We preview what’s coming out this Wednesday at the comic shop and pick our favorite and least favorite cover art. You can find a full list of all the comics being released this Wednesday right at the bottom.
Brendan’s Cover of the Week
Willow – Wonderland #1
Brendan: Damn, that is a beautiful color. David Mack has been dishing out quality content for almost 20 years now and I have never seen a cover from him that I did not like. This Willow cover is simply top notch. I love the use of negative space and the calm coloring that really express the sense of peace one obtains by looking at Alyson Hannigan. It’s simply breathtaking.
Dave: Time to get into artsy-fartsy mode here at the preview corral. It looks like Mack layered pieces of paper as the frames, on top of frames on top of frames. It’s also reminiscent of Dave Mckean’s work on Sandman as he’s using things other than ink and color. Very nice work using multiple ways to convey Willow‘s Wiccan nature.
Dave’s Cover of the Week
Creator Owned Heroes #6
Dave: I don’t know what possessed Johnson, a favorite of our previews, to create such a complicated and wild cover but I love it. The figures are great and contain all the emotion and sex appeal the cover needs, but the best part of this cover is the skull background and that damn gun. The way the bullets pop out, with skull and crossbones I might add, give the gun some character. It’s not just a gun, it’s not just a guy in a suit and it’s not just a damsel. Sick cover.
Brendan: I love the Bondish pose of our characters and I love the perspective of that gun all up in yo’ grill. The skull subtly gives off a sense of doom without overpowering the fantastic character designs. This is a super cool cover.
Dave’s Honorable Mentions
Legends of the Dark Knight #2
Dave: This is technically a re-release since it was digital exclusive and is being released in the paper format this week, but the cover still stands as impeccable. This cover appeared in our favorite Batman covers preview, and Templesmith dazzled me when I first read it. He continues to dazzle me now. Simply dropping Joker into the Batsuit is a great idea, and to see his skinny little body flesh it out is glorious. The face on the bloody bat adds to the menace of this cover.
Brendan: Didn’t we already review this cover? The Joker looks super creepy and I love that what could have been left as a simple background got a bit of grit and grime to it making it not-so-plain. It is a re-release however and I am feeling some serious deja-vu.
Fairest #9
Dave: Look. I’m not a pervert. I’m not into chicks with tails and dog ears. No, but I do love that kimono. It reminds me of Gustav Klimdt’s work. The cover is clearly exploiting those sex-deprived nerds with the women and the composition could use some work, but the hair and kimono are excellently rendered. I’m not really getting the facial expressions either. In fact, just give me the kimono. I’ll wear it all night.
Brendan: Yeah, the kimono is beautiful but the rest of this cover just isn’t up to snuff. We have Hughes really phoning a cover in for once with not-that-great ladies and really horrid facial expressions. Visually, the kimono is outstanding, but it is so good that it causes everything else to look dramatically worse.
Storm Dogs #1 (of 6)
Dave: The space men marched in the acid rain. They thought it couldn’t get worse, but then they saw the next bend and thought, “we’re fucked.” A lot of emotion in this cover and, me being a purple fanatic, I can’t help but love this cover. The construction of the suits is particularly nice as well.
Brendan: This cover is pretty neat. I love the way the rain is drawn splashing off of the suits. The reds and purples are nice enough, but the characters are almost too similar and they seem to blend together. Overall, it’s nice.
Brendan’s Honorable Mentions
Thought Bubble Anthology #2
Brendan: This is just a very well done drawing that deserves to be the cover of the Thought Bubble Anthology. Nguyen perfectly captures a sense of weightlessness that makes you want to run out and pick up a couple books. Reading has never looked so fun!
Dave: The painted Red Riding Hood reading books is a great idea to convey the anthology aspect to the cover. I’m not really understanding the Scrabble lettering, but the bookshelf detail under the T is nice as well.
Deadpool # 1
Brendan: Leave it to a Deadpool cover to come up with the most ridiculous scenario possible. Two things need to be noted about this cover. First off, it’s really well done. There is a great attention to detail here, whether you’re looking at scales, buildings, bullets or kitties. Second, the playful over-the-topness of this cover is fantastic. Not only do you have Deadpool falling from nowhere and expending a ludicrous amount of ammunition, but you have a Godzilla-like monster who is either A) sucking up every household pet in existence or B) spitting out said pets in some form of adorable vomit.
