I just want to say that part 3 and 4 of the top 100 comics series are coming. I’ve been kind of busy working on some outside-of-work projects, taking pictures with my new Diana F+ camera, reading Batman: Knightfall, and some other stuff. I have the pictures chosen for part 3 and 4, now I just need to find the time to right the text and post them. Bear with me, there are some great comic book covers coming…
This is part 2 of my Best 100 Comic Book Covers from the period 1980-present.
Astro City #1, 1996 series -cover by Alex Ross.
I am not as in love with Alex Ross’s work as I once was, (there’s good Alex Ross and bad Alkex Ross) but this cover stands the test of time. Here he uses his photorealistic style to good effect, depicting a sunlit, idealized world filled to the brim with heroes. The buildings in the background are lavished nearly the same attention as the characters, (is that the Rockefeller Building back there?) instead of being breezed over, as a lesser artist might do. Another great thing is the number of Alex and Brent Anderson’s great character designs that this cover shows off.
Batman: Legends of The Dark Knight #43 cover by P. Craig Russell.
Craig Russell’s operatic sense of drama is in full effect on this cover. A dark silhouette and five miles of drapery turn Poison Ivy from a Batman Villain to a Art Nouveau horror queen. The bats are grouped together so thickly they become a swirling, spiny, near-abstract cloud of menace. The eye-searing color-scheme offsets Russell’s design sense which is unusually decorative for comics. When I was in Jr. High, I remember a few times when my mind was fixated on Legends of the Dark Knight and the idea of different kind of Batman book. I didn’t buy any then, because they weren’t to be found in the small town I lived in. If I had seen covers like this, I would have longed for those comics even more. P. Craig Russel’s website is here.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #54 cover by Mike Mignola
Here we have a cover by occasional P.Craig Russell collaborator and Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola. I love the way he balances the minimal aspects and oodles of details. The overall shapes of the design are super strong, and the colors are pervasive, but when you look closely, you see that some of the bones in the pile of skeletons belong to Batman himself, as his lower have transforms into bones. Batman’s eyes are merely tiny white dots, but thos dots define the position of his head. And when you see that the even-weight lines in the red sky are actually elegantly drawn tentacles, forget about it! Plus he draws an early-American style tombstone that Edward Gorey could appreciate.
Batman: The Long Halloween #6 by Tim Sale
The design work on this cover is stellar, but then again, I’m a sucker for geometric Art Deco letterforms. The stacked form and the contrast of the typefaces in the logo is great. Tim Sale is an artist that excels at perspectives and creating backgrounds that act as emotionally enveloping environments, but he has none of that here. Simply with shadow and color, he creates a lot of depth in the creeping clover that makes up the hair of Poison Ivy. The clover is a clever way to fit this issue’s subject of this thematically structured series (each of 13 issues was a holiday.) Also great is the way that Sale breaks the rule that a female villain has to be attractive by making Ivy ugly. The Batman necklace around Ivy’s neck is just like a cherry on the top.
Captain America #332 cover pencils by Mike Zeck, inks by Klaus Janson colors by Ken Feduniewicz
The broken posture of Cap packs an emotional punch on this cover. At the same time, this cover doesn’t overdo it. This image doesn’t go the route of the trite images of Superman weeping that seem to be trotted out for each summer’s hyped crossover ‘event.’ (Phil Jimenez’s teaser promo for Countdown, I’m looking at you.) This image holds back. If you look closely, you see that there isn’t any blood dripping from Captain America’s hands. But it feels like there is. The title is nicely integrated in the image, simply by being set on a diagonal. The cover also avoids clutter by having this issue’s sell copy combined with the title, and man, the picture of Honest Abe in the publisher box just kills me!
DMZ #4 cover by Brian Wood
This cover uses white like nobody’s business. Brian Wood inverts the relationship of positive and negative space with confidence. The white makes the treetops look like poisonous fungi, or conversely, makes the black invading the white space look like oil dispersing in pristine water. The humans at the bottom give everything a sense of scale and drama. I feel a little bad that the white background of this blog doesn’t hold the image together like it deserves.
Daredevil #230 cover by Dave Mazzuchelli
If you’ve read Daredevil: Born Again: you know what this moment is about. Mazzuchelli sets everything in a bird’s eye perspective that’s near isometric, and surrounds Ben Urich’s desk with just the right accoutrements to describe who he is and set the scene. It’s a compelling picture of fear, the sense of being powerless and small– an unusual thematic hook for a superhero cover.
