Judging by the Cover – 08/03/22 new releases

Survival Street #1

Variant Cover by Benjamin Dewey

In early June, we told you all about Survival Street. The series, from writer James Asmus and Jim Festante and artist Abylay Kussainov, is the love-child of Sesame Street, The A-Team, and whatever word you’d like to describe America’s current political, um, situation. And given that mix of childhood puppets, overt violence, and robust socio-political commentary, there were a few different directions for the series’ debut cover. Kussainov’s entry, for instance, captures most of the vital elements, creating this silly and unslightly collage of ideas and influences that nails the book’s core lesson: shit’s done gotten weird. But for this fella’s money, you have to give the nod to the variant from Benjamin Dewey. From a narrative standpoint, the split effect makes some sense, and shows a world before and after we’ve all collectively lost the plot. At the same time, though, there’s both an overt violence and robust whimsy across the whole piece, and it sends a clear message that everything is perhaps more complicated than we’d imagine, and thus a tad more interesting. Also, violet puppets are just “lolz” every time.

Transformers: Best of the Rarities #1

Cover by James Biggie

Anyone who has read this column with any regularity will know I’m a massive fan of Beast Wars. I think that specific saga is when the series really embraced how weird it can be (and that’s saying a lot), with things like Silverbolt and Inferno. But before things got crazy with the Fuzors, there was Soundwave, who turned not into a muscle car or a fighter jet but a micro cassette recorder. Do I think he’s the most obvious cover star for this anthology of hard-to-find Transformers stories curated by James Roberts? No, not particularly. Do I think it looks cool, with a real retro sheen? Yes, of course. But mostly I like the idea that, after having existed since G1, this feels like the singular moment when Soundwave gets to be both cool and decidedly useful. Maybe that’s a tad harsh, but in a series of robot gorillas and robot Lamborghinis, you only like Soundwave because he’s decidedly not hip, and that’s totally your prerogative.

X-Men: Red #5

Cover by Matt Wilson and Russell Dauterman

I get there’s a lot going on in the X-Men right now. As if the Krakoa saga wasn’t enough, now we’re getting into the whole A.X.E.: Judgement Day ordeal — and we haven’t even really mentioned the madness of Mars/Arrako that’s been going on X-Men: Red. But this is Judging by the Cover, after all, and I want to provide you a moment to, ya know, really appreciate the cover. The only thing you need to know for this one is that Cable is back as of issue #3, and he’s got a pretty dope new upgrade to his techno-organic arm. And, sure, a tertiary glance of this cover would indicate that Cable’s already been shuffled off this mortal coil, but that’s not what you need to focus on. Appreicate the starkness and detail of this piece from Matt Wilson and Russell Dauterman; the vivid colors and even more vivid message being transmitted; and even all that deeply goregous background work. This piece says one important thing about all X-centric titles: things are weird and dark, for sure, but they’re also as compelling and deliberate as they’ve ever been.

Harley Quinn #18

Cover by Jonboy Meyers

Over the years, Harley Quinn has been placed in a lot of weird situations. But for every misadventure with Task Force X, or kooky run in with Batman, the one throughline is been that she’s just weird enough herself to roll with the universe’s many unseen haymakers. But even with that in mind, “Harley in space” feels like a minor stretch. Does she look cool as hell in her customized spacesuit? For sure. And do I hope her trademark mallet has some pseudo-sci-fi adaptation to work in the vaccumm of space? You know it. But as she prepares to head into the wild blue yonder and clean up a mess at the JLA’s moon base, I’m struck more and more by the idea that Astronaut Harley isn’t all that weird after all. Because, as this cover proves more than anything else, it doesn’t take long for Harley to be in a situation before we, the readers, become acclimated to whatever insanity Dr. Quinn will face next. The only thing that might shock me now is if she encountered a Xenomorph, and even then it might feel normal before she could even get her mallet overhead.

Edge of Spider-Verse #1

Cover by Josemaria Casanovas

If you say anything that even sounds even remotely to “Spider-Verse,” you’re going to stir up a lot of feelings and nerdy energy among the young and old alike. But while we’re still a year or so away from a sequel to the beloved film, Marvel is satiating everyone’s need for family-friendly, deeply thoughtful Spider stories with Edge of Spider-Verse. Here, we get to meet “some of the most important characters in the future of the Spider-Verse,” and that includes Spider-Rex (that’s exactly what it sounds like), Arana, Spider-Laird (not sure what that sounds like and/or is — please enlighten!), and an old pal in Spider-Man Noir. Will this be the same as the film? Probably not. But based on this cover, the star-studded book — which features contributions from Dan Slott, Karla Pacheco, and Mark Bagley, among others — will achieve the same level of silliness and unabashed weirdness as said flick. It’s very clearly tailored to a more “regular” comics audience, but even a dash more seriousness is both in line with the canon and a nice little addition for this medium. One question remains: is Spider-Rex wearing a suit or is he colored red and blue like that?

DC vs. Vampires #8

Cover by Guillem March

When you’re talking about DC couples, you alway have to mention Batman and Catwoman. But you know what love affair doesn’t get nearly enough respect? Black Canary and Green Arrow. They’ve consistently been together for a real long time, and their playful back-and-forth has been the emotional core across a slew of projects/books. So, it only makes sense that the two would be paired together again in the extra bloody DC vs. Vampires. I won’t spoil where they’ve landed in the great superhero-vamp war , but based on this cover, and solcitations describing an all-too-horrifying mission for Mr. Arrow, you can maybe guess that this relationship is about to get rocky. And that’s not only going to be a great way to rip at the old heart strings, but given what we know about the duo (and supported by their faces on said cover), this could be a complicated and nuanced battle of two strong individuals who also happen to be in love. Or maybe it all works out a-ok in the end and Green Canary remain DC’s second best lovebirds. Either way, you’re gonna have to suffer until you read the issue, and that’s baiscally the whole point of this sublime series.

The Dead Lucky #1

Variant Cover by Eleonora Carlini

If you thought Image Comics was all about giant cop lizards or endless zombies, you’d be totally right. But in recent months, they’ve also been building the so-called “Massive-verse,” based around the characters of Radiant Black (and company). The latest entry in the superhero-centric saga is The Dead Lucky, in which a young soldier — Bibiana Lopez-Yang — returns from Afghanistan only to find herself in the middle of an urban battle between peacekeeping robots and a local gang. Luckily, as we can tell from this excellent variant cover by Eleonora Carlini, she’s been given the power to control electricity, which she uses to fight for good (and maybe cause a little unintended property damage). I get some true, understated connections back to Radiant Black and whatnot, but Lopez-Yang also has her own identity (and a sick luchador-meets-race-car-driver costume). That shift in tone and aesthetic means this title likely gets to be a real contibution and not just a universal add-on. It’s the little things that make all the difference, and this cover alone shows that Dead Lucky could be something novel by injecting the Massive-verse with new characters (and new problems) as well as an intriguing storyline and mega colors galore.