For your previewing pleasure we list the comics coming out this week (at the bottom) and laugh, cry and hoot at their cover art. Hurry up already, there’s not a lot of time between this morning and Wednesday for cryin’ out loud!
Dave’s Cover of the Week
Caligula: Heart of Rome #1
Dave: Mr. Noble you are one awesome artist. I love how the art exudes an overall sense of realism — with smatterings of cartoonish nature throughout. These scene is chaotic, yet not so muddled that it’s confusing. I haven’t had as much fun as I did finding out which poor schmoe the flying, lopped-off arm came from since the last time I had to pinpoint which poor schmoe a lopped-off arm had been previously attached to. (Don’t ask.) I also love how the axe has found itself in the gladiators calf. Exciting, brutal and enjoyable.
Brendan: Oh, cool. We’re starting off with the WTF section this week. Wait, we’re not? This is Dave’s pick? Okay…
Honestly though, this cover is as cool as it is wild. These muscle-clad warriors look like they came straight from a Heavy Metal magazine cover. The designs are all incredibly interesting and the flow, as Dave mentioned, from character to character is practically seamless. The earthy tones contrasting with the vibrant reds is also a very nice touch.
Russ: Has that woman on the left’s ass swallowed the poor dude’s head that was simply offering her a nice piggyback ride or did Caligula decree that they enter as the first “chicken fight” combatants in gladiatorial games history? Read to find out!
Brendan’s Cover of the Week
Wolverine #317
Brendan: I have much love for any Wolverine cover that doesn’t resort to generic snikting of bubs or over-done claw flashing. On top of that, this cover shows some genuine emotion, another rarity for a Wolvie comic cover. Everything is beautiful here; The characters, the colors, the composition. Something about the way that ice maiden is drawn perfectly encapsulates the essence of sadness. It’s just great.
Dave: I don’t know Brendan I think you’re right about starting with the WTF covers as you so poignantly pointed out. What is going on here? Why is Logan’s beard all scraggly and weird…why does he even have a beard?! The girl at right is very odd and doesn’t seem to go with the rest of the cover be it the style, color and tone. That teardrop on The Color Purple lady is odd as well.
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions
The Massive #7
Brendan: Another issue of The Massive comes out, and another cover gets placed in my “like” section. What’s that? You enjoy detailed architectural art? Well look no further sir/madam! J.P. Leon designed a fully functional rig for you and I to enjoy. Couple that with some brilliant yellow brushstrokes to add both depth and shadow to the green ocean and you have another solid cover by a truly solid artist.
Dave: I like how the building seems to be floating in the air, although I’m not sure why the picture needs to look so unfinished. It really pops and that’s all that matters.
Avengers Arena #1
Brendan: Hooray for references! For those not in “the know”, this cover is a homage to one of the posters for Japanese cult classic Battle Royale. If you haven’t seen the film, go check it out. It is… interesting. As for the cover, Johnson captured the essence of BR perfectly and I can’t wait to see what goes down in this book.
Dave: Well done reference. Now if they don’t kill each other for real we’re all going to feel cheated.
Batman #15
Brendan: Now the obvious statement from this cover is that, figuratively, the Joker is in Batman’s head. It seems pretty straight forward. But when you analyze things a bit, and you start to notice the Dark Knight’s saddened eyes, or the near-docile position of The Clown, you begin to ask yourself if there is more here than meets the eye. This cover is very intriguing to me.
Dave: Another cover that pops right off the page. If artists didn’t take chances covers like this would never exist. And I, for one, am glad they do.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions
Archer & Armstrong #5
Dave: I can almost hear the “thunk” sound of that axe entering a poor bastard’s head. The guy throwing it is just okay, but I’ll be damned if the axe doesn’t pull me into the scene.
Brendan: I’m fairly bored with this cover. I feel like this is one of those classic “action covers” that we have seen time and time again, and honestly it doesn’t have anything going for it that allows it to rise above the rest.
Russ: The axe-wielding maniac is just okay, Dave? Well that’s just plain mean. Maybe if you gave him a second chance and actually returned his calls you’d come to find out he’s a really great guy, inside and out.
Batman And Robin #15
Dave: Now that is one awesome idea brought to exquisite completion. The wings of the bat look scary and cool as lips and somehow it looks like it’s flying. Imagine that thing chasing you. Yikes.
Brendan: It really is funny how similar the shapes of the bat and the grin are. Do you think this was all part of their plan back in 1940 when they introduced the clown prince of crime? I have to say that what takes this image from good to great is the ever-so-subtle spittle that really emphasizes the laughing action of this insane mouth-bat. I love it.