Detective Comics #855 cover by J.H. Williams III
In the last couple of years, few comics have been praised more for their art than the Greg Rucka/J.H. Williams Batwoman stories, and deservedly so. Here, the blood-red of Batwoman’s costume makes a V and highlights the heightened emotional state betrayed by her pose. The bottom third of the image uses calm colors and old-world decorative details for a contrasting sensation. The face of Batwoman’s adversary reflected on the razor blade adds the last vital ingredient -story. J.H. William’s website is here
Doctor Strange #56 by Paul Smith
Doctor Strange has one of the most expressive (and some would say over-the-top) costumes in comics. Paul Smith makes it work with a worm’s eye view to give the good Doctor a sense of power and grandeur. On an abstract level, the cover is almost completely built out of curves, from the breeze blowing through space to the curve that leads through from Doc’s forearm to his pinkie.
Doom Patrol #48 by Simon Bisley
There are times when art is not about making beauty out of pretty-ness, but out of making a compelling picture of ugliness and horror. This is one of those times. Unlike other comic book artists that turned to paint (John Bolton, John J. Muth, Alex Ross) Simon Bisley isn’t that interested in using paint to create realism or smooth attractive surfaces, but rather to show a crazy place filled with steroidal figures. I’m not sure of everything that’s going on in this picture, but I like it. Here is a website that acts as a gallery of Simon Bisley’s work
Doom Patrol #49 by Tom Taggart
I’m not familiar with the work of Tom Taggart, but I can’t help but love this cover. The glow from the eyes of the robot-figure, the texture, the contrast between warm and cool colors– what’s not to like! The fact that the cover seems like it exists somewhere as a three-dimensional assemblage sculpture, with no obvious Photoshoppery is icing on the cake. Tom Taggarts’s site is here.
Daredevil #259 John Romita, Jr. inks by All Williamson
This scene, which shows a bruised and battered Daredevil about to be worked over by a gang of freaks, is staged so effectively that I can overlook its violations of perspective and the weird position of Daredevil’s left leg. The solidity and three-dimensionality of Romita Jr’s figures certainly doesn’t hurt. And mainly, I love how JR JR draws Kingpin as huge, just like Bill Sienkiewicz used to make him, while still fitting in a crowd of characters.
Eightball #15 by Dan Clowes
Here, Dan Clowes tones down the off-kilter retro design elements of some of his other Eightball covers, and comes up with something that’s honestly beautiful. The picture framed in the faux-TV set is like a family photo from someone else’s family that you find crumpled up on the sidewalk. This issue is from the odd and affecting ‘Caricature’ story.
Fables #31 by James Jean
I don’t think I’ve read the storyline that this cover comes from, so I’m not sure if the cherubs have anything to do with anything, but doggone it if James Jean doesn’t make them work. The whole image has a sense of warmth and light, and autumn that’s hard describe. I also have to give James Jean credit for combining some elements that are obviously drawn with some photographic blurring effects, and doing it in a way that’s not annoying. James Jean’s website is here.
Fables #49 by James Jean
On the other end of the spectrum, here is a Fables cover with minimal color, and a logo that sits just flat on top of the image. But the image still sings, from the wolf’s shadow-stained and cavernous mouth to the aggressive curves of his fur which bristle in white, black, gray and blue. I don’t care if this isn’t exactly the way that a wolf looks, this is how they should look. I may have a soft spot for this certain kind of wolf, as one of the few gig-posters I own has a similar one.
Fantastic Four #276 by John Byrne
Here John Byrne throws linework away so he can define the image by shapes alone, and in only one color. He also delineates a character’s power with only light and the reactions of others. No physical violence, speed-lines or Kirby Crackle auras are needed. He gets bonus points for applying the shadow effect to every detail, including the title lettering, the publisher box,the tagline, and the direct market box where Spidey’s head replaces the barcode for the direct market. It’s a neat trick cover, somewhat similar in effect to illustrator Cole Phillip’s fade away girls. (Here’s a link to some Cole Phillips art) http://www.americanartarchives.com/phillips,c.htm
Finder #21 cover by Carla Speed McNeil
I’m pretty sure this is a painted cover, but Carla Speed McNeil uses paint as just an extension to her drawing, in a similar way to some of Eddie Campbell’s and James Kolchalka’s paintings. I like how everything outside of the flame is washed out and desaturated, while inside the flame the covers are warm. Additionally, I really dig how the character holds her hands to the flame like she’s warming herself at a campfire. The fact that blue flames are shooting from a levitating book is not a shocking, supernatural event here, it’s a cozy metaphor. As a lover of books, the cover (and the story it comes from) sum up how I feel about them. Carla Speed McNeil’s website is here, where she is currently serializing Finder.
