Judging by the Cover 3/13/29 new releases

Forrest and Eric share their favorite covers from this week’s new comics.

Eric Alex Cline and Forrest Hollingsworth

March 11, 2019

Most comic book fans have a pretty good idea what they’re going to buy every week when they visit 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. 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 contributor and comics podcast co-host Forrest Hollingsworth and Manga Editor Eric Cline’s attention this week.

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Forrest’s Picks:

Hit Girl, Season Two #2
Cover art by Francesco Francavilla

Image Comics

Picking a Francesco Francavilla cover is like easy mode (when are they not good?) but this one is particularly stunning, especially for a comic I would otherwise have no intention of reading. Junji Ito-esque, with one overly enlarged, unsettling eye and a garish orange splatter leading the eye from the bottom of the page upwards from forefront to background– this is a bigger-than-life, off-kilter cover that really feels more fantastically weird the longer you look at it. It all ends up really stoking the Hollywood aesthetic that the narrative is going for, and I’m very into it.

Mind MGMT Vol 1. : Manager and Futurist (Omnibus)
Cover art by Matt Kindt

Dark Horse Comics

Of all of the over-the-top super-hero-laden hyper-hyphenated covers that will be on racks next week, this is one that would catch my eye immediately because it’s so different. The classic textbook aesthetic is cheekily done, conveying just enough about the world, characters and themes within, but also goes a step beyond with a direct call out to the reader: “Includes field reports on you and your misguided paranoia” that would draw anyone craving the kind of meta-contextual, smart and poetic story that Mind MGMT is right in.

Who, me?

The Punisher #9
Cover art by Greg Smallwood

Marvel Comics

If it wasn’t clear with the Mind MGMT cover above, I love things that play around with format and expectations. This Punisher cover does just the same with a great vignette of Frank through the eyes of someone else. A broken Hydra symbol, a grim mask of death, some bruises and blood– it’s the quintessential Frank Castle calling cards but done so elegantly and in a great in-media-res way, the snapshot of someone who doesn’t matter much to The Punisher, but who’s entire life is, in return, informed by him. Very good visual storytelling.

Eric’s Picks:

Blackbird #6
Cover art by Tula Lotay

Image Comics

This is gorgeous. All the colors look great, from the bright blue hair to the orange background to the cat’s black fur (which has great texture to boot). I also love the woman’s intimidating gaze. The small details on the plants and the woman’s shirt also look great. All in all, this is a lovely cover.

Little Bird #1
Cover art by Ian Bertram

Image Comics

This cover is super cool. I’m a big fan of any time an artist effectively utilizes large amounts of white space, particularly when it’s representing snow. The lack of other things going on further emphasizes what is here, namely the bundled up figure holding some sort of blade. The blood splatter is obviously ominous, but so is the fact that we can’t actually see the person’s face. All in all, I really dig this.

Mind MGMT Vol 1. : Manager and Futurist (Omnibus)
Cover art by Matt Kindt

Dark Horse Comics

I love how spot-on this is. Speaking as someone who stocks the psychology section of a bookstore, I feel like I’ve seen this cover a hundred times. From the texture of the paper to the graph’s layout to the exact blue ink and font used, this is perfect. I’d never heard of this series before now, but this is exactly the type of cover that seizes my interest.