A Special Programming Note: Beginning with this week’s edition, Chris Coplan is returning to Judging by the Cover full-time. We’d like to thank Colin Moon for all of his hard work, and for joyously stewarding JBTC and maintaining this column’s geeky vibes and unwavering commitment to all great comics. Now, on the with show!
Most comic book fans have a solid idea about what they’re going to buy every week as they descend upon 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, funny, scary, etc. 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 our attention this week, with entries from comics editor Chris Coplan. This is Judging by the Cover.
X-Men #20
Cover by Ryan Stegman, J.P. Mayer, and Marte Gracia
If you’re familiar with Judging by the Cover under my first “reign,” you’ll be aware of my “special” relationship with Scott Summers. It used be that I had it out for the man who willingly called himself Cyclops, but that (one-sided) animosity has cooled over the years. A lot of that has been due to the Jed Mackay-penned ongoing X-Men, where Scott has really proven himself as this edgy leader who isn’t afraid to bend the rules as much even as his Boy Scout shtick remains intact with an endless loyalty for his team. So, to see him in a prison would have once brought me great delight, but now Ryan Stegman, et. al’s depiction exemplifies Scott’s new heft and edge. Maybe it’s the stylish wounds, or the quiet reserve baked across his entire body. Maybe it’s the slightly comical nature of having Lundqvist looking on very disappointed. Either way, it’s possible for our “relationships” to change with these characters, and Scott just needed the right treatment for me to see him as someone worthy of my engagement. Maybe that’ll change with subsequent stories and creators, but for now, Cyclops is the coolest cat on the block.
Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1
Cover by Martin Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran
And speaking of characters who used to be a little meh but now I genuinely admire, we come to Superman: The Kryptonite Spectrum #1. Even if my own life path hadn’t opened me up to Supes’ place as “comics’ eternal engine of hope and second chances,” I’d be excited for the Ice Cream Man team of W. Maxwell Prince and Martin Morazzo getting a chance to write comics’ most shiny hero. Especially when the when the story involves the discovery of four new Kryptonite varities that Supes has to test/grapple with to prevent their future misuse. I would’ve like to see, say, Gray Kryptonite that makes Superman do the Running Man until he passes out, but the Morazzo-Chris O’Halloran main cover is still quite good. Because despite its overt gimmickry, the point of Kryptonite is to help us understand the many varied sides of Supes, and to see how the right lens can help us continually reevaluate the mightiest man in the DCU. So, sure, Red Kryptonite might make Supes angry, but at the end of the day, it’s just a device to unearth some part of himself that he’d right ignore or hide away. This cover reminds us of that truth, and that Supes’ biggest issue may be having to contend with parts of himself that affect his ability to be a “proper” hero deserving of our praise and love. Joke’s on him, though: The more we see the many parts of the Man of Steel, the more powerful he becomes in our collective eyes.
Bug Wars #6
Cover by Mahmud Asrar and Matt Wilson
In addition to grappling with my own former “rivalries” with Cyclops and Superman, another hallmark of Judging by the Cover is my love of ample body horror. And if I’m being totally honesty, the prospect of dozens of tiny mutilated bodies does fill me with a weird joy. (What we lose in glorious detail we make for in the sheer ridiculousness and absurdity of a chaotic, blood-soaked battlefield the size of your average throw rug.) But that’s mostly been the M.O. of Bug Wars across its first five issues, as artist Mahmud Asrar has shed heaps of blood in this fantasy epic about bug-people at war. This latest feat isn’t just impressive for total liters of blood, but it’s just as much about the technical accomplishments that come with this cover. Like how every single body gets both a certain level of dignity but also feels unique in its suffering. Or, the solemness of the surrounding yard; it adds a bit of distance that really augments the sheer carnage of this scene. Even the oddly cold metallic feel of the lawnmower itself reads like this really solid commentary about the nature of war/conflict. So, yeah, blood = dope AF, but if you add to and extend the image with warmth, intellect, and skill, you get something altogether more devastating. I do not envy the person who has to clean that mower, though.
Space Ghost (2025) #1
Cover by Francesco Mattina
My list of “things that bug” may not include Superman or Cyclops anymore, but “needless reboots” are very much still on this list. Case in point: an all-new Space Ghost #1, which resets a little more than a year after May 2024’s own #1. That minor disdain is then extended because the creative team is the same (David Pepose and Jonathan Lau reuniting, folks), and it seems like they’re just resetting because it’s a “new year” and/or why not take advantage of the series’ buzz with a solid cash grab? The only reason I’ll let this slide (aside from Space Ghost actually being a solid bit of nostalgia with added layers) is this amazing Francesco Mattina cover. I love to see the normally stoic SPG continue to get beaten and dirty; this book has expertly humanized him like no other property/title before. I also like that I get the slightest vibes of Doom Guy/the Space Marine, and even if that’s just my own perception, it does ground SG in a really neat tradition of space-faring heroes. Heck, even the fact that we can see his zipper just proves that SG is more real than we could’ve ever imagined, and we’re seeing him grow/evolve in a way that’s dark and uncomfortable but ultimately satisfying to this character’s long-term prospects. Just don’t make me yell at you again next August or whatever.
