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.
Danger Street #9
Cover by Jorge Fornés and Dave Stewart
It’s been a hot second since I’ve really paid much attention to the covers of Danger Street. In fact, if I check the official Judging by the Cover logbook, I last highlighted issue #6’s wonderfully wacky cover back in May. Does that mean everything since then has been a snore, or that everything before it wasn’t worthy? No, a lot of the book’s covers are genuinely great, but as the one for issue #9 indicates, there’s a very specific mission statement for these covers to achieve in order to really stand out. And here, as we prepare to see the long-awaited clash between Manhunter and Codename: Assassin, we get a really vivid and robust cover. The fact that the lightning bolt interacts with the scene so perfectly (and in a wonderfully meta way) is clearly the lynchpin of the cover. But it ain’t the only star here — did anyone else spend minutes trying to decipher some pattern in the lights of the building? Because I did, and only because I think this book is clever and engaging enough to give its readers a little pre-reading visual puzzle. It’s a piece with true layers, and all of those layers align with the story itself, and that feels like a proper accomplishment for this already great book. And, yeah, it’s somehow better than “Darkseid breakfast cereal.”
Daredevil #1
Cover by John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz
I was prepared to say, “It’s a daring new era for Daredevil.” Only, with the two books from Chip Zdarsky in recent years — OK, it’s really sort of one series with an artificial stop in it, right? — it feels like we’ve had plenty of eras for this decade and/or century. Yet here we are regardless, and there’s still plenty to be excited about as Saladin Ahmed, Aaron Kuder, and the rest of the art team launch a brand-new book about the Man with No Fear, in which there’s more questions (about Elektra’s continued role, and the future of Hell’s Kitchen) then there are answers at the moment. But don’t let the confusion or potential doubt sway you, as we get this excellent cover from a true super team of John Romita Jr., Scott Hanna, and Marcio Menyz. Will it reflect the work inside the book proper? Who knows! But what we do know already is that this is a fairly classic-looking DD portrait, one that captures the essence of Matt Murdock’s work. But at the same time, it also feels novel — I’d say it’s the way the rain lands and interacts with Murdock, like we’re seeing the world through his eyes somehow — and that feels just refreshing and important right now. It results in a cover that assures this book’s lineage while hinting at a new enough future to make it all actually exciting. It’s a subtle, nearly quiet process, but it does still work if you spend a few minutes with the cover. Here’s to new starts — no matter how many more may come.
The Alternates #1
Cover by Scott Hepburn
If you loved Minor Threats from the team of Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt, then you’re in luck. They’ve recruited some new talent — including writer Tim Seeley — for a new series in the same universe, The Alternates. The long and short is that a B-list super squad got transported to some “mirror universe” only for them to return to Twilight City to “reacclimate to their old lives in a traditional two-dimensional superhero world.” And that’s somehow what cover artist Scott Hepburn manages to capture with the book’s debut cover. That sense of multiversal confusion, and memories crashing together in endless uncertainty. Or, the mundanity of life versus some feelings or memories that now only exist on the periphery of one’s mind. This robust sense that the world exists in a few different tones/shapes/configurations/etc., and we’re just supposed to deal with it. In short, a separation of life’s essence, and the psychic pain of sorting through its multi-colored intensity. Maybe it’s a case of the premise informing or even coloring my take, but there’s no denying that The Alternates is ripe with potential, and this cover is a small taste of the magic brimming in this universe. If these are the alternates, who are the first picks in this g-d universe?
The Sickness #2
Cover by Jenna Cha
If you can recall back to June, the team of Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou unveiled The Sickness. It’s a decades-spanning tale about two people linked together by a “horrifying illness and the haunting figure who follows wherever they go.” While there were heaps of promise in issue #1, we’ve had to wait some three months for issue #2, which can often be a major blow to a still-young book. Only if we’re to judge based solely on Cha’s own cover to issue #2, I think the book is going to be just fine (and may be even more of a tantalizing draw to anyone who missed out on #1). Because everything visual or aesthetic that made some of the first issue feel compelling seems to have doubled in this new cover. Like the warping of some quaint ’50s vibes, like Normal Rockwell did way too much mescaline and started drawing on the walls. The robustness of the atomic age imagery, and how the sheer deliberate or super obvious nature of it screams a powerful message while just making us feel deeply uncomfortable. Even the slightly psychedelic quality of the melting ice cream feels significant. This cover speaks to a book with many ideas and layers, and it executes on them with a poise and grace that can shock you to your very core. Do I want to wait three more months for #3? No way. But if that cover is one-tenth as effective, I’ll wait with endlessly bated breath.
Kill More #1
Cover by Max Fuchs
Also back in June, we introduced you to Kill More, the new book from Scott Bryan Wilson and Max Fuchs. In it, we’re dropped into the town of Colonia, which is currently suffering from “total economic collapse” and, perhaps more troubling, a “skyrocketing homicide rate.” That last thing is probably from the roving band of killers within the city, and therein lies the crux of our story as the few remaining cops must stop the likes of The Sufferer and, um, Lady Facesmasher. So, given that premise, this main cover from Fuchs is a solid but interesting choice. Does it have the obvious amounts of blood and carnage as, say, this variant cover from Tyler Kirkham? Or maybe the tangible air of mystery and darkness as this Gabriel Hardman variant? The answers to both queries is a solid no. But what the Fuchs covers does have, however, is that sense that something is very, very off. That smiling granny ain’t happy ’cause she’s got cookies and lemonade for you. But you never see why that is, and you’re mostly left to figure out and ruminate on that voice in your head telling you to run far, far away. Not only that, but that mix of purple-ish/grey-ish skin tones somehow makes you think you’re in a new, alien world, even if you somehow have to ignore this thought that could be your saving grace. The resulting cover isn’t obvious, but that’s sort of the power of this piece to crawl directly into your ear and whisper dark messages.
