If a picture is worth a thousand words then the best comic book covers of the week must surely rival an encyclopedia, am I right? In this new feature, Adventures in Poor Taste selects their favorite comic book covers of the week. In a way it’s a preview of the comics shipping this Wednesday; only with next to nothing revealed about the issues themselves and instead analyses based solely on how nice and purdy the covers look.
Best Cover of the Week
Dave’s Pick:
KING CONAN: THE PHOENIX ON THE SWORD #4
By Andrew Robinson
Dave: This cover has it all. Great depth of field with the arm in the foreground, an awesome giant beast and a calm and collective hero reaching for his sword. The green lighting is ominous yet the shining sword gives us a shade of hope. The clamp down of teeth on Conan’s arm is just brutal. And the detail on Conan (check out that stubble) is reminiscent of Simon Bisley. Good stuff.
Brendan: I’m not too keen on this cover, but I understand what Dave is saying. Maybe it’s my non-love for Conan, maybe it’s my non-love for painted comics, but I just don’t find this one appealing.
Brendan’s Pick:
Amazing Spider-man #684 (Variant cover)
By Gabriele Dell’Otto
Brendan: I am all about this cover. Ever since DC’s Knightfall I associate this posture with a defeated hero and a sense of impending doom. Also, I’m not saying Sandman is one of the worst villains ever, but I think it takes a quality artist to make him look truly menacing. All in all, if I saw this cover in the store I would want to pick it up and read what’s inside. And isn’t that what covers are all about?
Dave: I like this cover but I don’t love it. I like a few small details, like Spider-Man’s eyes and the way Sandman is pinching his thigh. (No homo.) I don’t get the right and left borders of sand though. All I can think is: golden shower.
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions:
Incredible Hulk #7 (Variant Cover)
by Charles Paul Wilson III
Brendan: If you don’t like this cover then I don’t like you. It’s cute, fun and reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh. Poor Hulk! He’s too big for his own good! This is one of those covers that I wouldn’t be surprised to find hanging on someone’s wall in a nice frame. I just adore it.
Dave: Very cute. I wonder if Pooh Hulk has giant jars of radioactive honey.
Avengers #25 (Variant Cover)
by Gabriele Dell’Otto
Brendan: Did you guys know there’s an Avengers movie coming out? Despite Marvel throwing as many images of this group together onto their covers strictly for marketing purposes, this cover of Avengers is classy as hell. Another great homage, this time to Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze’s Washington Crossing The Delaware, really solidifies that Marvel is all about using art that is fun and interesting to grab readers’ attention.
Also, I just now noticed that I’ve picked two variant covers that were crafted by the talented Gabriele Dell’Otto. Looks like I’m a fan.
Dave: There’s an Avengers movie coming out? I find it interesting Hawkeye is the only one not striking a pose.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions:
The Defenders #5
By ?? (I Am A Defender Variant Cover)
Dave: Love the design of this, because that’s what it is: graphic design and not some wussbag painting. All joking aside the cover really pops with the verbiage, and while I’m not entirely sure what all the words add up to I get the impression there’s a statement being made.
Brendan: I agree. There has been a surge of these typography-filled images around the net, and I can’t say that I’m offended by them. Beyond embodying a single character with a myriad of adjectives and nouns, it also shows that Marvel really has a finger on the pulse of current trends. I dig it.
Punisher #10
By Marco Checchetto
Dave: Three covers for the price of one! The skull on Punisher’s chest is practically crying. Daredevil is very Vegas, which I don’t get, but I dig it.
Brendan: I dig the colors and lighting effects. I’m not up on my Punisher at the moment but it looks like he isn’t having the best time. Very pretty.
Wonder Woman # 8
By Cliff Chiang
Dave: I love the lighting effects coming off those guns. The hair is fluid and what could those gold guns actually be doing? Bullets of truth just doesn’t roll off the tongue like lasso of truth.
Brendan: I think those firing effects looks pretty silly. Are the hearts on purpose or is it just oddly shaped? Chiang also seems to have a case of the Adam Hughes, only his proportions are off. She looks like she has Bruce Lee’s lats.
Dave: Pretty silly, or pretty fun?
WTF? Category
Where we don’t understand, are insulted by or would rather stab our eyes with acid pops than look at these covers for various reasons.
Catwoman #8
By Adriana Melo
Dave: Where the fuck is her right leg? Nothing makes sense in this frame. It takes a good 5 minutes of eyeballing to really see the villain in the window. Also look at her damn crotch. Is she a tube of toothpaste?
Brendan: I hate looking at this comic. I literally opened the preview and groaned at the sight. It’s busy, awkward and quite frankly it hurts my eyes.
Avengers vs. X-men #2
By Jim Cheung, Laura Martin, Nick Bradshaw, Marte Gracia , Carlo Pagulayan
Dave: What is this, one of those Mad Magazine “Fold the Cover” issues? I’ll admit Magneto looks cool, but it’s just a crossover mess that is completely illogical. Hello people, Phoenix is about to destroy you all as she floats in the background.
Brendan: We get it, the Avengers and the X-Men are going to fight. This cover needs about five less characters and at least one set of eyeballs.
Justice League #8
By Jim Lee, Scott Williams, Alex Sinclair, Mike Choi ,Marcelo Maiolo
Dave: Lawsuit anyone? DC has no business copying the iconic Days of Futures Past cover. Also, way to go Jim Lee; you can’t even draw a cover by yourself anymore. It takes less people to build a nuclear bomb.
Brendan: I had a soft spot for Green Arrow but this cover does nothing for me. Another depiction of Oliver being the anti-hero. Also, it’s a pretty tall order to make the guy with the bow an arrow look menacing with a bunch of Demigods in the background. The cover predictably falls short.
Batman #8
By Greg Capullo
Brendan: Considering the visually grabbing art that has been gracing the covers of the last few issues of Batman, I think they really dropped the ball with this cover. Sure, this art probably gives you a heads up of exactly what you’ll find within the pages of the book, but it does little more than that. Pretty boring.
Dave: What I hate about this cover is that Bruce Wayne is clearly winding up to punch these dudes and there isn’t a bad guy within 5 feet of him. He’s a trained fighter, yet he’s winding up to punch? Reminiscent of the Three Stooges much?
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
