Judging by the Cover – 10/23/24 new releases

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.

Absolute Wonder Woman #1

Variant cover by Wes Craig and Mike Spicer

If you’re like me, you were excited about Absolute Batman. And if you weren’t somehow supes stoked about a younger, less economically prosperous Bruce Wayne, there was always “chest axe” to geek out about with proper vigor. But if we’re really going to make the most out of this whole Absolute line, then I’m especially excited for Wonder Woman’s “transformation.” Not only do we have Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman leading things, but this version of Diana was basically born outside of Themyscira, and the lack of sisterhood and general peaceful vibes have left this Wonder Woman as a kind of hellacious badass. And that’s exactly the vibes that Wes Craig and Mike Spicer captured in this excellent variant cover. It’s the first time I’m truly feeling the darkness and chaos of this Wonder Woman, and how everything from her great armor and tattoos down to the way she stands feels different and more intense. It’s familiar enough where I get the connection, but totally new in all the ways that says, “This Amazon will rip your head off for coughing weirdly.” If we’re doing new takes, let’s get totally, blazingly and insanely new as Absolute Wonder Woman takes zero prisoners before page one.

Iron Man #1

Cover by Yasmine Putri

And speaking “new and brutal era[s],” we arrive to Iron Man #1. Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman joins artist Julius Ohta for a Tony Stark that’s not only got new armor and some twists up his (metallic) sleeves, but apparently he’s angrier than ever. (Which makes sense as he’s got to deal with the twin headache of AIM and Roxxon.) I for one am totally here for Pissed Off Stark even it means we get even 1/10th the badass presented here on Yasmine Putri’s issue #1 cover. For one, I love the slightly “ramshackle,” homemade quality to the armor — you’d be pissed off if you had to do that much welding/soldering. (Plus, it totally reminds me of “Steampunk Iron Man” from Dark Ages.) Yet the “charm” of the homemade suit gives way to something angry and bleak, a total stripping of the Stark charm that frankly makes me feel uncomfortable. And that’s when it all clicks: the world’s smartest man is angry and desperate and stocked with enough scrap metal and ordinances to do something about it. It’s a simple moment that really lets that realization wash over you, and it shows how serious Stark takes war and how that means a lot of people are in trouble. Kinda makes you wish for the Stealth Armor again, right?

Nullhunter #1

Cover by Michael Walsh

You may writer-artist best for his horror works (including The Silver Coin and the more recent Universal Monsters: Frankenstein). And when it comes to all things monstrous and/or terrifying, Walsh captures the grotesque with depth and endless humanity, forcing us to reconcile with what it all really means. It’s that ability that makes Nullhunter (alongside artist Gustaffo Vargas) so interesting. It’s been described as a “kinetic cyberpunk retelling of the Labors of Hercules,” and that premise paired with Walsh’s approach to storytelling should make for something beyond those genre confines. Case in point: Walsh’s own cover to issue #1, where we get a snapshot of what this book could feel like (if not entirely look like). There’s plenty of sci-fi goodness, including what I imagine is a sick robo-lion. But be it that expert use of shading, or just the general emotional tone, there’s a certain tinge of horror and otherwise overt heaviness that pulls this from the bright and shiny future into a place of primal intensity and energies, and where there’s things somehow seem more terrifying than what lies on this planet. Sure, sci-horror’s a thing, but Walsh pushes it to new heights as he develops in his efforts. It’s a good thing no one can hear you scream in space.

Voices In My Head #1

Cover by Brian Bolland

The reign of horror anthologies continues with this one-shot from Image Comic, which has a pretty good track with similar titles/offerings. If nothing else, Voices In My Head #1 promises an especially lofty list of talent, with writer Joe Pruett joined by artists Phil Hester, Michael Gaydos, Andrew Robinson, and Juan Doe. But we start it all off with this excellent cover from Brian Bolland. The whole thing reminds me of that one scene in Men in Black: like, what’s the deal with that Victorian woman who treats life atop this monster pile as a sunny afternoon? But while she may be the most horrifying of them all, I certainly love the range, as if Bolland’s tapping into everything from folklore to The Ring movies to give us something that’s oddly familiar. Not that said familiarity helps as the sheer level of detail draws in all your senses as you’re forced to engage with this piece in a very sharp, almost intimate manner that will have you almost actually sweating in fear. Monster books are a dime a dozen these days, but this one has the mix of charm, humor, artistic depth, and general intensity that makes it feel especially vital and important. Does anyone else suddenly want to blow their nose and wash their hands a dozen or so times?

Convert #3

Cover by Simon Gane

I like Convert, and I 100% think that you should like Convert, too. Do I think it’s a little familiar in some parts? Sure, I think I even described it as “Annihilation meets Avatar,” which is as clever as it is generally fair. Do I also think it’s maybe a little slow-moving in parts, and cuts past some of the inherent adventure for an extended meditation on community? Sure, but I’d also argue that’s as much an upside as it is a downside for some readers. But if nothing else, almost anyone should be able to enjoy the Simon Gane-penned covers. With issue #3, as Orrin’s immersion means he has to deal with a sudden “alien conflict,” Gane’s resulting cover feels like it hits the best and “worst” parts of Convert. Like, yes, blue girl screams Avatar, but there’s a kind of sleekness and style that makes her design all its own. A lot of that, of course, has to do with the more metaphysical properties of this cover and book at-large — there’s this blend of the violent and the ethereal that makes this feel altogether more warm and appealing, dangerous and uncertain. Sure, giant wolves are always cool, but it just speaks to the kinds of imagery and immersive experiences that are making Convert such a cool and textured story. Like it or don’t — that just means more contemplative alien action for the rest of us.