Russ: Pairing this with the other Joker/Batman amalgam cover for Batman #15 has actually got this humble man child intrigued. I don’t think the symbolism was planned Brendan, but it definitely makes for an eerie coincidence here. I love how the covers suggest that the ostensibly diametrically opposite Batman and Joker are more closely tied together than we may ever know, but let’s just hope they don’t make this some kind of lame “mind-swap” garbage like they did with Spidey and Doc Ock over in Marvel.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17
Dave: I don’t know if Krang has ever looked so awesome. The suit is pretty sweet as the arms lend a sense of automatic death, complete with sharp grip happy fingers. Something about this cover reminds me of Mike Mignola, which is a good thing, and I really love the mysterious cascading jars of brains.
Brendan: You mean the potentially infinite ceiling for Clone Krangs! How terrifying! I do love the top-heavy character design and focus on Krang’s new suit. I love how the anthropomorphic brain (and friends) that should be running the show is visually playing second-fiddle to his much-needed upgrade.
Deathstroke #15
Dave: Scott Clark you know what you’re doing man! His pencils would probably rock without color, nay may be even better, due to the gritty quality he gives to the armor. Deathstrike hasn’t looked this cool in quite awhile and the effect taking place as he comes out of the shadows is marvelous. The background looks like water colors or charcoal but either way it really lets the character pop.
Brendan: It really is about time someone drew Deathstroke as the bad-ass assassin he deserves to be. As Dave said, the pencil drawing for this must be top-notch and the pale, nearly whited-out colors are perfect for this cover. Solid work.
Russ: The burning question on everyone’s minds (Or more likely just mine): Are there, or are there not orange buccaneer boots being worn by this new bad-ass Deathstroke? There’s just something to be said about a man who kills for money AND wears orange buccaneer boots for pleasure.
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.
Chosen #3
Brendan: Um.. Sir… I feel as though there may be something wrong with your leg. As in, I think your hip may have become dislocated mid-kick. I mean, I get that this is an action shot, but the wobbly appendages aren’t carrying enough kinetic energy to portray said action and the result is a dude with a limp noodle for a leg. It looks painful.
Dave: I see ballerina toe showing!
Avengers Assemble #10
Dave: If you read this column you’ll know Brendan and I are big fans of Dell’Otto, but this image is a bit of a mess. Now, if you check his original drawing here you’ll note Marvel dropped the color of Hulk to a odd neon green. That’s abhorrent, but what really gets my goat is the overly shiny skin and perplexingly wrinkled left bicep. The face doesn’t quite cut it either.
Brendan: I, too, think the color change was a bit misguided. If anything I assume that it was meant to differentiate the Big Guy from the rubble that surrounds him. Outside of that I also agree that this cover falls a bit flat. Not only is it something we have seen one billion times before, but the facial features and body positioning got lost in a sea of green nonsense.
Russ: Not wrinkles, Dave. Vascularity. Although I do agree, the arm looks straight baffling. I think Dell’Otto wanted to put that second, incongruous vein where the shoulder should be (kinda like this), but forgot and just put it wherever the hell he felt like it.
Saucer Country #10
Dave: No this image is not compressed. Yes that guy with the gun is oddly compressed. This befuddling image at the center ruins everything. Once you calm yourself down and admit the drawing is flawed do you realize the flag is great and the red white and blue theme is pretty nifty.
Brendan: Squishy man aside I do enjoy the red, white and blue (and black!) motif of this cover. I also think it’s interesting how the further down we go, the more disgruntled the characters get. I think just a bit more time and effort could have made this cover great.
Borderlands Origins #2
Brendan: I tell ya, Moxxi has seen some better days. I think our problem here stems from a misunderstanding of proportions and depth. Every detail about this character seems oddly skewed. I could spend several paragraphs nitpicking this cover but I’ll spare us all the time and just summarize by saying that this cover sorely needs a do-over.
Dave: I’m not sure what there is to hate here. We got a stripper pole, torn fishnets, and a very odd but tantalizing vagina flap built into the coat. Clearly Brendan just wants the terrorists to win by redoing this cover!
Russ: Harley Quinn, Y U DO HEROIN?
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.
