Covers of the Week 07/10/13

It is time for the best covers from the week that was. A quick reminder: only comics that I personally have purchased qualify for this piece. If a title contains more than one cover, only the one I own is taken into consideration. Now without further ado:

________________________________________________________

Fifth PlaceHawkeye #12
Cover Artist: Francesco Francavilla
________________________________________________________

Fourth Place Secret Avengers #6
Cover Artist: Nic Klein
________________________________________________________

Third Place Batman: Li’l Gotham #4
Dustin Nguyen certainly delivered one fun cover this week to take the third place spot. The personality of the various characters certainly pop off the page as we bear witness to them having their mug shots taken. We’ve got Lobo (who is casually holding a placard with “not Poison Ivy” humorously written on it), the Riddler (who is crouching calmly while holding his placard, making sure to get his staff into frame), Catwoman (who is refusing to receive her placard, her arms crossed in defiance), Two-Face (who is appropriately holding his placard sideways, the two words that consist his full name vertically running parallel to one another with “Harvey” running bottom to top and “Dent” top to bottom), the Penguin (who has his placard stuffed under one of his arms, more concerned at looking at his watch feeling this is a waste of his time), Harley Quinn (who is throwing quite a ruckus as she throws her placard away), the Joker (who instead of having his name written on his placard simply has the emoticon “;)”, a winking smiley face), and the Mad Hatter (who is holding up his placard with his famous tagline in place of the card that is usually nestled on his hat). Sprinkled behind all the characters are various objects associated with St. Patrick’s Day and Easter including leprechauns, a pot of gold, clovers, Easter bunnies, and Easter eggs which is appropriate since those are the two holidays covered within the issue. Overall, this series is a lighthearted look at the Batverse and its covers are filled to the brim with rich details and little nuances which help this title remain a contender month in and month out for Cover of the Week.
________________________________________________________

Second Place Batgirl #22
Alex Garner is the runner-up this week with this cover featuring Batgirl. Whereas third place was a playful look at the DC Universe, this one ups the drama tenfold. The image ends before we can see Batgirl’s eyes but what is clearly visible is the tears streaming down her sullen face, her emotions getting the better of her. In one of her hands is a knife, a knife that she has used to cut off her Bat-Logo as she feels she is unworthy of wearing the symbol due to her belief that she has taken the life of her brother. This murder weighs on her conscience as a bloody outline of her brother lies right in front of her, blood dripping down ominously. I absolutely love the use of lighting on the cover and how it gives off an eerie glow and hazy effect that helps solidify the haunting atmosphere for this truly dramatic image. Adding all these elements together along with the tagline “The Ultimate Sacrifice” really gets the minds of both fans in the know and those not in the know racing. How will Batgirl cope with what she has done? Is her brother truly dead? Will she ever consider herself worthy of wearing the symbol of the Bat again? And what is this “Ultimate Sacrifice”? It compels you to open the book up for answers and like I always say…that is what truly makes a great cover.
________________________________________________________

First PlaceFearless Defenders #6
And here is the Cover of the Week by Mark Brooks who wins this distinction for the third time and it looks like he has a stranglehold over this category. This month it’s an homage to horror comics done to perfection for numerous reasons. First off we have the title, Weird Stories, which is right in the same vein of other horror comics such as Strange Tales and Eerie Comics right down to the font used. This series actually being Fearless Defenders though creates the need for the title to be modified by taking our traditional logo and taping it over top of the Weird Stories one. I love the added detail of you actually being able to make out the scotch tape used to “apply” the correct title and it has some extra charm with one of the corners being curled with helps sell the fact that this was a quick fix. The second reason is the various visages of this cover’s “monsters”, the Doom Maidens. They are appropriately creepy and horrific especially the largest one who is not only breaking the confines of the cover’s border, but has piercing glowing eyes, a frightening saliva-filled mouth, and her hands are covered with cobwebs between her fingers as she tries to grab our heroes. Next up is our trio of female heroines consisting of Black Cat, Black Widow, and Misty Knight who are valiantly standing their ground despite the dangers they are encountering. The light coming from the lantern in Misty’s hand is masterfully done as well, lending that ghoulish glow that also illuminates the Doom Maiden’s huge arms just as they are about to swallow the three of them whole, a virtual umbrella of impending doom if you will. Fourthly there is the dark and murky background and surrounding colours which helps cement the overall horror tone. Finally there is the retro vibe and aged look. We’ve got the old school looking Marvel Comics logo, the worn binding, and the edges that look like they’ve seen quite a passage of time. This comic looks right at home as if it came from the 50s combined with some modern touches that act like a bridge between the two eras. What more can I say about Mark Brooks? He’s on a roll right now with this series and hopefully this role continues.. With that said, Mark Brooks, I award you the first place crown this week. Congratulations!
________________________________________________________

So those are my favourites and it’s a victory for Marvel with a three-to-two showing against DC. What’s your personal favourite covers from the week that was? Comment below!