This Month in Covers: January 2010

One of the beautiful things about the comic book medium is that it is one of the few art forms that allows readers to both literally and figuratively judge books by their covers. The work of a cover artist is not always to encapsulate the plot of the issue; in fact, most times the cover is  completely unrelated to the content inside. The primary job of the artist is to make the book stand out - to grab readers by the throat and force them to take a look at the issue, even as it's speckled in with dozens of other books on the shelf, Wednesday after Wednesday.

It is entirely possible to purchase a book based on its cover and find the content inside to be complete drivel, or worse yet, with art that pales in comparison to the work of the cover artist. Alternatively, a poor cover could potentially lead readers away from books that are otherwise goldmines. There's a lot riding on that cover, so CraveOnline is taking it upon ourselves to take a look at the covers and artists that made us stop dead in our tracks in the first month of 2010. 

5. Adventure Comics #6
Cover by Francis Manapul



Francis Manapul's covers for Adventure Comics, both the standard ones and the variants, have been stellar. And while they've obviously both featured Superboy and Krypto before, issue #6 marks the first time that a cover has featured Superboy and Krypto being chased by a huge f*cking T-Rex. The equation is quite simple: Kryptonian mammals + genetically created Superman/Lex Luthor clone + prehistoric monstrosity = a spot on this list.

If I'm honest, it's certainly not Manapul's best cover work from this series, but as I said: how can it not be featured here? Krypto's expression is priceless; we know he has immense loyalty to Superman and his friends, but clearly if you throw a dinosaur into the mix all of that bleeding heart nonsense is out the window entirely. 

4. Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War #1
Cover by Raymond Swanland



In my humble opinion, it's got to be hard for a talented artist like Swanland to really botch a cover featuring characters as intrinsically badass as Aliens and Predators. If we're being realistic, both of these creatures were created decades ago, so all Swanland really had to do was figure out a way to maximize their potential awesomeness. That, and learn how to render amazing paintings of cinematic monsters.

The idea that a Predator tribe has enslaved Aliens to do their bidding is wild, and it's also a part of the plot of Three World War. Luckily, Swanland took the right approach for this issue's cover, equating the Predators to a manhunting party, and their leashed Aliens to the rabid dogs on their leashes waiting to tear into the first thing it sees. It's a great image that effectively makes you want to tear open the book for more. Unfortunately, the story between the covers will not satisfy those desires in any way, shape, or form. 

3. Black Widow: Deadly Origin #3
Cover by Adi Granov



I'll admit I have a strange affinity for stained glass windows, and a less strange affinity for beautiful woman cleavage. And Daredevil. A hard-on for him too.

Well, if you combine those three things, you have an equation much like the aforementioned dino/Kryptonian deal. Black Widow has always been one of Marvel's sexiest women, and Granov's rendition of her here sitting upon her stone chair, arbitrarily handling her pistol only underlines that. Of course, her skintight suit being half unzipped with a face that has an uncanny likeness to Ali Larter doesn't really hurt her cause. 

In seriousness, I love how the composition between Daredevil and Widow can suggest more than one thing. On the one hand, could Daredevil be Widow's backup? Is her seeming indifference in this image because she knows good ol' Matt Murdock has got her back? Surely, Black Widow doesn't need backup, so that could also suggest that Daredevil is sneaking up on a knowing Widow, who is disarming herself simply because she doesn't see the threat. 

It's a rather simple (but sexy) image, but also startlingly thought provoking.

2. Stumptown #2
Cover by Matthew Southworth



More than anything, the color scheme of Southworth's cover to Stumptown #2 stands out the most. The teal and yellow is instantly grabbing. It's mostly aesthetic in design, but it works to a great advantage, leaving you no choice but to pick up the book and see what it's all about.

Once the colors grab you, the imagery will lock you in. If you don't know what Stumptown is all about, you can actually infer quite a bit from this issue's cover alone, which is what I really love about it. Seeing Dex's bruised reflection in her windshield as she breathes in the reality of a parking ticket left under her wiper is sort of hilarious, in a kicking-her-while-she's-down sort of way, but it also gives an unfamiliar reader the impression of who this book is about. It's obvious that this woman is a bit of a mess. Also from the image, you can gather that Dex is some sort of investigator or cop, and that the story takes place in Portland, Oregon.

And for those of us that already do know, well, only two issues in and we know that the image here encompasses Dex's character to a tee. 

1. Catwoman #83
Cover by Adam Hughes



Yeah, yeah. I'm partial to Adam Hughes' work. Sue me. It's always a treat to feast my eyes on his Audrey Hepburn look alike Selina Kyle.

Of all the Blackest Night revival titles that DC put out during the month of January, Catwoman was my most anticipated, obviously. But Hughes' cover only exacerbated that, teasing a confrontation of Catwoman and the man she murdered with a nifty point blank headshot, Black Mask. The looming corpse in the background adds the obligatory horror quality to the book's Blackest Night spin, as does the blood dripping skull that Selina holds in her hand. 

The addition of her own whip wrapping around her with the leaves suggests something very haunting about the whole composition, but in the tongue-in-cheek fashion that we've come to expect from Hughes' cover work.