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.
DC K.O.: Knightfight #4
Variant cover by Yasmine Putri
While I’m being insultingly derivative, Knightfight has seen Batman (having been booted from the K.O. tournament super early) contend with a myriad of future Batmen played by his sons. It’s not only been a sturdy source for neat Batmen designs (God, I love Dick’s whole set-up), but a decidedly effective dissection of fatherhood and general family ties. But perhaps of all the things the book has tried to do, the thing I love the most is the sense of equality. It’s very much front and center on this cover as each Batman looks as if they’re capable of being the most effective combatant and perhaps even the star of the show. There’s a tendency, I think, among Batman stories for him to clearly be the most capable, and that means we often never feel like he’s actually going to lose. Here, and this is just one instance, Red Hood/Jason seems as if he’s got the attention, strength, and gravitas to actually land the killing blow. It’s about elevating these characters and showing what happens when Batman’s identity as a hero and a father is really brought into question. Plus, no one makes being a dad look quite so cool and complicated.
Magik and Colossus #1
Variant cover by Simone Di Meo
And speaking of family-centric comics, we come to Magik and Colossus #1. The long and short is that, despite the Rasputin siblings being very different indeed, they’ve got to come together in their home country and battle monsters of olden Russian folklore. And that premise seems like it’ll be both rollicking and family-centric, especially when you consider this David Nakayama main cover that looks like the title screen to the best Saturday morning cartoon we never got to watch. Instead, I really like this Simone Di Meo piece for what I think it’s trying to tell us. We see Magik riding atop Colossus’ shoulders; clearly that’s a fun, cutesy moment, but could also speak to the power dynamics between the siblings. Meanwhile, while Colossus is holding her sword (again, power dynamics), maybe that means the “soft-hearted” giant could step up and do some big things across this story. (Similarly, the flaming wings around Magik feel similarly significant from a thematic standpoint.) This one looks like a magical, heartfelt anime, and one that’ll give us lots of big fights and even bigger emotions. Go, Colossik!
D’Orc #1
Cover by Brett Bean and Jean-François Beaulieu
If nothing else, I already love D’Orc because it adds to my favorite trope: “Stories with sentient, generally bloodthirsty weapons.” In the case of D’Orc, our half dwarf, half orc hero is armed with a “magical yet ambitiously violent shield” as he “stumbles headfirst into Sunderaine’s never-ending war between the Light and Dark.” The premise alone adds to my early affinity for this book, but I think we should spend a few minutes on this cover from writer-artist Brett Bean (alongside colorist Jean-François Beaulieu). For one, I always love a fantasy series that expertly balances both cute and bloody; if we’re going to have a world of dragons and the Snargletooth, we should be able to be as creepy and dark as we are light and affirming, right? From there, D’Orc’s design works really well; he’s familiar enough that I get the framework but also this decidedly “novel” combination of orc and dwarf makes him something new in a story that’ll likely need just that. And, if nothing else, I love the sense that this is both a grand adventure and a solid buddy comedy; I don’t need swords or ice giants with that kind of good times ahead. He may only be 50% each race, but D’Orc seems like he’ll be 100% cool AF.
Thundarr The Barbarian #1
Variant cover by Björn Barends
From a fantasy setting that’s decidedly fun and joyous to something more serious. Well, actually, is it? Cause if you’ve seen the art in Thundarr The Barbarian #1 (from series artist Kewbar Baal), you might recognize that it’s got a decidedly pulpy feel. And, hey, I’m all about it; there’s something more measured and intriguing about that style that I think works given the unique background of Thundarr. But as a solid little preview, I like this Björn Barends variant cover. This may be the most lifelike work I’ve seen from Barends in some time, and that’s saying something given his attention to detail and general depth. In my mind, it fosters a gritty level of immersion that’s deeply complicated by the fantasy garb and bizarre/magical creatures. So, I’m stuck thinking about the tendencies and energies of this story, and just what’s real, what’s fantasy, what it all means, and what I’m going to do about it as a reader. So, yeah, the cover doesn’t have that much to do with the book proper, but it’s already prepared me for another weird and wild chapter in Thundarr’s history, and that I have no idea what to expect but big-time adventure. Well, that, and great choices in boots/footwear.
Archie x Army of Darkness #1
Cover by Robert Hack
I’m of a few different minds when it comes to crossovers like Archie x Army of Darkness #1. For one, the more bonkers we can get (see also this week’s Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #1), the more excited I am by the endless opportunities to be silly, dumb, unnerving, etc. At the same time, I like stories to play with friends in their circle, and too much of a logical leap to get properties together often feels irksome. Luckily, Archie x Army of Darkness feels like it’ll have some solid overlap (at least courtesy of cover artist Robert Hack). Sure, it’s got nothing to do with, say, both “universes” sharing hordes of the undead, or that they’re both set in the same time. (Although with Riverdale I can never really tell.) Rather, with a few key tweaks — like the “Tiny Archies” rocking a spork — the Riverdale gang fits perfectly in Army of Darkness. You may not like Jughead as a gnarly undead skeleton, but I think we’ve been trained enough as fans of Archie (and the dynamic fostered across some recent comics) to expect hijinks galore. In turn, AoD is the perfect “receptacle” for these characters, and it all fits so dang well. Sure, there’s tension here (that’s what makes a good crossover, after all), but more than anything, there’s gags galore.