Harriet Tubman: Demon Slayer #1
Cover by Courtland Ellis
If we believe some of the solicitations, this project, which seems to be a few years old, is about to receive new life thanks to a forthcoming Disney+ series. And while that’s good enough news to celebrate, even if nothing comes to fruition the real victory here is that more people may see this decidedly awesome cover from artist Courtland Ellis. The premise seems pretty straightforward given the rather obvious nature of the title (with the added tagline that this is basically “Django Unchained meets Buffy The Vampire Slayer“). And while there’s some really great variant covers — like this one from Johnny Desjardins or this one from Caanan White — the real magic is truly in Ellis’ own piece. What it might lack in subtext or nuance it more than makes up for with its overt air of the deliberate, casting our freedom-fighting Tubman as a badass samurai. But there’s also little deets — the glimmer of her swords, the way I think her bandana might feature tiny vampire teeth somehow — that extend and enhance the simple but hugely effective drama and intensity at the very heart of this “bare bones” piece. It’s as if you know mostly what’s going to happen, and the real appeal is seeing how it all comes together with heft and grace right there on the page. I’m just saying, it ain’t just demons this cover is slaying.
Batman and Robin #1
Cover by Simone Di Meo
I think I really started noticing Simone Di Meo’s work with We Only Find Them When They’re Dead. But since then, across everything from Batman: White Knight to DC vs. Vampires, it’s really hard to ignore his robust work. And now he gets a chance to shine, right alongside writer Joshua Williamson, by jumping onto perhaps his biggest series to date in Batman and Robin. What’s not to already love deeply about his main cover for issue #1? It’s a prime example of Di Meo’s line work, which always feels like it’s moving 10,000 miles per hour even as it feels vivid and crisp in its detail and sense of depth. Whether it’s the scowl on Batman’s be-cowled face, or the playful energy ruminating of Robin (now that’s a real accomplishment in and of itself), you can’t help but feel the life and personality of these characters. And while if any other artist else so prominently featured a bird and a bat on the cover it’d be sort of laughable — with Di Meo it feels like a powerful device for encapsulating some ideas and themes around this book. This is a simple but truly effective cover, and one that builds a true preview of the world in order to whip up readers. If this is just the start, there’s bound to be loads more adventure and heroics waiting within.
Avengers Inc. #1
Cover by Daniel Acuña
Look, I was right on board when Al Ewing decided to make Immortal Hulk into some existential body horror drama. But even I was a little hesitant when they first announced Avengers Inc., in which Ewing (alongside artist Leonard Kirk) pair up Janet Van Dyne and Victor Shade into a universe-spanning version of True Detective. But then I got my little peepers on this debut cover from Daniel Acuña, and I started to see that maybe this book could work despite its rather deliberate gimmick. I love the subtle X-Files meets The Avengers vibes — I think even more than speaking to the kinds of cases they may get wrapped up in, it fosters a really interesting vibe or aesthetic (that’s wonderfully and undeniably ’90s). There’s also just some really great design choices, like the way Van Dyne’s wings interact with the chalk outlines, or the coloring and shading around the gun and crime scene numbers — it’s gritty but with a subtly psychedelic quality to it a la a real ’60s influence (maybe like Get Smart)? The book itself will still have to sell me, but for now, I think there’s loads of potential. And if nothing else, the “Wasp stings” will be cooler than guns, right?
Cissy #1
Cover by Hugo Petrus
I think by now the whole “talking, pseudo-magical bear” trope has been done to death. (If there’s two Ted movies, then you know it’s been beaten into the ground halfway to the molten core of the Earth.) Yet I’m still willing to give Cissy a chance. Here, a youngster name Gabriel has to team up with Cissy, said magical bear, in order to find his sister. And that journey means the unlikely team must then “traverse the horrors of the Dark Lands in pursuit of her captor, an evil called The Crying Man.” Hugo Petrus’ debut cover pretty much encapsulates that fairly bonkers premise as effectively as you can, and it’s really the details and little touches that make this book seem all the more appealing. Like the decidedly detailed look of Cissy, which is both scary in and of itself and also somehow more believable. Or Gabriel’s whole design, which feels a little timeless in the best way to avoid an overt influence (like, say, overly cheesy ’80s movies). The Crying Man also looks properly horrifying, but not so much that he seems like an obvious villain, which has me feeling rather intrigued. Even the font of the title feels intense and playful, and that dynamic really works to inform some important ideas before cracking open the cover. This one could be interesting, even as it feeds the world more slightly cliched tropes, and it’s my hope it can lean into that whole dynamic and give us what we really need more of, unlikely buddy stories.
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