Age of Ultron continues, Scott Snyder’s Batman hits #18 and Dark Horse publishes Star Wars #3. Oh yeah…it’s a big week for previews! As always, check out our favorite and least favorite cover art and a full release list at the bottom!
Brendan’s Cover of the Week
Archer and Armstrong #8 (Variant Cover)
Brendan:For me, this cover has a strong Ed Mcguinness “Incredible Herc” vibe and I am fully digging it. Something about the contrast between our front-runner’s disgusted expression and the celebration of the human figure that occurs behind him works incredibly well. While simple, this cover excels at using the perfect colors, expressions and depth for the situation.
Dave: It certainly does have that vibe as these two very different heroes are juxtaposed. My only gripe is our younger blonde hero looks strangely old here.
Dave’s Cover of the Week
Fearless Defenders #2
Dave: Screw the Skottie Young baby covers and give me a different version of this for every series! Yes, yes and more yes! The background is perfectly done serving as both exciting and plausible toy cardboard backing. I don’t know how Brooks did it but the toy looks plastic and comes complete with extras. That portion pops right out at you. Methinks this cover will sell many issues of this book.
Brendan: This is the best cover concept I think I have ever seen. The realism of the figure along with the perfect marketability of the backing just blows my mind. This cover is beyond fantastic.
Russ: So if I open this beguiling little Larry up, will it lose value?
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions
Walking Dead #108
Brendan: For the first time in a long time I am genuinely intrigued by a Walking Dead cover. I dropped WD a while ago due to its tendency toward repetitive shock-drama but with a pet tiger in the mix, perhaps this books isn’t as boring as I assumed.
Dave: There’s layering going on here that you don’t normally see on Walking Dead cover. The power imbued by the stone chair and tiger do a lot to convey just how powerful this new character is.
Grimm Fairy Tales St Patricks Day Special
Brendan: In the WTF section we have what I would describe as a “Bad” Zenescope cover. How appropriate, then, that I happened to select my definition of a good Zene cover as well!
This cover has a lot going for it. The figure is flawless, the background is simple, smart and detailed, and I am in love with both the colors and the perfect embarrassed expression. At the same time, this cover hints at the sexy without giving it away upfront. It is covers like these that makes me thing Zenescope has a future beyond well-drawn butts.
Dave: The background sells this cover pulling the viewer in. Once you’re in you realize how disgusting that little leprechaun is and you want to flee. Great stuff.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions
Wolverine #1 (Variant)
Dave: So on first look I kind of hated this cover. Ramos has a very iffy past drawing Wolverine, particularly this giraffe abomination:
But then I eyeballed this thing for more than a minute and realized it’s kind of genius. Genius because Logan is so damn thick. Artists draw Wolverine too tall in most cases, but the real mistake they make is they don’t make him stocky enough. He’s never sturdy, like a tank. Ramos has captured that sturdy immovable wall of a hero—one of the unique identifiers of Wolverine—very well here.
Brendan: I never really enjoy Ramos’ work outside of Spider-Man. He seems to have some kind of complex where if Spidey is X amount thin, all other characters need to be 2X thicker. Wolvie is one of the main victims, in my mind. While I understand that Mr. Logan is supposed to be 4’11 and 300 lbs, Ramos turns him into a bit of a blob with abs. I do have to give props for making Wolvie’s claws a decent length and also for the perfect arm hair detailing. There is no doubt Ramos is one of the best in the business right now, but my personal preference steers me away.
Russ: I usually like Ramos’ style, but Wolverine just looks some kind of damned Okapi/Pez dispenser hybrid here. Was he forced to graze on acacia leaves in the African savanna and his healing factor just expedited the evolutionary trait? On the plus side, maybe Hugh Jackman will undergo neck stretching procedures in real life to make his role more realistic.
Dejah Thoris & Green Men Of Mars #2
Dave: Forget the woman for a moment, however hard that might be for some of you despicable sex offenders, and look at the scene before you. The sun, the glowing light on the rock face, and the very dead looking alien. Damn, is this a cool looking science fiction scene. Yes, the female body is quite well articulated too, but I just love the atmosphere of this cover.
Brendan: Say what you will about Dejah’s titillation-factor, this cover is downright beautiful. Like Dave mentioned, if you can get your eyes to see past the knockout you’ll find a gorgeous alien landscape but even if you are transfixed upon the vixen you’re going to find an amazing figure drawing with attention to shading and colors that is unmatched.
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.