Either way this cover is fun and I love it.
Dave: The detailed work is great, as Brendan mentions, and it reminds me of Seth Fisher’s work on Fantastic Four / Iron Man: Big in Japan. I guess gravity is turned off in this scene? I’m confused by what’s going on, which maybe prompts the onlooker to open the book up, but without any visual explanation or hint I find the concept of the cover lacking.
Avenging Spider-Man # 14
Brendan: Apparently it’s giant lizard week over at Marvel. This is another beautifully done cover with an extraordinary attention to detail. The painted flesh of our big baddie is really well done, and the spittle is fantastic (add that to the list of things I never thought I would type). Also, there is a potential homage to Alex Ross Spidey going on here, and that always grants points in my book.
Dave: Gotta love the dino-spittle. Spider-Man sure loves lifting things (just look here), and I guess the man needs a weight on his shoulders or he’s just not super. I like Davis’ use of the blue background and red dino to mimic the red and blue of Spidey, yet he still pops. It helps contain Spider-Man in the jaws of the dino.
Detective Comics #14
Brendan: While there isn’t anything particularly wrong with this cover, I’m not crazy about it. That being said, I love this potential Poison Ivy redesign. It is strong and sexual without being ridiculously revealing or gimmicky. I wish this is how she always looked.
Dave: I don’t get why she’s posing for us in this cover. It’s like she’s waiting for the flash to go off. Judging by the New 52’s writing of Ivy as a hero in the Rot’s apocalyptic future (and her ties to the Green) I suspect they want her looking a little more battle ready. I’m not sure if the black spandex makes much sense, but I get what Brendan is saying, especially since typically that black would just be her skin.
Dial H #6
Brendan: Everyone who is aspiring to draw (myself included) needs to take a couple of minutes, perhaps an hour, and just study this hand. There is a crazy amount of detail going on here yet it doesn’t come off as overdone. I find it simply astonishing
Dave: That’s a well-rendered hand alright. Let’s hope Brendan’s infatuation with hands doesn’t continue in the following weeks. Kid is sick, I tell you.
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.
Scooby Doo Where Are You? #27
Brendan: I just saw the tentacle and knew Dave would want to say something about it. Here you go, Dave. This’n is for you.
Dave: Might I add Brendan had to go out of his way to select this cover, share the image and then write about it. That said…what kind of sick bastard adds hairs to a tentacle? It’s no longer a tentacle. It’s a penis. Why Would I want to say something about a hairy dripping penis?
Animal Man #14
Dave: Oh sure, eat the woman but French kiss the dude? How horrific! Pugh is probably the only artist who can exhibit a “WTF!” from his critics and know he’s doing his job right.
Brendan: This guy is an everlasting beacon for nightmare fuel. He can perfectly construct the most gruesome of events and leave us all flabbergasted. Like Dave said, Pugh is the only guy who produces covers that deserve to be both in the WTF and the Top Pick categories.
Danger Girl G.I. Joe #4 (of 5)
Dave: Campbell is a menace! There, I said it. He’s setting a bad example for girls everywhere, even if he’s a man who draws big hips like no other, but look at those legs! Impossibly skinny to the point of hilariousness. Me thinks the girl in black is related to the Pumpkin King from Nightmare Before Christmas.
Brendan: Illogical proportions are Campbell’s claim to fame, and he isn’t disappointing here. For whatever reason, I feel like this is a case of Campbell being off his game. For the most part, he tends to draw his ladies with some meat on the bones but for whatever reason he went super-skinny on this cover. It didn’t pan out well.
Colder #1
Dave: This cover is pretty fliipping sweet. The rendition of the teeth in particular are spectacular as they look incredibly real. Whoever thought up this horror show deserves a gift certificate to Red Lobster for best disgusting idea of the month.
