3.99
- DARK HORSE COMICS
- Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities And The Orm Of Loch Ness #2 (Of 4), $3.50
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #15 (Phil Noto Regular Cover), $2.99
- Conan The Barbarian #10, $3.50
- Creep #3 (Of 4), $3.50
- Dragon Age Those Who Speak #3 (Of 3), $3.50
- Ex Sanguine #2 (Of 5), $3.99
- Massive #6, $3.50
- Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories #4 (Of 5), $3.99
- Mind MGMT #0 (One Shot), $2.99
- Star Wars Lost Tribe Of The Sith Spiral #4 (Of 5), $2.99
- Tarzan The Once And Future Tarzan (One Shot), $3.50
- DC COMICS
- Ame-Comi Girls #2 (Featuring Batgirl), $3.99
- Batgirl #14, $2.99
- Batman #13, $3.99
- Batman And Robin #14, $2.99
- Batman Arkham Unhinged #8, $2.99
- Catwoman #13, $2.99
- Deathstroke #14, $2.99
- Demon Knights #14, $2.99
- Frankenstein Agent Of S.H.A.D.E. #14, $2.99
- Green Lantern Corps #14 (Scott Clark Regular Cover), $2.99
- Green Lantern The Animated Series #8, $2.99
- Grifter #14, $2.99
- He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe #4 (Of 6), $2.99
- Legion Lost #14, $2.99
- Phantom Stranger #2, $2.99
- Punk Rock Jesus #5 (Of 6), $2.99
- Ravagers #6, $2.99
- Saucer Country #9, $2.99
- Suicide Squad #14, $2.99
- Superboy #14, $2.99
- Team 7 #2, $2.99
- DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
- Boys #72 (Darick Robertson Regular Cover)(Final Issue), $4.99
- Damsels #3, $3.99
- Dark Shadows Vampirella #4 (Of 5), $3.99
- Evil Ernie #2, $3.99
- Jennifer Blood First Blood #2 (Of 6), $3.99
- Lord Of The Jungle #9, $3.99
- Red Sonja #71 $3.99
- Vampirella The Red Room #4 (Of 4), $3.99
- Witchblade Demon Reborn #4 (Of 4), $3.99
- IDW PUBLISHING
- Borderlands Origins #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Chasing The Dead #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Classic Popeye #4, $3.99
- G.I. JOE A Real American Hero #184, $3.99
- Locke And Key Omega #1 (Of 7) $3.99
- Star Trek The Next Generation Doctor Who Assimilation2 #7 (Of 8), $3.99
- Zaucer Of Zilk #2 (Of 2), $3.99
- IMAGE COMICS
- Elephantmen #44 (Cover A Brandon Graham), $3.99
- Great Pacific #1, $2.99
- Hack Slash #20, $3.50
- Hoax Hunters #5, $2.99
- Invincible #97, $2.99
- Peter Panzerfaust #7, $3.50
- Point Of Impact #2 (Of 4), $2.99
- Saga #7, $2.99
- Thief Of Thieves #10, $2.99
- Think Tank #4, $3.99
- Walking Dead #104, $2.99
- Where Is Jake Ellis #1 (Of 5), $3.50
- MARVEL COMICS
- All-New X-Men #1, $3.99
- Amazing Spider-Man #697, $3.99
- Avengers Assemble #9, $3.99
- Fantastic Four #1, $2.99
- First X-Men #4 (Of 5), $3.99
- Gambit #5, $2.99
- Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #8, $2.99
- Marvel Universe Vs The Avengers #2 (Of 4), $3.99
- New Avengers #33, $3.99
- Red She-Hulk #59, $2.99
- Thor God Of Thunder #1, $3.99
- Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #18, $3.99
- Venom #27, $2.99
- Wolverine And The X-Men #20, $3.99
- X-Men Legacy #1, $2.99
- X-Treme X-Men #6, $2.99
- VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
- Archer And Armstrong #4, $3.99
- Bloodshot #5, $3.99
- ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
- Grimm Fairy Tales Myths And Legends #23, $2.99
- Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Bad Girls #4 (of 5), $2.99
- Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Wonderland #5, $2.99
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