Grimm Universe #4
Dave: This is one of those, “Really…you didn’t just go all the way and draw her naked…really?” I love how the rag this woman wears as underwear is slightly atilt to show off the left side of her ass and the angle of her breast is just so that you can’t see a nipple. To top it all off the girl looks scared and vulnerable. Way to make comics look like sexploitation chauvinistic fodder for horny boys.
Brendan: Okay, I’m on board with the whole “WTF why so naked” argument. Zenescope has many talented artists under their banner and while this may sell a certain amount of comics every week I’m sure as a company they are nearing the horizon of allowing their work to thrive off of quality story and art above half-naked bum pictures.
While I may have some gripes with the overall figure used in this cover there is some nice, dark detailing in the background. That coupled with some glowing-hot flames lets you see that there is potential for art here, not just nudity.
Russ: Sorry, what did you guys just say? I was playing… a musical instrument. No, definitely not the one-stringed guitar or the skin flute… why do you ask?
Before Watchmen: Ozymandias #6
Brendan: I’m in a bit of a love-hate relationship with this cover. While I am enthralled by seeing the space-squid, I can’t help but feel disenchanted by the blurry color-work. It’s only a few steps away from gorgeous but sadly, in my mind, those strides were pretty big. There’s a certain lack of detail that I just can’t get over.
Dave: The green paint certainly looks as if Banksy ran in and did some dirty work.
Comics Being Released This Week
This is a cleaned up list via ComicList.com. Comic availability subject to change.
- BOOM! Studios
- Aliens Vs Parker #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Bravest Warriors #6 (Of 6), $3.99
- Garfield #11, $3.99
- Grace Randolph’s Supurbia #5, $3.99
- Dark Horse
- Buddy Cops (One Shot), $2.99
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 9 #19, $2.99
- Emily And The Strangers #2 (Of 3), $3.99
- Ghost #4, $2.99
- R.I.P.D. City Of The Damned #4 (Of 4), $3.50
- Sledgehammer 44 #1, $3.50
- Star Wars #3, $2.99
- DC COMICS
- Batgirl #18, $2.99
- Batman #18, $3.99
- Batman And Robin #18, $2.99
- Batman Arkham Unhinged #12, $3.99
- Before Watchmen Ozymandias #6 (Of 6), $3.99
- Deathstroke #18 , $2.99
- Demon Knights #18, $2.99
- Green Lantern Corps #18, $2.99
- Green Lantern The Animated Series #12, $2.99
- Katana #2, $2.99
- Ravagers #10, $2.99
- Saucer Country #13, $2.99
- Suicide Squad #18, $2.99
- Superboy #18, $2.99
- Team 7 #6, $2.99
- Threshold #3, $3.99
- IDW
- Doctor Who Classics #1, $3.99
- Fever Ridge A Tale Of MacArthur’s Jungle War #2 (Of 8), $3.99
- Ghostbusters #2 (Cover A Dan Schoening), $3.99
- High Ways #3 (Of 4), $3.99
- Mars Attacks #8, $3.99
- Rocketeer Hollywood Horror #2 (Of 4), $3.99
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics Micro-Series (Donatello)(One Shot), $3.99
- Transformers Regeneration One #89, $3.99
- Image Comics
- Change #4 (Of 4), $3.50
- Darkness #111, $2.99
- End Times Of Bram And Ben #3 (Of 4), $2.99
- Hoax Hunters #8, $2.99
- Manhattan Projects #10, $3.50
- Mind The Gap #8, $2.99
- Nowhere Men #4, $2.99
- Peter Panzerfaust #10, $3.50
- Spawn #229, $2.99
- Todd The Ugliest Kid On Earth #3 (Of 4), $2.99
- Triggergirl 6 #1, $5.99
- Walking Dead #108, $2.99
- Where Is Jake Ellis #3 (Of 5), $3.50
- MARVEL COMICS
- Age Of Ultron #2 (Of 10), $3.99
- Alpha Big Time #2 (Of 5), $2.99
- Avengers Arena #6, $2.99
- Avengers Assemble #13, $3.99
- Avenging Spider-Man #18, $3.99
- Fantastic Four #5, $2.99
- Fearless Defenders #2, $2.99
- Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes #12, $2.99
- Secret Avengers #2, $3.99
- Thor God Of Thunder #6, $3.99
- Thunderbolts #6, $2.99
- Ultimate Comics Wolverine #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Ultimate Comics X-Men #24, $3.99
- Uncanny X-Men #3, $3.99
- Wolverine #1, $3.99
- Wolverine And The X-Men #26, $3.99
- X-Men Legacy #7, $2.99
- X-Treme X-Men #12, $2.99
- Valiant Entertainment
- Archer And Armstrong #8, $3.99
- Bloodshot #9, $3.99
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