High Strangeness #4
Variant cover by Valentine Smith
Do I try and pick covers that feel important or relevant to the story proper? Sure, if I can help it. But then, as is the case with this Valentine Smith variant cover to High Strangeness #4, sometimes I just want to celebrate an artistic accomplishment. This bad boy is, in equal measures, the cover to a YA novel I’d actually like to read; the dopest concert poster this side of Death From Above 1979; a high school art project from someone girl I had a crush on but never spoke to; and my introduction to the world of avant garde cinema of the late 1970s. In short, it’s also absolutely gorgeous and packed with layers of unintended context. Still, if you peruse this issue’s solicitation, it also feels extra relevant to a story set in 2001 about a struggling artist recruited for some MK Ultra-esque program about latent telepathy. So, what’s the lesson? Well, that I tend to put a lot of myself into art. But mostly, it’s this idea that great art is capable of being both universal and deeply intimate to the point that you can assign any ideas, feelings, energies, etc. and it’ll pretty much fit like a hand in a glove. That stories and whatnot are great, but good art speaks to something deeper still that demands we understand and weave in our own layered thoughts in response. Plus, that shade of yellow is just hitting.
Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #1
Variant cover by Phil Noto
Did you think I was going to just mention Planet of the Apes vs. Fantastic Four #1 and then move on somehow?! The sheer premise alone is enough to effectively melt my brain, and while I have varying levels of love for both franchises, their alignment in this miniseries (that ought to run 100 issues!) is absolutely the kind of weird pop culture magic we need right now. But then, like a cherry dipped in LSD atop an ice cream sundae made of interdimensional ice cream, we get some really great variant covers to boot. I almost opted for this awesome German Peralta piece just because “Ape-ified Ben Grimm” is a sentence I’ll cherish forever, but I had to instead go with this Phil Noto offering. The design alone is the most perfect recreation of some old Hollywood poster circa 1974, and the colors and font and the layout all combine into something appropriately trippy and delightful. But then it’s the little bits (Reed looking like a scared giraffe, the way a sketched Johnny really looks more badass than ever, the seemingly impossible geometry of this cage, etc.) that really take this from an A+ to an A++. I just know that this is going to be the start of something utterly bonkers, and this cover sets the tone in so many ways that somehow make me even more giddy. Fantastic Apes, assemble!
DC x AEW #1
Variant cover by Daniel Warren Johnson
While the Fantastic Four are off cavorting with apes, the Justice League is hanging around with the AEW roster. I won’t spoil how these groups get together (it’s the kind of quirky storyline you might have made up while playing with action figures as a child), and I’ll instead just spend time with my jaw hovering slightly above the floor for this DWJ variant. I’ve said it before: I might give too much attention to Planet Earth’s best wrestling-centric artist, but how could I not with this one?! It’s like saying, “I need a bunch of soup cans painted in different ways,” and somehow not choosing Andy Warhol. Plus, there’s so much to actually admire/love about this cover. Adam Page’s Buckshot Lariat is, in my opinion, the most comics accurate finisher ever (what with its needlessly involved set-up). Not only do I also really love Lex Luthor busting out what’s basically the “Rikishi Bump” for this one, it’s also doubly satisfying that he’s taking said bump in full power armor. And if nothing else, DWJ has the skill and passion to take an utterly ridiculous concept and make something that respects the important storytelling done here while clearly having an absolute blast. The world is dark and ugly all the time, but moments like this prove me that with love and great extension, we can bash the darkness with goodness and understanding. That’s some real cowboy shit, folks.
Supernatural Valentine’s Day Special 2026 #1
Variant cover by Pasquale Qualano
Do I like having a Valentine’s Day thing out on February 4 and not February 11? Hell, I’d settle for it coming out on February 18, dangit! That said, I’ll happily make an exception for Pasquale Qualano’s variant cover for Supernatural Valentine’s Day Special 2026 #1. And why’s that, you ask? Well, as much as Supernatural is basically this long, involved meditation on destiny, family, and manhood, some of my favorite parts of the whole series are when things get weird. Like when Sam gets stuck in his own personal Groundhog Day. Or the brothers come face-to-face with “imaginary friends.” You know, the totally ridiculous stuff that contextualizes all that overt violence and endless brooding. And having the Brothers Winchester battle hearts and candy is among the more totes silly things they’ve ever done. (And they once got sucked into a Scooby-Doo cartoon.) I even thought, for just a second mind you, that Dean’s weapon was somehow generating the hearts instead, and that would also fit with the show’s use of humor (and also serve as another way to take a dig at the very manly Dean). Love will make you do some wild things, and that’s even a certainty for these brothers, which manages to humanize them in new and wonderful ways. My only hope is that Bobby is somewhere off panel, shaking his head in disgust and/or uncertainty.
You must be logged in to post a comment.