Cemetery Kids Run Rabid #1
Variant cover by Gegê Schall
The day after this edition of Judging by the Cover drops, you’ll get to enjoy another tried-and-true “Coplan Deep Dive” with series writer Zac Thompson. While I’ll preserve the bulk of our chat for the article proper, I can offer at least one tidbit that he shared about Cemetery Kids Run Rabid. Specifically, the sequel to the truly great Cemetery Kids Don’t Die is meant to be even more dark and harsh, as Thompson (and artist Daniel Irizarri) wanted these kids to really feel the full weight of adolescence and growing pains at the end of a murderous video game. That’s never more apparent (until we get the book at least) than with this Gegê Schall variant to issue #1. For one, the brutalist architecture of (what I’m assuming to be) the kids’ school is just extra depressing; all that concrete feels like we’re in a mausoleum or something. Meanwhile, the kids are just close enough to mimic some sense of teamwork even as there’s clearly some distance and strain between these friends. (Plus, Wilson is out front, and that should maybe tell you something important…) Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned the monsters darting this cover — if you somehow missed them by looking at/feeling all this teen angst, then the cover has clearly done its job and then some. I’d love if you read the deep dive, but this cover alone has pretty much assured that enough of you will grab CKRR with gusto. Mission accomplished?
Toxic Avenger Comics #2
Cover by Fred Harper
Speaking of deep dives (and ones you can actually read already!), I had the chance recently to sit down with Matt Bors to talk all things Toxic Avenger. That included the mostly-titular book, a title that will see Bors and some rotating artists tell a series of one-shots leading into a big storyline, “Toxie Goes to Washington.” After the body horror of issue #1, Bors and artist Felipe Sobreiro have joined forces for a crime story, in which Toxie contends with the mystery of a dead body that’s fingered him as the killer. In the meantime, though, I love Fred Harper’s cover for a few reasons. One, it expertly hints at the old-school noir-tinged vibes of the story. That, and it also doesn’t take things to seriously — it looks like Toxie pulled that coat/hat from a nearby garbage can. And that’s really a vital part of Toxie’s genre exploration: As much as it spins our mutated hero in a new, maybe cooler light, we can’t forget he’s a weird giant mutant. And that, folks, is why the Toxic Avenger is so important to me: His mutation isn’t a reminder of the value of strength, but the strength that you find when you embrace something deep in yourself (i.e., your weird/loner status). Plus, I like the idea of someone trying to knife Toxie; I hope you enjoy licking toxic waste off the floor with broken teeth.
Bring on the Bad Guys: Red Skull #1
Variant cover by Andrea Sorrentino
It doesn’t take much to make the Red Skull seem all that scary. If your face naturally looks like it’s a burnt piece of red leather from a chapter of the Satanic Temple, then you can terrify people with the greatest of ease. But in a case where less truly is more, Andrea Sorrentino opted for this minimalist approach to Marvel’s Most Maladjusted Monster in this variant cover to Bring on the Bad Guys: Red Skull #1. We get the right level of SS imagery and iconography; not enough to pull away from the heinous visage of Red Skull himself, and just enough to contextualize his work. Then, there’s the angle of the teeth, which is just unnatural enough to unsettle without completely divorcing this image from its rather grounded context. And, of course, the choice of seeing just one eye is huge — it’s as if he’s peering off the very page into our souls, and yet there’s still this deep, unwavering air of mystery/unknowing. It’s a powerful image made all the more terrifying with the storyline, which promises to be an extra ruthless offering from Red Skull’s past. Whatever that may be, it couldn’t possibly be worse than this harrowing image of a man who, if nothing else, opted to look exactly like the monster he was all along. At least I hope it can’t be any worse….
Supergirl #4
Cover by Sophie Campbell
I’ve commented a few times in the past that I love when the writer-artist also does the covers. It’s simple, but it just means we get this really great preview that touches on the actual look and feel of the book and not, say, mirrors it contextually or existentially. And in the case of Supergirl #4, writer-artist Sophie Campbell has really outdone herself. I quite like this depiction of Decay — if by like, you mean I am disgusted with how utterly gross he is and how I can practically feel all that goo on my own body. (Also, it’s a version that somehow makes even the gelatinous Clayface seem practically clean and solid.) It’s also all about the angle of Supergirl here, like she came in with a flying kick only to instantly regret it (and, likely, while trying to remember the phone number of her local dry cleaner). But my favorite part of this cover are the little “preview” bubbles for Lena, Lesla-Lar, and our mystery guest. Because in an image with a giant mutant goo monster melting a young girl, these snapshots give these characters some significance and positions them front and center in our brains — without hampering the really sick monster pic. It’s just one great feat from this book so far, and I can’t wait to see what happens when the fight begins in earnest.
Quick Stops: Volume 3 #1
Cover by John Sprengelmeyer
Admittedly, Chasing Amy isn’t my favorite film in Kevin Smith’s whole View Askewniverse. Like, I get that it’s perhaps the most thematically mature and insightful, but it always just felt like it fetishized the whole lesbian thing to a point were it distracted from a story that’s also about compatibility and the male gaze. But if we’re going to see Smith and artist John Sprengelmeyer rehash it in the pages of a comic book, then I guess I’ll keep chasing Amy a little longer. Especially when Sprengelmeyer has whipped up this really great cover that homages the singular Michael Allred. And truly, Sprengelmeyer has just nailed the aesthetic in a way that, even as it expertly colors our engagement and expectations, it does so without feeling like a rip-off or just another cheap attention grab. Amy looks great as our lead, drawing the eye in a really tasteful but playful way. The dynamic with the painter plays with the whole “lesbian angle” in a way that feels appropriate and not just more lame fetishizing. And, if absolutely nothing else, an accurate depiction of Ben Affleck circa 1997 is something I didn’t know I needed but am glad I have right now. Maybe you were already onboard, but covers like this prove the View Askewniverse remains deeply, massively rich territory for proper reworkings/retellings.