Hello Darkness #4

Variant cover by Jenny Frison

I may have a thing with teeth (a long story not worth sharing), but I get horror’s collective obsession with the eyeball. It’s the way we engage and interact with the world in a very immediate sense, and it’s something we don’t fully understand (or even trust) despite how important visual perception can be. So the eyeball’s routine appearance in horror — be it being poked with sharp objects and/or prophesizing doom and whatnot — is something that totally makes sense. And yet Jenny Frison goes all mega ultra HAM on this variant cover to Hello Darkness #4 to really shame a lot of other eyeballs across horror’s hallowed halls. Somehow the screaming skull demon thing isn’t the worst offender — it’s the single dripping tear that elicits the most horror from yours truly. Like, the way it seems to capture the light, or the way I can almost feel its path down the eye — it just makes it very real how terrifying, vulnerable, etc. the eyeball truly is as both a device and body part. It doesn’t help that the eyelashes look like tiny barbed knives, but it’s really that eye that just makes you feel so afraid and nervous, and in a way that makes it so very hard to look away. In short, it’s that proper mix of beauty and terror you want in a good story, and the thing that really grabs eyeballs (but not in the gross actual way).

Detective Comics #1090

Variant cover by Dan Panosian

If you read our recent interview, you’ll know that Tom Taylor (and artist/collaborator Mikel Janín) have some rather big plans for Detective Comics. This week’s issue #1,090 begins the “Mercy of the Father” where we revisit the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne to see what new insights and massive secrets their passing may still have to offer us and Batman alike. And I can’t think of a better way to begin this new era of Detective Comics than with this really great Dan Panosian variant cover. Does it make me think of Se7en but also 2022’s The Batman? Yes, there’s that kind of grounded but hugely stylized feel. Similarly, I also love the grounded vibes of Batman’s attire — makes me think we’re getting a younger/young-ish Batman and/or one that keeps it close to the ground where it’s dark, weird, intense, interesting, etc. And, of course, we’ve got to mention the sheer blood, violence, and terror depicted  — the best Batman stories need to be unflinching and unwavering to really work and bring you into the story. So, no, Panosian’s work isn’t a 100% carryover, but I’m sure it’s getting at the threads of what’ll make this new run interesting. And if that’s only 1/10th true, then the late fall/early winter is about to get hella menacing.

Werewolf by Night #3

Variant cover by Sergio Fernández Dávila

Is your lust for cartoon blood and mayhem still not fully satiated post-Detective Comics? Then Werewolf by Night #3 should hopefully let you gorge just a little bit more thanks to this variant cover by Sergio Fernández Dávila. On the one hand, you really don’t need that much explanation for why this one is such a (blood-encrusted) gem. It makes me feel like we’re midway into the dopest fight ever in the original Bloody Roar — and that vaguely ’90s energy/association is doing a lot of heavy lifting right here. Also, I’ve not read this run, but the fact that I don’t know enough about blue robo-wolf here is deeply interesting to me and I hope there’s heaps of backstory. And speaking of backstory, all this extra robust violence is quite grounded in that our hero, Jack Russell, has taken a trip to the Savage Land, and he’s apparently out to satiate his own bloodlust/broken heart. Does mega crisp violence like this need to be grounded to be truly appreciated? Heck no. But does that context help extend the energies and themes and make it pure visual wonder with more heft and stability? You know it. May the remainder of October be filled with heaps more wolf-on-wolf battles.

The Body Trade #2

Cover by Jok

The debut of The Body Trade was a generally great start to a layered and depressive story. (But the good kind of depressive where it affirms your own humanity or whatnot.) But even more than or multifaceted lead, Kim, or the brutal honesty of that first chapter, one thing that really stood out to me was the vaguely near-future timeframe. Like, it wasn’t ever declared outright, but there were little technological tidbits and a general vibe that made me think we were deal with a time slightly beyond our own. And that’s made especially, doubly clear in the cover to issue #2 (also from series artist Jok). Be it the architecture and/or the giant floating airships, it’s pretty clear we’re dealing with an extra layer of suffering and socio-political upheaval given the calendar year of this book. And yet the “giant Swamp Thing-esque man-monster” and “ghosties” makes me think that time, space, and everything else falls to the wayside, and that this book’s far more interested in affecting us as deeply and thoroughly as possible. That it gets at this idea that our relationship with death and grief is both untouched and molded by this kind of context, and that we’ll have to grapple with it endlessly (until we reach our own end, of course). That depth and power is really why I like this book so much already. And also why I don’t sleep as well these days.