- Avatar Press
- Caligula Heart Of Rome #1 (Of 6) $3.99
- Crossed Badlands #19, AR
- Dan The Unharmable #8, $3.99
- BOOM! Studios
- Adventure Time Cover Showcase (One Shot), $3.99
- Adventure Time Marceline And The Scream Queens #6 (Of 6), $3.99
- Extermination #7, $3.99
- Fanboys Vs Zombies #9, $3.99
- Grace Randolph’s Supurbia #2, $3.99
- DARK HORSE COMICS
- Billy The Kid’s Old Timey Oddities And The Orm Of Loch Ness #3 (Of 4), $3.50
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #16 (Phil Noto Regular Cover), $2.99
- Conan The Barbarian #11, $3.50
- Creep #4 (Of 4), $3.50
- Criminal Macabre Final Night The 30 Days Of Night Crossover #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Ex Sanguine #3 (Of 5), $3.99
- Massive #7, $3.50
- Orchid #11, $3.50
- Star Wars Lost Tribe Of The Sith Spiral #5 (Of 5), $2.99
- Strain #9, $3.50
- To Hell You Ride #1 (Of 5), $3.99
- DC COMICS
- Ame-Comi Girls #3 (Of 5), $3.99
- Batgirl #15, $2.99
- Batman #15, $3.99
- Batman And Robin #15, $2.99
- Batman Arkham Unhinged #9, $2.99
- Before Watchmen Rorschach #3 (Of 4), $3.99
- Deadman Volume 3 TP, $16.99
- Deathstroke #15, $2.99
- Demon Knights #15, $2.99
- Frankenstein Agent Of S.H.A.D.E. #15, $2.99
- Green Lantern Corps #15, $2.99
- Green Lantern The Animated Series #9, $2.99
- Grifter #15, $2.99
- Legion Lost #15, $2.99
- Ravagers #7, $2.99
- Saucer Country #10, $2.99
- Suicide Squad #15, $2.99
- Superboy #15 , $2.99
- Team 7 #3, $2.99
- DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
- Army Of Darkness #7, $3.99
- Garth Ennis’ Battlefields #2 (Of 6), $3.99
- Garth Ennis’ Jennifer Blood #20, $3.99
- Marcus Nispel’s Chosen #3 (Of 3), $3.99
- Peter Cannon Thunderbolt #4, $3.99
- Red Sonja Atlantis Rises #4, $3.99
- Sherlock Holmes The Liverpool Demon #1 (Of 5), $3.99
- IDW PUBLISHING
- 30 Days of Night #12(Final Issue), $3.99
- Borderlands Origins #2 (Of 4), $3.99
- Crow Skinning The Wolves #1 (Of 3), $3.99
- G.I. JOE #20, $3.99
- Ghostbusters #16, $3.99
- Hollows #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Love and Capes What to Expect #5 (Of 6), $3.99
- Popeye #8, $3.99
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #17, $3.99
- Transformers Robots In Disguise #12, $3.99
- Transformers Spotlight Orion Pax (One Shot), $3.99
- IMAGE COMICS
- Activity #10, $3.50
- Artifacts #23, $3.99
- Change #1 (Of 4), $2.99
- Clone #2, $2.99
- Hack Slash #21, $3.50
- Image Firsts Chew #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts Fatale #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts Revival #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts Saga #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts The Manhattan Projects #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts Thief Of Thieves #1, $1.00
- Image Firsts Walking Dead #1, $1.00
- It Girl And The Atomics #5, $2.99
- Point Of Impact #3 (Of 4), $2.99
- Walking Dead #105, $2.99
- MARVEL COMICS
- Age Of Apocalypse #10, $2.99
- Amazing Spider-Man #699.1, $2.99
- Avengers Arena #1, $2.99
- Avengers Assemble #10, $3.99
- Cable And X-Force #1, $3.99
- Dark Avengers #184, $2.99
- Fantastic Four #2, $2.99
- Iron Man #4, $3.99
- Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man #9, $2.99
- Marvel Universe Vs The Avengers #3 (Of 4), $3.99
- Monsters Inc #1 (Of 2), $2.99
- New Avengers Poster, $8.99
- Scarlet Spider #12, $2.99
- Ultimate Comics Iron Man #3 (Of 4), $3.99
- Ultimate Comics X-Men #20, $3.99
- Winter Soldier #13, $2.99
- Wolverine #317(Last Issue), $3.99
- X-Treme X-Men #7.1, $2.99
- VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
- Archer And Armstrong #5, $3.99
- Bloodshot #6, $3.99
- ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
- Grimm Fairy Tales Presents Bad Girls #5 (of 5), $2.99
- Grimm Fairy Tales Myths And Legends #24, $2.99
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