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.
Saga #69
Cover by Fiona Staples
Across it’s 68 previous issues, Saga has been this powerhouse space drama. It’s explored the ideas of family and community, the politics of race and class, and even how one tiny gesture can practically shift a universe. But has it also been the lead up to one giant sex joke? Because if we look at issue #69, there’s some really strong evidence — the issue number itself, obviously, but also the cover from co-creator Fiona Staples and even that oh-so clever tagline/solicitation (“Old allies explore new positions”). Were that actually the case, it would be the most brilliant move ever, and I’d applaud Staples and Brian K. Vaughan until my hands fell off. But it’s really just the best darn proof that you can be emotionally resonant and narratively complex and still tell a really well-done, totally immature sex joke. If anything, being so robust and impactful means that Saga‘s jokes — and there are heaps more beyond issue #69 — are somehow more poignant and thoughtful. The actual cover itself, for instance, is utterly beautiful and deeply human and the apex of this “joke issue” — the perfect realization of what makes Saga such an iconic title after all this time. Now, I can’t wait till they get to issue #86 and make another dumb little joke for my own amusement.
The Amazing Spider-Man #58
Variant cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli
Issue #58 of The Amazing Spider-Man promises to kick off the “most visceral issues” in the title’s history. (This is legacy issue #952, FYI.) So, given the impending chaos and heartache, why didn’t I opt for the main cover (from John Romita, Jr., Scott Hanna, and Morry Hollowell)? Surely, “rain-soaked Spidey” is a great appetizer for the upcoming physical and mental carnage likely to be unleashed upon Peter Parker’s life? Well, I guess the Giuseppe Camuncoli variant cover spoke to me. Perhaps because if we’re going to make Spidey struggle and squirm, capturing him in a moment of peace is both kinda fun and also just a little bit messed up. I could also add that reading a Dazzler comic (from 2024, mind you) is a neat bit of meta that feels mostly on par with Spider-Man stories. But of all the cool things happening here, it’s that Spider-Man’s literally between some chaos, and that feels like such a powerful visual metaphor for how he lives his life and operates as a Spider-Man. That he’s seemingly always staring down the barrel of his “most visceral issues” yet, and that Spidey finds a way to still enjoy things (even amid the stress and madness of it all). You can’t keep a good geek down, and Spidey will also be himself no matter the troubles. Talk about a hero, amirite?
Zatanna: Bring Down The House #4
Cover by Javier Rodríguez
Inside of Zatanna: Bring Down The House, Mariko Tamaki and Javier Rodríguez have been telling one heck of a story about everyone’s favorite DC magical badas. (That isn’t John Constantine.) But on the main covers, Rodríguez himself has been telling a story all on his own. Each cover has not only been a different color (perhaps to mirror some emotional sentiment or other vital character-related thread?), but there’s something else. After issue #1, where Zatanna had her back turned as if she was mid-trick, the resulting issues feel like they’ve all been part of some larger trick. Which makes sense given that issue #2 and issue #3 maintained a steady focus on rabbits and hats. So, then, how does said trick move to Paris and suddenly involve Constantine himself? Well, this is a magical superhero we’re dealing with, and clearly Zatanna would have the skill and power to execute such a deeply complicated trick. But what I think it speaks to is how magic is used and regarded here — as if all of this is one big journey to the prestige, with layers and turns we couldn’t see coming. Story as a stage show, if you will, and just another demonstration of the magic that this book’s unleashing across every aspect. And even if I’m way off, just enjoy a little romance from the City of Lights, yeah?
Creepshow #1
Cover by Martin Morazzo
Do you need even more horror-centric anthologies in your life? Then don’t forget to attend the Creepshow, Image Comics’ semi-regular spotlight of “tales of suspense and horror.” Perhaps the biggest difference between Creepshow and some “competitors,” though, is that this title usually focuses on just two stories (with this month featuring tales from James Stokoe and Chip Zdarsky-Kagan McLeod). Plus, this third volume also has another upside thanks to covers from Martin Morazzo, who sets the tone with this excellent offering for issue #1. On the surface, it’s a rather “standard” offering for these kinds of stories/anthologies, with something ripped from the best episodes of Tales from the Crypt. But as he’s demonstrated across the long-running Ice Cream Man, Morazzo is a pro at balancing the mundane and the terrifying. Because while a lot of the horror is clearly front and center, there’s other touches — the dark background, the sheer psychic terror of the man’s face — that add all new layers and pockets to this experience. It’s as if your vision goes to the gross eyeball straws only for everything else to creep in slowly, and all of it works so brilliantly in tandem to affect the viewer on several levels. I dare say this cover is even more tasty than the knuckle sandwich being served up.
Survival Street: The Radical Left #1
Cover by Abylai Kusainov
With issue #69, Saga demonstrated the value of the overt and obvious. By broadcasting so loudly and cheekily, it helped temper the joke in such a way that it made it all the more appealing (without ruining the inherent “silliness” of the whole gimmick). The team for Survival Street: The Radical Left, meanwhile, take a slightly different approach, and one that shows the power of nuance and subtlety. Now, the idea of this series emphasizing any of that seems a little strange — it’s about puppets rebelling in a fascist new America, after all — but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Because what you see are mutant Muppets, and you’re thinking “aw, how adorable” as much as you’re also thinking, “Is my life insurance up to date?” And maybe all those peace signs make you feel a little better, until you realize that one of them has a slightly different message to present. You may miss the gesture entirely, and maybe that’s the point: it’s about sliding it just under the surface, and to make people work to engage the larger message and meaning here. That defined the deeply effective satire at the heart of the first volume, and how even with mutant puppets (is that where Muppets comes from?!), the book was able to feel textured and deliberate (and still obvious and deeply weird). Let’s hope volume two can build on this beyond a great cover.
