Judging by the Cover – 10/08/25 new releases (The Gorp Edition)

I’ve been doing Judging by the Cover for huge chunks of my adult life.

It’s been a weirdly consistent and integral part of my life. (Even if I did leave it for part of 2025.) It was there for me amid COVID; the death of my father; a wondrous new relationship and subsequent marriage; and, just last Friday, the death of my dog and BFF, Gorp (aka Blade). This column has helped me process and manage so many huge feelings, and while it’s just dumb words about comic book art, it’s ultimately about the significance I take away from it with each new edition.

So, in that spirit, we’ll get a little more direct with the model of “Judging by the Cover as my safety blanket” and work out some of my Gorp-centric grief. It’s my aim that it won’t just be something uncomfortable and morbid, but another instance of me filing this column with my life and love and hoping that all that can then speak to something more essential about these covers and comics at-large. And if you are a little uncomfortable, I hope the art helps you get through it and you see that we’re all just trying to live our lives, make dope stuff, and use our art, ideas, and emotions to do something better in the world. It’s not just comics (it never has been), and it’s the very messy but wonderful filaments of our lives.

This is Judging by the Cover, the Gorp Edition.

DC K.O. #1

Variant cover by Daniel Warren Johnson

Living at the same time as DWJ is, not unlike owning a dog, a rare and beautiful gift. (Plus, I’d watch him draw 1,973 pictures of brainbuster-dropping superheroes.) But it also makes me think precisely of Do A Powerbomb, in which people fight Actual God to bring back a loved one. That book has been with me for a few prior deaths/tragedies, and I find comfort in the idea that if you utterly and deeply believe in something enough (like justice), you too can epically concuss your foes into a better life. Superman has already had far better luck than the protagonist of Do A Powerbomb, but the larger thread is there: It’s nice to think that who we are to other people (a fictional hero, a friend, etc.) could similarly gain power from their love and belief as we do things we never thought possible. In that way, my life as a dog owner was great because one chunky idiot thought that I could control the big, scary world. Or, at the very least, I could give him those old pizza crusts.

Return to Planet Hulk #1

Cover by Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, and Neeraj Menon

A few months before he passed, I found out that Gorp weighed in at 100 instead of 60 pounds. Yes, that does sort of make me a slightly negligent owner (100 was his ideal-ish body weight and I’m just mega-dumb for not paying attention). However, it does show that small packages can often carry big surprises. Admittedly, Gorp’s dense, compact body is far less impressive than Hulk, but for the big green badass, his true power has nothing to do with the sheer size. No, it’s the stature and sense of presence; the snarling intensity; and that glint of something else beyond the surface. His effectiveness as The Hulk is size funneling toward everything else, purveying this sense that we should be so lucky to only get pummeled to death by those biceps. Whoever gets in Hulk’s way this time around, just recognize that your fate is likely a million times more dire.

Absolute Batman #13

Variant cover by Rose Besch

As big as he was, and as strong as he was, Gorp had a reverence for cats. He couldn’t deny his interest as much as he also greatly feared them (thanks primarily to our small but mighty cat, Finn). As such, he would often stand near them quite awkwardly, seemingly hoping for friendship at best and indifference at worst. I imagine he saw cats not unlike Absolute Catwoman: beguiling and alluring; still a little cartoonish and endearing; never anything less squarely than in your face; and something that’ll be your friend but only for a marked price. In short, every trait and sentiment I hope this new Selina Kyle can further manifest, and exactly the way the depth of a character exists in their face/in the world before we ever see the person deep within.

The Amazing Spider-Man: Torn #1

Variant cover by Aaron Kiser

As a pit-Doberman mix, Gorp was feared by people as far away as 100 feet. But what those poor suckers never learned is that he was the sweetest and most loving guy in the world, and he’d be your friend for a boop of the snoot. I think that’s why Spider-Man works so well. Sure, I will always love that he is a suffering battery empowering modern comics entertainment. But he’s also quite effective in taking a serious moment and making it funny and playful. (Or maybe the inverse of that?) The right smile isn’t just photogenic, but the mark of a truly good hero — though preserving some joy and humanity, they show people that a better way is possible and violence can have a time and a place in a loving society. You wouldn’t dare move sidewalks for Spidey (even if you maybe should).

