Most comic book fans have a solid idea about what they’re going to buy every week as they descend upon 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, funny, scary, etc. 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 our attention this week, with entries from comics editor Chris Coplan. This is Judging by the Cover.
X-Men #26
Cover by Lucas Werneck
Previously in the “World of X-Men: A Marriage Most Magnificent!” Yes, after some extended teasing, Tony Stark and Emma Frost tied the knot in Invincible Iron Man #10, and now we’ll get more of this most blessed days as “Emma’s mutant family reacts to this surprise news.” I get that fans are of two minds to this whole thing: some love the idea and the silliness of it all as a shot in the arm for the Marvel Universe, and others are just ornery about a wedding between two seemingly disconnected heroes (and are possibly jealous of the bride and/or groom). Either way, there’s no denying the sheer spectacle that this event has been touted as, and it certainly delivers that sense of intense glamour and all-around visual magic. We talk a lot about the draw of something like the Hellfire Gala, but there’s just as magic glamour and prestige in this event. Even if Emma and the Stepford Cuckoos are the only ones really dressing up (like a K-drama meets the Royal Wedding on a glitter high), there’s nobility and prestige radiating off every guest. And that kind of intensity, as it were, shows just how significant this event is, and why even if it’s a gimmick, it looks so incredibly cool. And isn’t that sort of the point of these events: to tantalize and rile up readers into thinking they’re experiencing history? Marriages may not last, but big visuals sure do.
Batman #137
Variant cover by Rose Besch
I am a man with rules about very stupid things. Case in point: Batman. While I take the view that Batman is for everyone, I nonetheless subscribe to certain core tenets of how Batman should be depicted to maximize his effectiveness. For instance, we’ve got to have the right-sized ears (it’s the conservative Jim Lee take versus the theatricality of Doug Moench) or the Caped Crusader just doesn’t work. And yet despite that, I readily toss out the rules to embrace this Rose Besch cover head on. Do I think it fits the endless drama and uncertainty effectively shaping Bruce Wayne’s life as we march toward “The Gotham War”? Actually, yeah, I do. Because right now, Wayne is feeling especially weak and damaged, as if the very mantle of the Bat is slipping from his hand, and he doesn’t even have his beloved Cat to turn to for comfort/guidance. And so tiny, adorably melancholy Batman actually feels like a solid image for his current woes, and a way to encapsulate his mood in a way that feels decidedly playful (and perhaps more inviting to newer and/or casual fans). The fact that this cover makes me bypass my own deeply-held belief speaks volumes to its cutesy power — even if the ears are just a smidge too small for my liking.
Hunt for the Skinwalker #1
Cover by Martin Simmonds
In case you’re not up-to-date, the Skinwalker Ranch, located in Uintah County in Utah, has been a haven for paranormal activity since the ’70s. I’m talking mutilated cattle, unseen magnetic fields that destroy technology, and reportedly unkillable creatures with demonic red eyes. And if that sounds like the perfect fare for a comic book, you’re in luck as Zac Thompson and Valeria Burzo have teamed with the folks behind a 2005 Skinwalker book (research Dr. Colm Kelleher and journalist George Knapp) for a new adaptation. While we’re promised “never-before-seen new revelations” about “the most significant nexus for the paranormal,” the thing I want to talk about in the meantime is this amazing Martin Simmonds cover to issue #1. Because while Simmonds has some real experience scaring the souls out of people, his work here feels especially subtle. Sure, there’s a giant red-eye demon-alien in the sky, but the rest of it almost feels serene (or like some lost Radiohead album cover). It fosters a sense of humanity and an overt air of the ordinary in a way that all the imagery collides to shock the senses. The real is very strange, and the paranormal is somehow mundane — and you’re sort of lost trying to gain your footing. I don’t know if you’ll regain it during this book, but it should be a real delight getting abducted by this maddening tale.
Godfell #5
Cover by Ben Hennessy
It’s been a minute since we’ve seen Godfell, the book that features a dungeon quest in the dead body of a gargunatan god. But as we make out way into issue #5, our heroes, Zanzi and Neth, reach the heart of the aforementioned god and step ankle deep into the “fight for control of the divine corpse.” But the cover doesn’t exactly capture that sense of war-like fury and even the sheer scale of walking around inside a god — rather, we seem to get a cultist as depicted by series artist Ben Hennessy. If you’re like me, you have a few questions. For one, did those bats go all surgical on their friend there? Is that man somehow the most committed pet owner of all time? And if that’s what he does in his personal life, what unspeakable depravity would he render onto a total stranger? It’s questions like these that aren’t just interesting to ponder (and a little unsettling), but also speak to something larger about the book. Not the sanity of your everyday cultist, but the levels and pockets of things that always inform and never distract from the story that is, quite fundamentally, Frodo-ing through a decaying Titan. It’s the kind of solid worldbuilding and related creative decisions that show how robust this little realm is, and all the things that go into telling this grander story. The fact that it’s so weird and gross is just a really solid bonus.