Flinch #5 by Tim Sale
In an otherwise black and white picture, Tim Sale uses the one bit of color to transform an altogether benign image into a macabre, grisly scenario. He shows a copious amount of blood, but just as interesting is what he doesn’t show; what body part is in the bag? The words painted on the pavement, such as we have all seen before, also become a chilling warning.
Fables #71 cover by James Jean
Here James Jean ups the sexiness quotient on a character, while having her wear a heavy winter coat, oddly enough. I’m not sure if the reddish tints around the face are an accurate reproduction, but the character of Cinderella is (figuratively) smoking, while her gun is literally smoking. The gun is also well fitted to the character, looking like a mother-of-pearl handled lady’s gun, without being so small as to be toy-like.
Fables #76 cover by James Jean
I love this picture. The colors used with this street-corner crowd are so good at expressing the fast-pace of the city that the picture throbs and pulsates with life. There’s nothing fantastical here, but it still has the magical feeling of a fairy-tale picture, which is SO appropriate for Fables. I was reading about this cover and was surprised to learn that it was inspired by the work of pixel illustrators eBoy, but a good artist gets his inspiration from as vast an area as possible.
Gangland #1 by Tim Bradstreet
Like a dark reflection of Norman Rockwell, Tim Bradstreet uses single-image storytelling to show the moment directly before a mob execution. Even without the violence, the scratched, textured, brown-hued surfaces of this bathroom would make it a filthy place, but here Bradstreet conflates the dirty business of the mob, the dirty business of murder, and the dirtiness of the bathroom.
Global Frequency #1 by Brain Wood
On the other end of the spectrum, this cover gives no specific story situation, but gives us Sun Francisco bathed in sun-drenched and smoky orange texture. This cover drips with mood and atmosphere with a hint of menace. It’s like the first moody and mysterious shots of a movie, before the title comes up on screen, and the story begins. Brian Wood’s website is here.
Here Brian Wood uses white-on-white to paint a mysterious wintery scene. I have never scene a more X-Files-looking image on a comic book rack.
Global Frequency #5 by Brain Wood
Green Arrow #1 by Matt Wagner
Here Matt Wagner boils the concept of Green Arrow down to its most basic elements– an extreme close up on a face in a mask, and the tip of an arrow. He executes it with panache, using dramatic lighting and what seem to be some airbrush effects. On top of that, a sharp object next an eyeball is always psychologically compelling.
This is my list of the 100 Best Comic book covers from the period 1980-present. One of the reasons that I chose a time frame instead of going for the best of all time is because the art of the covers, the methods of creating them, and the role that covers play has changed drastically over the history of the comic book industry. Covers are mainly limited to comic books produced in the United States. There are a lot of striking covers that are homages to other comic book covers, or images from illustration, advertising, and fine art, but I made a rule to avoid those. Rules, of course, are made to be broken. The list is probably a little biased toward the 90s over the 80s, which can’t be helped, really seeing as I was born in 1983.
I tried to keep a number qualifications in mind: 1. Beauty -excellence in composition, color, technical drawing skills, and impact. 2. Situation -I tried to go for covers with a narrative quality that set up an interesting situation, rather than pin-up images that would work for any Batman cover, or any Spider-man cover. At the very least, when I chose pinup-type images, I tried to choose images that did it in a fresh way. 3. Design -excellence in fonts, typefaces, lettering and other graphic design elements. 4. Expressiveness -emotional content, original approaches in mark-making, and quirkiness. 5. Unconventionality -In a word, comic book covers that don’t look like comic book covers. I didn’t limit myself to this kind of cover, but I made an effort to include all the good examples I could think of. The covers are not ranked in order of greatness, and the images came mainly from comics.org, with a supporting role played by milehighcomics.com and some additional sites. So, without further ado… here we go!
Batman#404 cover by Dave Mazzuchelli
This is an image that comics fans have seen over and over, but it is done here with a most powerful and striking approach. I wouldn’t be surprised if this image was the starting point for many of the similar images we have seen since. Even though there are some reproduction issues with this scan, the strength of the composition and Dave Mazzuchelli’s spare, clean, ultramodern style shine through. Extra points to Mazzuchelli for his stylish signature.