Violent Flowers #1
Variant cover by Maria Llovet
When we spoke at the end of August, writer-artist Maria Llovet clearly had some big plans in mind for Violent Flowers. Not only had she spent years developing the world of this vampire revenge story, but she wanted to build it beyond the initial four issues with “several self-contained arcs.” And while time will tell what will happen with Violent Flowers, I think a sign of its potential success can be found in Llovet’s own variant cover to issue #1. (That also goes for for Llovet’s other covers for the debut.) As far as strong initial images go, the idea of a gothic vampire holding a fresh human heart is pretty strong. But there’s other things that seem just as powerful about this cover. The way Llovet depicts blood with a kind of elegance and romanticism; the deeply human quality that infuses Llovet’s line work and colors, as if we can feel her presence in this book; and even the look that somehow combines rage, desperation, and this kind of quiet agony. It’s a book that presents a literal heart and still presents its more metaphorical heart, with Llovet showing just how robust and involved this series feels as a sharp expression of her various inspirations and creative ideas. If the cover is just the beginning, Violent Flowers may drain us of all our emotions and pocket change alike.
Wolverine: Revenge – Red Band Edition #2
Variant cover by Juan Ferreyra
Sure, we already had our hit of “retro comics cheesiness/horror/etc.” for this edition of Judging by the Cover. But like that time I had 3 Hot and Spicy McChickens, I need more of that wonderful hear. I’d say that Juan Ferrayra’s variant to Wolverine: Revenge – Red Band Edition #2 goes deeper into the nostalgia black hole than some other similarly-themed pieces. (Plus, it’s an homage to an actual cover.) The tone and feel of the page, for instance, is as old-school as I’ve seen it, and I can practically smell the “paper” and feel it (theoretically) tear under my greasy fingers. But it goes deeper still: the fact that Sabretooth is using knives, and how that just feels very ’50s/’60s; the era-appropriate customers for the heroes to the left, including a very Boy Wonder-looking Winter Soldier for some reason; and the “these could’ve easily been on a knock-off haunted house at your local state fair” depictions for both Deadpool and Omega Red. All of that together makes me feel like we pulled this cover from a time capsule of some very similar alternate future, and there’s a perfect mix of eras and energies here to make this whole “gimmick” work extraordinarily well. I don’t know what someone from, like, 1957 would think of a Red Band story, but I’m sure they’d leap out of their corduroy slacks or whatever.
Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #2
Cover by Michael Walsh
We (just me) here at Judging by the Cover like to take some extreme positions. And by that I mean, I will stare at a cover for 5 seconds or 15 minutes until I generate an idea that I think is novel. That, to me, is how we really honor these pieces, and go above and beyond the mere premise of this feature to explore art in a more meaningful way. Sometimes I come up with a winner, and sometimes I’m a rambling weirdo. I feel like I may land in the latter category with Universal Monsters: Frankenstein #2, but hear me out anyway. Because writer-artist Michael Walsh has clearly been trying to build a deeply human take on Frankenstein’s monster, and sussing out the relatability and connection inherent to this story. And so with that in mind, I thought about how the lines in the brain are like the links in the chains. We are, for better and/or worse, all bound by our biology and our basic building blocks. No matter what happens to us, there’s only so far we can move or stretch, and we’ll almost always be exactly what we were meant as people and upper primates. That, to me at least, feels like a perfect realization of this book’s early work, and how humanity is a process as much as it is this thing that we just kind of arrive upon one day. Am I out of my mind? Maybe. But sometimes you’ve got to follow the art where it leads you.
Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween #1
Variant cover by Jim Lee
My ongoing coverage of Batman: The Long Halloween – The Last Halloween continues as we’re almost upon the actual release of issue #1. And perhaps the most compelling thing about The Last Halloween — and boy oh boy are there so many as this celebrates the legacy of Tim Sale — is the sheer starpower attached to this book. Not only in who is drawing the actual issues, but the variant covers. And we kick off with perhaps the most shiny comics celebrities with this variant cover from legend and DC publisher Jim Lee. On the one hand, this cover doesn’t initially scream “whizbang” or generally get the blood pumping. But this is Jim “Freakin’” Lee after all, and he’s built a career on fostering something a little more impactful even as it’s more “subtle.” Everytime I see a Lee-penned Batman, I am reminded that no one fosters as much charm, power, and emotion — this Batman unfurls in front of you as some creature of raw energy and intent. Also, I wouldn’t associate the blood red moon with Halloween per say, but that bit of imagery actually works really well. And even the way Gotham’s depicted here feels as grand and romantic as ever even as it seems to “react” to the settings/mood of this story. Lee’s power is in giving us a snapshot of a character, and here Batman is every bit the monster and man he’s always meant to be. Talk about true star power, yeah?