Kill Your Darlings #1
Variant cover by Megan Hutchison
At some point in our youths (and possibly even now), we’ve made up our own fantasy world. A place to retreat to when things prove to be too much. But what if that world were real, and it was all part of the emergence of some “ancient hunger” that’s waging a centuries-old “gruesome saga”? Well, then you’d have the new book Kill Your Darlings, in which eight-year-old Rose finds herself perilously exploring the line between reality and fantasy. The book’s main cover, from series artist Bob Quinn, does a sold enough job in depicting the vibe of this series, which perfectly balances “aww, how sweet” and “oh god when does this river of blood end.” But for my money, I think there’s something really powerful about the variant cover from Megan Hutchison. This powerful homage to The Evil Dead simply recasts Rose in a slightly less horrible version of the actual poster, and adds in her own little stuffed bear to drive home the innocence-smashing tendencies of this book. And as great as a mash-up/crossover as that is, I think what makes it better is that it creates certain expectations. In one image, it creates a kind of framework and language for the kind of horror to expect, or, at the very least, even hint at some of the kinds of stories that inevitably influenced folks working in this “sector” of horror. Even if none of that’s entirely true, what we’re left with is something equally shocking and compelling, and a great opening salvo for this exciting new project.
Swan Songs #3
Cover by Filipe Andrade
Yes, Swan Songs did already cover the world ending in its debut issue. But whereas that story was all about wading through the fallout of a festering dystopia, issue #3 sees writer W. Maxwell Prince team up with artist Filipe Andrade for a story once the atomic clock has hit zero and the world was fiery maelstrom. Here, we follow our “would-be Adam and Eve” as the post-post-apocalyptic lovebirds “try to create a new Eden in the nuclear aftermath but some things simply weren’t meant to be.” While Andrade’s main cover would indicate that the couple’s been rather successful, the small touches indicate otherwise. The overly sunny sky, for instance, would indicate the unending daytime nightmare that has seized the world. Our Eve’s neck, for instance, bends in a decidedly horrific way. (And if it’s not somehow relating to monsters, that kind of flexibility has to be born out of exposure to near-lethal levels of radiation.) Heck, even the fact that our Adam is wearing a cheesy ’80s sweater fills me when an almost unspeakable dread and sense of unease. All of this cover’s many pieces work together seamlessly to explore this book’s cores and its many diverse themes and motifs. If this is what the new world after ours looks like, I’m scared as hell and deeply overjoyed.
Immortal X-Men #15
Cover by Mark Brooks
In case you thought the X-Men were all sexy island intrigue and Hellfire Galas, there’s still plenty of horror to be found across the line. Case in point: Immortal X-Men #15, in which the solicitation asks not if anyone survived post-Gala, but “how long can anyone survive this?” So cue the especially horrific looking Logan/Wolverine, who looks like a really swole Gollum or the love-child of Hellraiser and one of those freaks from The Hills Have Eyes. And, yeah, there’s something uber unsettling about this image in and of itself — Wolverine’s had some terrifying looks over the year, but this is a new high (or is that low?) of visceral terror. But I think the real impact of this moment/cover is that the larger context of the robust glamour and beauty that’s inevitably come to define the Krakoa era, and how the cover stands starkly removed from this prestige moment in comics. Or does it? Because, if some of the rumors are to be believed, we could be seeing the end of Krakoa, and that means plenty of true horrors like this one waiting under the crumbling facade. It’s a reminder of the pain and horrors that have always informed the X-Men’s collective experiences, and an acknowledgement that the more things change, the more they ultimately remain the same. There be monsters on this island, and they’re your best friend/mentor/lover/etc.
Birds of Prey #1
Cover by Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire
I want it to be known that there’s not anything especially exciting about this cover. Nor are there some hidden messages or meanings and the like that inform why I’d choose it over some other options. No, I chose this decidedly “basic” cover because it’s a deeply solid preview of the artistic magic that’s about to take place in this book courtesy of the art team of Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire. Because this is very much a different kind of Birds of Prey than we’ve encountered before, and we can see some of that “new era” in their overall visual and design choices in this debut cover. Romero’s style in and of itself is really bold and vivid, and it speaks to something truly essential about why superhero comics are always so thrilling. Then you add in Belaire’s colors, which enhance all those energies and make this feel very much aligned with DC and yet something altogether more novel. Then, of course, there’s the little touches here: the design of Batgirl’s mask (feels very old-school, 1940s Batman for some reason); the 1,432nd version of Harley (it’s brash but still understated); and the way Barda’s design feels both regal and nonetheless grounded. It’s a visual style that screams that something truly big is about to happen here, and this new series could be a really daring entry as Dawn of DC further develops. And if nothing else, a little more Zealot in the world is never a bad thing.
Purr Evil #2
Cover by Laura Braga
If I tried to express nothing else in my review of Purr Evil #1, it was just read the dang book. Because, in typical style for writer Mirka Andolfo, it’s not only all over the place but a maddening combination of sweet, silly, romantic, and decidedly dark. And so in case you need another reminder, or this is somehow your jumping on point, just go ahead and take a few extended peeps at the cover to issue #2 from series artist Laura Braga. In what looks like a screengrab from some random TikTok, we get a cat-girl, her gamer boyfriend, and a legion of demonic cats. And while I don’t want to spoil too much about how this all connects or informs the story proper, just know that this one image is pretty much all you need to know. Because it’s really singular in the kind of weirdness that it’s concerned with, and how that builds the story proper. It’s also just a great image that captures some weird, Norman Rockwell-esque vibes (through a Gen Z lens, of course) that speak to what this series is really about: a g-d love story! I mean, if your heart somehow survives seeing that perfect imagery that is the crossed controller cables, then maybe reset your internal servos, you machine. Because this book is truly something of a spectacle, and if you can accept the brash-ness and vividness of it all, you too may find yourself swooning.
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