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.
Wonder Woman #7
Cover by Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey
I get that there’s heaps to be excited about Wonder Woman #7. You’ve got Tom King teaming up with Guillem March, for instance. And not just any story, either, but what seems to be their turn on that iconic Superman story “For the Man Who Has Everything” by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Yet I want to give at least some pause to this great cover from Daniel Sampere and Tomeu Morey. Because, as someone who thinks there’s not nearly enough Clark/Diana interactions amid the Trinity (everyone goes for Clark/Bruce all the time), this cover speaks volumes. There’s that shared sense of stoicism, albeit with Diana leaning more toward a sense of grace than Clark’s tendency for robust power. They each also occupy different parts of the flag, and that’s got to mean something. (Maybe Diana’s all about the stars that the people represented and Clark’s all about order — IDK, go ask your civics teacher, kiddies.) And, of course, that brilliant use of the sword — it’s not just visually impressive but everything that it represents (good, bad, and otherwise) is the clear distinction between these two heroes. All in all, it’s a really powerful encapsulation of these two that should help define and outline their relationship leading into what could be an equally important story in their shared history. Just as long as we get a German suplex or something, right?
X-Men: Forever #1
Cover by Mark Brooks
If you’re a X-Men fan with heaps of questions lately, then Forever is clearly the book for you. Specifically, the story is going to touch on two essential queries: “How can you kill a digital god?” and “What do you do when the Phoenix is bleeding out into nothing?” And the great thing about having your burning questions addressed is that it feels deeply satisfying — sort of like how I feel when I see this Mark Brooks cover. ‘Cause if we’re talking about Jean Grey and the Phoenix, it’s nice to see her/they represented in such an obviously unsettling way, and with near-maximum gore. Because for decades, Grey’s basically promised to destroy everything as The Phoenix, only to prance back to being a good guy with no one really upset that this woman could be the harbinger of universal doom. Sure, there’s been some stuff over the years exploring Grey’s culpability, but generally it’s weird that she’s so beloved giving her place as the most powerful and unstable force in the known universe. So, if we’re going to continue to use/explore/celebrate the Phoenix, it’s nice to have a vivid and powerful reminder of what happens every time this cosmic space bird spreads its wings. Maybe it ain’t a proper vengeance for all those ruined and/or slaughtered, but it’s a nice start in putting the Phoenix in the cage it belongs.
Dawnrunner #1
Variant cover by Dike Ruan
OK, I want to set the record straight: Yes, Dawnrunner is a lot like Pacific Rim. It’s giant robots battling Kaiju-esque monsters — there’s simply no way around it, OK? That said, the creative team (including writer Ram V and artist Evan Cagle) do a ton of great work to quickly and efficiently move away from this trope in ways that I dare not spoil (and that even after my own early read remain not quite fully formed). But don’t take my word for it, just peep this bonkers variant cover from Dike Ruan. Sure, it does pretty much lean into the whole “sick giant robots!” aspect of this book, albeit with an intensity and overt joy that reminds you why this thing became a trope in the first place. But this piece goes deeper still, facilitating a sense of serenity and firm psychedelic tendencies that should hint at some X-factor to this book that separates it from your usual fare of city-sized robots. What exactly that is will be left for you to discover upon reading, but I can promise with this one that it’s a heady and inviting experience that adds a lot of texture that you might not expect. And if you can give the people giant robots and still surprise them, then you know you’re clearly doing something right.
Basic Instinct #4
Cover by Vanesa R. Del Rey
I’m a little mad at myself that I didn’t know there was a comics re-telling and/or sequel of Basic Instinct, which is an important film if you came of age in the ’90s (and not just for that one scene, you feckless degenerate). I’m even more mad that we’re at the fourth and final issue of the Sam Freeman-written, Vanesa R. Del Rey-drawn series — there’s just no excuse for that kind of hapless behavior. But with a cover like this from Del Rey, I keep telling myself that at least I’m aware of it in the first place. Mind you, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve seen the movie, but I don’t think I remember either this scene and/or the sheer level of both overt intensity and all-around beauty. Either way, I love the unique spin that Del Rey offers here — there’s far more seedy undertones and a deliberateness here that adds heaps of new layers and context to my associations with the film. It’s more gritty and gorey, yeah, but it also just utterly deepens the certain tinge of color and truth that I feel like informs the movie. Either way, it feels beholden to the film even as it’s clearly doing something new, and it’s a damn compelling reminder why the best comics adaptations are a thing. Even if we don’t always pay attention as we should.
James Bond 007 #3
Cover by Dave Johnson
I’ve highlighted a couple of Dave Johnson-penned covers from the current run of James Bond: 007. Sure, lots of people have flocked to this book because of writer Garth Ennis — he’s clearly added a new, especially dark undertone to the already complicated super spy. Yet it’s been Johnson’s covers that I think have really encapsulated what’s cool about this series. For one, it is very much a proper take on the Bond canon — it feels like it’s perfectly aligned with the early feel and aesthetic of the Ian Fleming books. At the same time, though, Johnson has a clearly more robust take, and this cover to issue #3 especially captures that sentiment. It’s about this big, stark imagery that feels properly thrilling and a great continuation of what makes pulpy spy tales like this so wildly entertaining. And yet there’s no denying the psychedelic undertone — did anyone else think the snake was the astronaut’s air horse — that pushes this into a realm that even Fleming’s work may have only truly flirted with across the stories. Toss in more of that chemical formula stuff and some continued use of negative space, and it really feels like there’s a proper story being told on the covers that extends and subverts what’s going on in the book proper. Read this to be shaken and stirred in all the best ways.
