July 12, 2015

Ten Comic Book Covers I Just LOVE!!

So I talked about covers I hated yesterday, what about covers I love? Wow is that a tough one. I could do five lists and not get them all. But it seemed only fair to come up with ten great covers after doing ten awful one's. The only rule is that it has to be a cover of a book I literally read at least in part because the cover did its job and got my attention. And they are covers I personally love, not just covers which are iconic ally famous. Though a few of those still made it some real obvious choices will be absent.




Superman:The Man of Steel #1


















Honestly, I could do a whole list of just Superman books. I love so many of them. That makes sense, not only is he my favorite but is such an icon it is easy to create great covers with him. I picked this one for a very special reason. Not only was it a great cover, but for awhile I had the exact same image as a poster hanging in my room.







Justice League #1

















A cover for a first issue is probably the most important cover there is. It has to do more than get your attention, it has to make you want to check out a series which you quite possibly may know nothing about. That's what happened here. I first saw the cover in an ad, and the heroes all standing there badass...I knew I had to read it. Even though at the time I didn't even know who everyone was. This kind of cover has been parodied to death, but for a reason.




Crisis on Infinite Earth's #7

















Do I really need to discuss this one? This cover is so famous, so iconic, that everyone knows it. Even if you've never read a comic, I bet this image will get your attention. How could it not? It's just fantastic. I could have also added Crisis #8, which got my attention as a kid, but looking back it's only a so-so cover. Just the fact that they would kill off Supergirl was a major thing, and this cover delivers.





Superman #2

















I didn't want o make this whole list Superman, but how could I now mention this? This cover got my attention when it came out, as any good cover should, and made me want to know more. I read it, and I've been a fan ever since. It's a perfect setup, Lex Luthor knows Superman's secret? What?? And the best part happens if you read the issue at how this gets resolved, but I'm not spoiling it






Firestorm #56

















This cover is just fantastic. It tells you what you need to know in such a great, dramatic way. The site of Firestorm and his two separate persona's going other directions is jarring. As I kind of mentioned before, Firestorm did not have the best covers. This one made me a fan.






Batman #615

















Picking a great Batman cover is like asking a parent to pick a favorite child. As with Superman, this whole list could just be Batman issues. So why this one? Because I had given up comics for the most part when I came across this one. And something about made me pick it up and buy it. I was a little lost to what was going on since it was the first new issue I had read in awhile, but I liked it. Why wouldn't this be a great cover, it was done by the amazing Jim Lee.






Green Lantern/Green Arrow #1

















This is my one cheat. I decided I had to have on here that I appreciated after the fact. Yeah it doesn't get more iconic than this one. Back when comics were trying to get more relevant, we get this amazing issue where Green Lantern learns...well, if you don't know than check it out. It started a very big change in direction for both him and Green Arrow. The cover is a fantastic image which sets the tone perfectly.







Zero Hour #1

















While this did not make me read it, I was impressed by the imagery. Major crossover events have to have good covers, especially the first issue. And the first issue of the Zero Hour even does just that. The image of the flash mask like that is quite jarring.  It's an obvious nod to Crisis #8, but a lot more effective. This would be topped later in Identity Crisis but this image is still a strong one.






New Teen Titans #38

















You want different? I got different! One of the best stories of the Marv Wolfman Titans run is this, where we first learn the origin of Donna Troy. It's a beautiful story and it all starts with this very nicely rendered cover. The cover of the first issue is of course iconic, but I like this one better because it's so different, and very very effective. Yeah the story was change a million times after, but that doesn't change how effective this one was.






Wonder Woman #1

















George Perez is awesome. There are so many great covers I could have chosen (not including the god awful one I discussed last time), but I finally settled on this one. It's a beautiful cover, and while technically says nothing about the story within..who cares? I was never much of  a Wonder Woman fan but this cover got me interested. I didn't stay with the book very long, but that's another story.








Honorable Mentions




Superman #75 was a great cover, nice symbolism. Countdown to Infinite Crisis gave us this jarring image of Batman carrying the dead Blue Beetle. Finally, "The Flash of Two World's" gave us a cover so iconic no list of great covers would be complete without it.






Could I keep going? Oh hell yes. But I think that's it for now. As we can see when done right a good cover goes beyond just being something to get our attention so we will buy the book. It becomes a part of the character itself. I'm up for suggestions for a third list, so if you have a cover (good or bad) that I should make note of, comment and let me know. And yes that includes Marvel, I feel bad that I am always shafting them. I was never a fan, sorry about that.

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