Everything Dead & Dying #2

Cover by Jacob Phillips

Not to get too morbid, but there’s something oddly peaceful about a newly-dead dog. It’s something resembling serenity, a firm peace that makes you feel calm and Zen-like. It’s a sentiment and aesthetic adopted by creators Tate Brombal and Jacob Phillips — a reverence for death and the maintenance of one’s own humanity. That respect and tenderness informs the very marrow of this tale, as we get yet another zombie story but one that is more thoughtful and daring in its efforts. That’s because it treats the undead less like targets for ongoing practice and more like essential members of a story and purveyors of some important narrative truths. So, no, I don’t want to blast this peaceful zombie to bits, and instead that kind of emotional heft and intent really has me rethinking my own relationship to death and dying. Lovely.

The Blue Falcon and Dynomutt #2

Variant cover by Francesco Martina

Oh wow, the guy who just put his dog to sleep picked one of the biggest titles with a dog on the cover. But there’s a reason why I picked this specific variant, and not one of the others. (Like this one from Joseph Michael Linsner, who basically nailed the dumb-but-loyal M.O. of both Gorp and Dynomutt.) No, it’s because based on the ending to issue #1, and this solicitation’s mention of Dynomutt, I can’t help but think this robot monstrosity is/related to our own robo-pupper. Admittedly, casting a dog in the role of villain here does some contextual wonders for my own current state of grief. But that’s not a bad thing, and more than just recreating the characters, the creative team here is trying to use a specific tension and emotional intent to explore this pairing and what it does for both heroes. It’s ann effort to reevaluate their teamwork and see what’s to learn when their friendship is confronted by the biggest of odds. So, yeah, it’s a dog to make me feel better, but mostly, it just makes me even more excited for this series.

Super Creepshow Special #1

Variant cover by Carmine Di Giandomenico

Not to keep harping on the whole dead dog thing, but I feel like this cover really captures this vital sentiment I’ve grappled with since Friday. This piece could be really loving spin on a very ugly moment, and it maintains humanity when that doesn’t always seem to be the easiest prospect. Or, it’s the ugly-fication of something pure and decent about our lives, and if so, we just have to learn to live with it. Either way, I guess I know what it’s like to be the doctor or the subject here — you don’t really know everything but you sure just want it to operate in the name of life (whatever it looks like). That’s kind of what Creepshow is doing for horror — not just being thoughtful and novel, but using horror to cut deeper into the human experience and try and get us to rethink things like love, death, and grief, and even if it’s via a cheesy lens, it’s nonetheless poignant. A picture so revealing to life itself that it’s practically terrifying.

Batman: Dark Patterns #11

Variant cover by Martin Simmonds

If I can switch gears once again from discussing the actual shell of my fallen canine friend, his absence already has me feeling like Batman. Not that I’m at all skilled or confident whatsoever in my abilities. Rather, that I know what it’s like to watch over something which doesn’t know and/or appreciate your vigilant eye. This is the perfect encapsulation of the Batman-Gotham dynamic: One is detached and isolated, keeping an eye on the other, while this second party is mostly unaware and stomps on unabated. Sure, many Gothamites know and love the Dark Knight, but the best stories capture and emphasize Batman’s silent guardianship and how he happily remains outside the fold to do his job the best he can. It’s a little absurd to compare yourself to the World’s Greatest Detective, but there’s a power in loving something even if it doesn’t know that, for instance, you prevent it from walking into 4-5 cacti everyday. Of course, I now also see the visual metaphor for chess, and that works too because Gorp nearly ate part of a set way back in 2015.

Falling In Love On The Path to Hell #10

Variant cover by Suspiria Vilchez

Alright, this one just captures me and Gorp to a tee. (Seriously.) Fortunately, it also speaks to everything that’s great about Falling In Love On The Path To Hell as it wraps up its second volume. There’s the disparate leads — one rugged and a tad dumb, the other a little too intense as they pull the other one along. The otherworldly, vaguely unsettling tinge — OK, that’s more of a recent feature in my experience, but that’s just the way some relationships have to be for a brief windows. But there’s also a sturdy vibe of nostalgia — sometimes the best relationships transcend their confines and feel like they were always slated to be. And, of course, the ever-present teeth. A symbol of the way death hovers over any meaningful relationship? Maybe, but mostly it reminds me that if I told Gorp “gentle,” he’d lovingly take the food from my hands. And that memory always makes me happy and pushes me through the sorrow of a love that’s now become hard and unfair. And if that still ain’t this book’s whole shtick, then I’ll bark at the g-d moon.

Gorp “Blade” Coplan: 2/15/14 to 10/3/25