Man’s Best #1
Cover by Jesse Lonergan
Sort of like with Dawnrunner, Man’s Best may remind you of another beloved series. But where the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely-crated WE3 was perhaps a little more robotic and emotionally complicated in nature, Man’s Best feels a little more down-to-Earth and warm if only based on this solid debut cover from series artist Jesse Lonergan. For one, the animal friends here run a little more “direct” with two dogs and a cat, and while that doesn’t seem overly significant, there’s no g-d rabbit that’s going to break my heart. But more than that, their “armor” isn’t nearly as advanced, and that kind of DIY, slightly ramshackle approach speaks to some deeply human energies and ideas at the center of this specific story. We also get a little view of some psychedelic slice of space, and while I’d mention a down-to-Earth quality, the fact that this book takes space actually matters. Not just because it’s a novel enough setting vs. WE3, but it also actually extends the deeply human aspect of this book by emphasizing and focusing on exploration. (Like the kind of daring and brave optimism that you can see emblazoned on the very faces of our animal friends here.) So, sure, another book continuing a solid enough trope (Homeward Bound mostly did it first, FYI), but this one feels all the more exciting, joyous, and altogether thrilling. Still, my eternal love for Pirate, y’all.
DC’s Ape-ril Special #1
Variant cover by Hayden Sherman
In some ways, DC’s Ape-ril Special #1 is like my own personal Christmas. We get the most pun-tastic title in some time, a spotlight for the still-surprising number of apes in the DCU, and another great showcase for a truly promising talent in Hayden Sherman. And, I get it: the real takeaway here is that it’s going to be scratch-and-sniff, which seems like the kind of understated innovation this industry needs more of these days. (How much would you pay for Venom comics that smelled like black licorice, or Hack/Slash comics that smell like blood and lip gloss?) But lest we forget this is also about celebrating the all-star chimps of DC, and Sherman’s piece feels like the stylized, slightly pulpy honor that these premier primates truly deserve. Detective Chimp, especially, looks better here than he has in years, and it really makes me want a solo series from him posthaste. Even Grodd looks more cool and foreboding than he ever has, and that’s a genuine accomplishment. It’s about leaning deeply into the weirdness of it all, and Sherman’s piece does that with a style and grace that I’ve always associated with DC. Smells like bananas? Nah, more like a job well done.
Vengeance of the Moon Knight #3
Cover by Davide Paratore
Say what you will about Vengeance of the Moon Knight, but I have to take my hat off to writer Jed MacKay. After his truly great work in extending Moon Knight with that first series, he’s used this “spin-off” to take the legacy and lineage of the Fist of Khonshu into some increasingly compelling and wholly darker directions. And as we enter into issue #3, the players of the Midnight Mission (including Soldier, Tigra, and Hunter’s Moon) are about to bring it hard into the very base of this new Moon Knight, and that gives us this especially visceral cover from Davide Paratore. But it’s more than the kind of thrilling action we’d want from MK, and I feel as if we’re seeing this new version in some really telling light. That tight focus in the body and how it feels less frantic than Mr. Spector’s usual approach. The hint of the bladed weapons as horns, and what they might be telling us (or not telling us) of his true origins. Even the tinge of fear that prevails this cover — it’s clearly a different but familiar era. The power of that, then, is that we’re left to grapple with the people and their developments across these two books, and we get to feel our way into seeing how deep this whole giant story goes in terms of really doing something novel for Moon Knight. And that hits harder than even the most sturdy weapon shot.
The Infernals #2
Cover by John Pearson
When I spoke about the Alex Cormack variant cover to The Infernals #1, I spoke of honesty. Specifically, about how it tried to take an unflinching approach to the book’s core ideas/themes on dying, the nature of evil, and the way humanity can really look. But this cover to issue #2 — from series artist John Pearson — isn’t nearly as straightforward, and instead it takes a far more understated, borderline cerebral approach. As this issue promises more airtime with the children of Abe the Antichrist — that’d be Nero, Jackal, and Bee — things take a headier direction even as we feel the themes of this book echo even more intensely. The placement of the dying Abe and his son, for instance, really nails the whole larger idea of legacy and how children are a reflection of their parents. Yet Nero here has his own sort of followers, it seems, and while that’s great for the son of the Antichrist, I think it also picks up on this larger fear of dying or even any other loss of humanity — that all we are are faceless things waiting to be snapped into a place we never decided on. I think that, in turn, plays nicely with another big idea of this book — fate and what power we have to choose how our life unfolds. It’s not as direct this time, yeah, but this cover explores even bigger ideas with heft and power, and it feels more effective because Pearson tries to play with our perception and understanding. Whatever the approach may be, this book is on fire.
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