Batman #407 cover by Batman#407
Once again, Mazzuchelli’s clean, only-the-essentials style creates a great cover image showing a conflict between Jim Gordon and Batman before they were allies. Especially striking is the way the black of Batman’s costume blends in to the black of the environment. The tension of the figures, the foreshadowing, and the minimalism all combine to sell the idea that an athletic martial arts master in tights could hold his own against a man with a gun. this image also show off the great logo that the Batman comic was using during this story-arc.
Heroes Reborn Iron Man #2 by Whilce Portacio and Scott Williams
The main point of the Hulk is that he’s big, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look bigger than on this cover. It’s also hard to pull off to putting the title character in a prone position, but this ballsy cover does it right. Look at the way Iron Man is spewing fire from his hands and his jet-boots.
Action Comics #810 by Dave Bullock
The art deco architecture, muted colors, retro costume, and the sheer joy of this image all combine for a win.
100 Bullets #20 by Dave Johnson
Does anyone really have to say anything about how good Dave Johnson is at making covers? Here he combines paperback cover and exploitation movie poster techniques in a powerful way. The figures are not held by line, but presented as a solid shape, defined by a series of darker shapes, and the color scheme is simple and brilliant, while the whole cover combines urban grittiness and retro appeal.
100 Bullets #13 by Dave Johnson
I love the intensity and scariness of the woman’s demeanor on this cover. See how she’s been knocked around, but seems to be relishing licking her own blood off her hand, as she stands minutes away from her revenge.
1994 #13 cover by Jose Bea published by Warren publishing
I just happened across this image,and was struck by the unconventional color scheme, and the way this imaginative picture straddles the line between collage and a straight picture. I also enjoy how it remakes the classic woman-at-his-feet type of Conan the Barbarian image (reprised in both the covers of both Army of Darkness, and National Lampoon’s European Adventure) in a slightly less chauvinistic way. By the way, that blocky, futuristic 1994 logo still looks great.
Acme Novelty by Chris Ware
No one in comics is a better graphic designer than Chris Ware, and this typographically stunning image comes closest to the tour-de-force that was the cover of the hardcover Jimmy Corrigan.
Action Comics #738 by Stuart Immonen inked by Jose Marzan Jr. colored by Glen Whitmore
I actually liked the blue-costumed Superman, but this was the only great cover from that period. Stuart Immonen makes the most of this method of defining faces by shadow.
All Star Superman #12 pencils, inks and colors by Frank Quitely
A great cover by the definitely idiosyncratic and always methodical Frank Quitely. This cover combines the best elements of his series of All Star Superman covers. Some of them were iconic, some of them were narrative pieces, this one was both. As a bonus, the reversal of Lex Luthor using superpowers and Superman using science, is great.
Amazing Spider-Man #278 cover by Mike Harris
The small figures, with a large shadow is executed brilliantly, creating an image of high drama. I also enjoy how the lettering is integrated into the image in a non-hackneyed way.
American Century 17 by Jim Silke
I don’t know a lot about this series, other than it was written by Howard Chaykin and that is was about politics and crime in the 50s/60s period and the stories spanned North and South America. But man, that cover is great! I love the personality conveyed by the character, and the sense of chill the image puts across.
Astro City #4 by Alex Ross
Alex Ross uses the medium of paint to do something that just couldn’t be done in the same way by pen and ink. The image conveys a great sense of wonder and hope, and focuses attention on ordinary people, one of the the things that the Astro City series does best.
BPRD 1946 #3 by Mike Mignola
Mike Mignola is a brilliant stylist and a unique draftsman. The white space of the owl’s wing attracts the eye, and grounds the composition of this atmosphere-drenched image.
Bacchus #55 by Eddie Cambell
Eddie Cambell uses paint in a manner that’s unique in comics, and here he uses it to create an unusual image, one that has a gag cartoon quality, and bewilders the reader.
Batman #576 cover pencils and inks by Scott McDaniel, colors by Roberta Tewes
Okay, this one may be kind of a gimme, since I have a personal soft spot for Scott McDaniel’s art. But I love the Spider-Man-esque position of Batman’s legs, and the one bizarre color choice that was made. This one also uses the trade dress that Chip Kidd designed for the Batman books.
