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.
Transformers #12
Cover by Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer
Maybe you’re still sad that Daniel Warren Johnson is leaving Transformers after issue #24. And that with the arrival of this month’s issue #12, we’re officially at the halfway mark of his award-winning, canon-transforming series. Be sure to feel those feelings as you need, but don’t be too down because, as evidenced by the cover for #12, it’s clear that Johnson ain’t done blowing our collective brainpans just yet. As the arc finale promises that both Autobots and Decepticons will “make choices that will change the universe forever,” Johnson (and colorist Mike Spicer) deliver an especially impressive feat of visual majesty that captures both sides of this story. Yes, it seems as if Optimus Prime is staring down the barrel of complete and total annihilation for himself, the Autobots, humanity, and maybe even decency as a universal concept. But he’s as stoic as ever (and that’s saying a ton) — willing to plant his feet and fight back against whatever may come for him and all innocents. So, you can choose to feel scared or you can choose to feel good — all of that is on you. And that’s been this book’s power the whole time: to bring us in like few other books can, and test our ideas and feelings about life, goodness, and giant robots. The end may be coming, but it’s not here yet, gang.
Wolverine #1
Variant cover by Peach Momoko
Marvel is really going HAM with this new Wolverine series (from Saladin Ahmed and Martín Cóccolo). I mean, just look at this tidbits from the solicitation: “Logan will have to unleash his claws, push his healing factor to the limit and demonstrate he’s the best there is at what he does once and for all — nice be damned”; “an old enemy will re-emerge as a new villain rises who will bring Logan to the brink of his berserker rage”; and “A key first appearance and a major addition to the lore of Wolverine in this issue!” It’s enough to make you run into the woods Logan-style and staring howling at the moon. But for my money, the real draw is this Peach Momoko variant cover. Because if we’re seemingly trying to boil this book down to it’s core, I can’t imagine a better image than this. It’s old-school but also very new; savage but also kind of touching (maybe because I can’t tell if he’s fighting with or against those wolves); and something with the right balance of grit and gravitas. In short, the kind of snapshot of Wolverine that shows us who he’ll always be while proving to us that our perceptions can always shift because this character is always growing and extending across his very long lifespan. So, yeah, be jazzed for all the violence and drama, but also be excited as we get a chance to connect even deeper with everyone’s favorite short king.
DC vs. Vampires: World War V #2
Variant cover by Daniele Di Nicuolo
I used to think Damian Wayne was kind of, and this a clinical psychologist’s term, a mean-spirited little shit. But over the years, and across various stories and titles, young Damian has evolved into a character with complexities and heart galore, and it’s hard not to feel for the kid. One such story that’s really helped my “relationship” with Damian has been DC vs. Vampires and its ongoing sequel, DC vs. Vampires: World War. Without revealing too much, Damian was turned and now basically acts as a thorn in the side of both humans and vamps (it’s complicated, if you hadn’t already picked up on that). If it helps, you can just study this great Daniele Di Nicuolo variant for WW‘s second issue. There’s both a real darkness and a child-like wonder to Damian — that’s a solid baseline be he vampire or not. I also love the whole lighting motif: it’s an interesting spin visually for a vampire story while I think it might also speak to something morally or emotionally that Damian’s trying to do across this latest storyline. It’s a snapshot of Damian as this brilliant, unwavering force, and someone who can balance worlds, approaches, ideas, etc. in a way that feels really insightful and always compelling/entertaining. Sure, he’s still kind of a tool-bag, but he’s our tool-bag forever and ever.
Red Before Black #2
Cover by Goran Sudžuka and Ive Svorcina
With the cover to issue #1, Red Before Black really wore its big, bright Floridian heart on its sleeves. (Or it would if it didn’t cut them all off — zing!) And, to an extent, that debut cover made sense, as Red Before Black is clearly a book that’s all about that state’s whole cultural vibes/energy. But writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Goran Sudžuka also proved that the book is so much more than its sweaty, swampy origins. So, as issue #2 promises an “intimate look into (Val’s) character and origins before Florida,” we get this really interesting and multifaceted cover from Sudžuka and colorist Ive Svorcina. There’s a kind of cartoonish quality here, which is interesting considering the very real issues and human drama at the center of this book. It’s almost sort of laughable if it didn’t feel so intimidating and imposing, and that little added texture shows how funny and deeply thoughtful this book is to its core. And, of course, we get some great continued imagery with the snake and the creeping vines — as if to say that the book’s “Florida-ness” is always looming and informing the book’s ideas and themes. If you want a book that really goes there — and by that I mean a multifaceted emotional and narrative experience — then Red Before Black is that book. And if you also want more dope snakes, Red Before Black is still your book.
The Pedestrian #2
Variant cover by Valentine De Landro
Sort of like Red Before Black, The Pedestrian is a book with a lot going on. But while there’s so many angles and ideas weaving in and out of this book, I definitely think there’s a certain aesthetic attached thanks to series artist Sean Von Gorman. (And, to a lesser extent, one also facilitated by issue #1 guest cover artist and Von Gorman hero, Michael Allred.) It’s a style/artistic approach that’d all about sleek lines and big, bold colors — this aesthetic that’s clearly got heaps of substance but also feels deeply, profoundly stylized. And while that clearly works for this book, I like when things get a little more “messy” (in the very best way) thanks to variant covers from the likes of Valentine De Landro. There’s a bit more chaos and uncertainty to The Pedestrian, as if he maybe isn’t as mysterious or unknowable as we may think. At the same time, I love the way the city is considered here: it’s links and connections are all the more familiar, and even if it’s this wild, twisted web, there’s a certain warmth and affirmation to the sprawl. Those ideas feel like they speak to the heart of The Pedestrian, and give us even more insight and connective material on top of the story proper. I for one can’t wait to further wander these streets to see what else we can find.
Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II #5
Variant cover by James Stokoe
Over the years, I have seen James Stokoe draw some truly crazy, mind-shattering works. That includes the entirety of both Orphan and the Five Beasts and Godzilla in Hell (take that, traditional depictions of the afterlife), and about a million great/intense variant covers. But of all the things I’ve seen Stokoe birth from his sweet, sweet brain, somehow Godzilla battling the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is both the most and least weird. As is tradition with Stokoe’s work, the sheer detail here is unbelievable — I can practically hear the crunch of Earth and feel the light reflecting off the Rangers’ helmets. And, sure, I don’t know why the Rangers have such mega-ripped quads and calves (I guess it makes sense?) — I just know that it somehow feels off-center and maybe a little off-putting. But at the same time, Stokoe’s depiction of a giant atomic lizard is decidedly “normal” — a version of ‘Zilla that feels familiar even as it’s got its own levels of power/intensity. The end result is a snapshot of my own childhood on psychedelics, and something that shows us that the chasm between the weird and the identifiable is maybe closer than we’d expect. What that lesson, then, has to teach is up for you to fully discover — I’m just going to eat a handful of oyster crackers and stare at this bad boy a little longer.
Midst: The Valorous Farmer #1
Cover by Will Kirkby
I’m always a fan when a cover depicts exactly what’s going to happen in a story. Even as I’m also very much a fan when I know what’s going on in a story and the artist takes a massive left turn into new and wonderful territory. In the case of Midst: The Valorous Farmer #1, I see what the story’s going to be doing and even by now I can already tell the cover’s got some other ideas/directions in mind. Midst is basically an intergalactic/fantastical version of a farmer (Hildebrand) try to save their family farm from being taken by “the Trust” (the bank, yeah?) as they deal with unknown disasters. (You know, that old chestnut that John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen wrote a million songs about!) As for the Will Kirkby cover, I sort of get farmer, disaster, and the alien/strange settings. But beyond that, I’m a little lost, and I’m starting to think that there’s maybe something more than the unlucky farmer and the space disasters (even as that seems totally layered and great in and of itself). Is there more of a horror vibe permeating this piece? Are we in for a psychedelic storm of happenings and story energy? Either one seems likely, but one thing remains clear: Midst is already in that wonderful space of playing with perceptions and understandings that all the best, most interesting books do from day one. I hope my lack of terra firma here really does lead to something big and complicated and brilliant.
Profane #4
Variant cover by Sean Phillips and Pip Martin
I almost didn’t choose this cover for a few reasons. Mostly because, as great as Sean Phillips and Pip Martin did with this Profane #4 variant, I thought the series proper wasn’t as direct. Sure, it’s a massively meta story about a fictional P.I. cracking the case of his deceased creator, but the creative team (including writer Peter Milligan) have done a really great job of taking this tome away from some of its “competitors” and into the realm of a truly novel dissection of great, multi-level storytelling. But the more I looked at this variant cover, the more some of its key details and features really stood out. Like, the placement of the cut-out felt extra pertinent somehow, as if that page meant something. I also thought that the page number or this being early on in the story had some significance. Or, and maybe I’ve lost it entirely, but I swear you can read the occasional word — that’s got to be a great trick to play with our perceptions and get the reader to really and truly dissect this scene. Then, of course, there’s just the lush detailed scene outside the book — it’s that perfect distillation of ’40s pulp that further blurs the lines between reality, fiction, and what it all really means. So, yeah, maybe it took a little time, but this cover really opened up to me as a novel continuation of Profane‘s existing efforts. Get it? Opened up like a book!
Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames #1
Cover by John McCrea
While it might call itself the “world’s most unkillable comic,” there was a time when I thought we might not get a follow-up to 2019’s excellent Dead Eyes. But I’m wrong and dumb, and writer Gerry Duggan and artist John McCrea (alongside colorist Mike Spicer and letterer Joe Sabino) have roared back with Dead Eyes: The Empty Frames. And based on McCrea’s own cover to issue #1, it’s more of what worked and maybe some new tweaks and tinges. For instance, the character work remains top-notch — just some simple but hugely effective black and white figures like our very own Dead Eyes proves that this book can engage pulp and noir in a really deliberate but wholly novel manner. But we’re also getting some more lush and colorful elements thanks to the infusion of an art heist. It’s not only a really solid contrast to the more understated colors and tones that define the first series, but it adds a certain elegance and beauty that perhaps offsets all that grit and heft within Dead Eyes. Even the idea that the title is part of this gallery adds a little meta tinge that feels like an interesting development/extension of this book. There’s so much working here to get us stoked, and I’m glad not only is Dead Eyes “unkillable,” but it can still find new layers of life and purpose in its second series.