Brendan: Nope nope nope. I don’t even like looking at this cover. It is amazingly disgusting and, credit where credit is due, it is incredibly well done. My only problem is that looking at it makes me want to vomit.
Comics Being Released This Week
This is a cleaned up list via ComicList.com. Prices in USD. “AR” = Ask Retailer. Comic availability subject to change.
- BOOM STUDIOS
- Clive Barker’s Hellraiser The Road Below #1 (Of 4), $3.99
- Freelancers #1, $1.00
- Garfield #7, $3.99
- Hypernaturals #5, $3.99
- Planet Of The Apes Cataclysm #3, $3.99
- DARK HORSE COMICS
- 47 Ronin #1 (Of 5), $3.99
- Buffy The Vampire Slayer Willow Wonderland #1 (Of 5), $2.99
- Colder #1 (Of 5), $3.99
- Criminal Macabre They Fight By Night (One Shot), $3.99
- DC COMICS
- Action Comics #14, $3.99
- Animal Man #14, $2.99
- Batwing #14, $2.99
- Before Watchmen Moloch #1 (Of 2), $3.99
- DC Nation #2, $4.99
- Detective Comics #14, $3.99
- Dial H #6, $2.99
- Earth 2 #6, $2.99
- Fairest #9, $2.99
- G.I. Combat #6, $3.99
- Green Arrow #14, $2.99
- Green Lantern #14, $2.99
- Legends Of The Dark Knight #2, $3.99
- Scooby-Doo Where Are You #27, $2.99
- Smallville Season 11 #7, $3.99
- Stormwatch #14, $2.99
- Swamp Thing #14, $2.99
- Sweet Tooth #39, $2.99
- Worlds’ Finest #6, $2.99
- DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT
- Flash Gordon Zeitgeist #7, $3.99
- Garth Ennis’ Battlefields #1 (Of 6), $3.99
- Garth Ennis’ Jennifer Blood #19, $3.99
- Pathfinder #3, $3.99
- Shadow #7, $3.99
- Warlord Of Mars Dejah Thoris #18, $3.99
- IDW PUBLISHING
- Danger Girl G.I. JOE #4 (Of 4), $3.99
- G.I. JOE #19, $3.99
- Love and Capes What to Expect #4 (Of 6), $3.99
- Magic The Gathering The Spell Thief #4, $4.99
- Mars Attacks #5, $3.99
- Popeye #7, $3.99
- Pound Ghoul’s Night Out #3 (Of 4), $3.99
- Star Trek The Next Generation Hive #2 (Of 4), $3.99
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Color Classics #6, $3.99
- Transformers Regeneration One #85, $3.99
- IMAGE COMICS
- Creator Owned Heroes #6, $3.99
- Epic Kill #6, $2.99
- Guarding The Globe #3, $2.99
- Harvest #4 (Of 5), $3.50
- Manhattan Projects #7, $3.50
- Nancy In Hell On Earth #4 (Of 4), $3.99
- Perhapanauts Danger Down Under #1 (Of 4), $3.50
- Storm Dogs #1 (Of 6), $3.50
- Super Dinosaur #15, $2.99
- Thought Bubble Anthology #2, $3.99
- MARVEL COMICS
- Age Of Apocalypse #9, $2.99
- Avengers #33, $3.99
- Avengers Academy #39 (Final Issue), $2.99
- Avenging Spider-Man #14, $3.99
- AvX Consequences #5 (Of 5), $3.99
- Daredevil End Of Days #2 (Of 8), $3.99
- Deadpool #1, $2.99
- Defenders #12 (Final Issue), $3.99
- Iron Man #1, $3.99
- Marvel Universe The Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Comic Reader #4, $3.99
- Marvel’s Iron Man 2 Adaptation #1 (Of 2), $2.99
- New Avengers #32, $3.99
- Road To Oz #3 (Of 6), $3.99
- Scarlet Spider #11, $2.99
- Spaceknights #2 (Of 3), $3.99
- Uncanny X-Force #33, $3.99
- X-Factor #246, $2.99
- X-Men #38, $3.99
- VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT
- Shadowman #1, $3.99
- ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT
- Fly Volume 2 The Fall #1 (of 5), $2.99
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