Birds of Prey #40 by Phil Noto
Phil Noto is a big fan of the illustrator Robert McGinnis, who illustrated Bond girls on several James Bond posters, but here, he goes for a bachelor-pad meets Blue Note Records kind of look.
Birds of Prey #43 by Phil Noto
I couldn’t just include one of Noto’s covers in this style. Plus, that eye is hypnotic.
Brat Pack #1 by Rick Veitch
This is a slightly disturbing cover image, but it’s also a really great drawing. It depicts a Robin-like sidekick character shaving his legs in the bathroom.
Captain America #6 by pencils and inks by John Cassady, colors by Dave Stewart
This is a stirring, design oriented cover for the Marvel Knights Run of Captain America. Dig the way that the star on Cap’s shield perfectly aligns with the stars on the background. There are a lot of cool design things you can do with American Flag imagery, but there are also a lot of ways it can go wrong. This cover pulls it off.
Chase #6 cover- pencils by J.H. Williams III, inks by Mick Gray, colors by Lee Loughridge
This cover is a take-off on the Thanksgiving dinner image “Freedom from Want”, from Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms series. (It’s a much copied image) What raises this image above the crowd for me is the slightly creepy presence of a black masked superhero at the head of the table. Well, that and the compounded sense of unease from the man outside the window. This cover has stayed in my memory.
Daredvil #180 pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Klaus Janson
There is a lot of appealing chunkiness to the art of this cover. Frank Miller, a great artist for ideas, composition, and texture, paired with Klaus Janson, a great artist for anatomy, and structural drawing skills.
Defenders #128 by Kevin Nowlan
I love the texture on this cover, the positioning of the characters, and the overall moodiness. When I started this series, I had no idea that a Defenders cover would make the list. The variety of character faces definitely doesn’t hurt.
Demo #11 cover -pencils, inks, and colors by by Becky Cloonan
I had another Becky Cloonan cover from Demo I wanted to include, but I had to cut it. This one won out for its great sense of character -from the faces to the body language to the clothing. Its definitely a great example of building a scenario, and the visual rhythm of the repeated items in the grocery store is an effective and unusual element for a comic book cover. The polychromatic yet slightly desaturated color scheme, when combined with the Brian Wood design work at the top, is also nice.
Detective Comics #761 cover by Dave Johnson
If you’re an artist, covers like this make you hate Dave Johnson. How can he be that good?
I found this very interesting. This is what Martin Luther King Jr. said to Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lt. Commander Uhura on Star Trek (The Original Series).
“ And at this his face totally changed, and he said “What are you talking about?!” and so I told him I would be leaving the show, because; and that was as far as he let me go, and he said, “STOP! You cannot! You cannot leave this show! Do you not understand what you are doing?! You are the first non-stereotypical role in television! Of intelligence, and of a woman and a woman of color?! That you are playing a role that is not about your color! That this role could be played by anyone? This is not a black role. This is not a female role! A blue eyed blond or a pointed ear green person could take this role!” And I am looking at him and looking at him and buzzing, and he said, “Nichelle, for the first time, not only our little children and people can look on and see themselves, but people who don’t look like us, people who don’t look like us, from all over the world, for the first time, the first time on television, they can see us, as we should be! “
http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/2010/01/18/martin-luther-king-mlk-uhura-nichelle-nichols/
I had so much fun with this drawing, but I’m still not sure about the coloring. It looked so good just in black and white.
A drawing I did for the Illustration Friday word -undone. Superman is based on Curt Swan models of how he should look, but I gave him a smaller forehead.
A drawing I did and did a lot of work compositing and coloring. The image is kinda inspired by some creepy surrealistic Polish Film posters, and Guillermo Del Toro.
I took way too many breaks in drawing, inking, and coloring this image, so it took a long time. But I’m glad that I added a bunch of detail for the environment. Long live the brown costume!
This is my illustration for the Illustration Friday word unbalanced. This is the second drawing I’ve ever done on a wacom pad, and I love this thing (the wacom tablet). It’s making me try things out in some kinda new styles. I mean the drawing is definitely me, but there’s something else coming out. If I include the actual paintings i’ve done, this is kinda the first time I’ve really painted with a loose hand, and didn’t have it come out terrible. I feel like this is kind of a Larry Rivers/Basqiuat approach, but that’s probably a bad comparison. What do you think?
this is a drawing of Samson I did for Illustration Friday. The word is strong.
