Most comic book fans have a pretty good idea what they’re going to buy every week when they visit their local comic shop. With that said, there’s still a lot of fun to be had just glancing at the week’s new releases and taking a chance on a book that looks promising. That’s where covers come in. A fantastic image can make the difference between trying something new or saying, “Nah, not this week.”
In that spirit, here are the covers that captured contributor Trevor Richardson and Manga Editor Eric Cline’s attention this week.
Trevor’s Picks:
Red Sonja #4
Cover art by Amanda Conner
Dynamite Comics
Amanda Conner’s Red Sonja cover drew my eye because she rendered a character that I would want to play in a video game. I love the limited palette, especially the striking use of red which Conner even uses to make blood rain from Sonja’s hair. Letting her skin exist in negative space makes her battle regalia stand out, letting the viewer better take in little details like the scales of her bra. The texture of the fur also has just the right amount of detail.
Red Sonja #4
Cover art by Christian Ward
Dynamite Comics
Red Sonja reliably has great covers and this week is no different! Christian Ward always excels at expressing emotion through his work on faces and my favorite detail here is the glint of light shining out her eye and trailing away. From her hair to the way the viewer’s eye is guided down the page, there’s a real sense of motion conveyed here that adds a lot of energy to the cover.
Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #5
Cover art by Robert Hack
Dynamite Comics
What a great week for Dynamite! I always love Hack’s work on Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and I immediately recognized his style when perusing the variants for Elvira. The faint lines going across her face make’s the illustration look like it’s engraved in wood. The cat is serving mean mug and I love it, especially that cute pink nose!
Eric’s Picks:
The Green Lantern #7
Cover art by Liam Sharp
DC Comics
I love the stylistic contrast between Sharp’s detailed line-work in the foreground and whatever sort of effects are being used in the background. Artistic choices like these really highlight the strangeness of outer space in the DC universe. The designs of the meteors and their architecture are classic sci-fi fun too. Great composition, great line-work, great choices all around.
Archie #704
Cover art by Veronica Fish
Archie Comics
I really dig this. It looks simple and clean while making good use of color and shape to be pleasing to the eye. The colors chosen for the panel backgrounds fit the characters’ personalities and pop off each other well. All in all, Fish is giving everything I expect from Archie comics: the iconic core characters and a sense of fun.
Outcast #41
Cover art by Paul Azaceta & Elizabeth Breitweiser
Image Comics
The sheer sense of intimacy here is great. The way the coloration merges the two characters together in the cover’s center is both visually appealing and a strong reflection of the tone. The line-work is also good, especially where the characters’ hair and facial expressions are concerned. This is a cover where you can really feel the emotion.
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