In Retroactive I’ll take you on a visual comic cover tour of the past covering all the covers for a particular series. Each entry will cover an entire year and I’ll always have one comic from DC and one comic from Marvel. At the end of each edition of Retroactive I’ll select my overall favourite cover for that year for each series. Last time on Retroactive we covered Teen Titans 1976-1978 and Ultimate Spider-Man 2007. If you need a refresher, just click HERE. Below you’ll find the two series that I’m currently covering. Click on that specific logo to be instantly taken directly to that series. The last section is reserved for my Top Picks from each year. Click the logo or travel to the fourth page to view them.
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Teen Titans 1980/1981
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Ultimate Spider-Man 2008
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The Speech Bubble 
There are many reasons why I decided to pick the same Teen Titans cover you chose.
First of all, it shows a character I have a soft spot for.
Secondly, I love the way he’s introduced. The artistic choice of showing him swathed in shadows gives the cover a mysterious vibe I absolutely adore.
Thirdly, I love the layers on this cover. First we have the Teen Titans lying on the ground, then we go back further and we see the only member of the team that survived the fight standing next to a villain, then we go back even further and we see another villain boldly standing on a boundary wall.
The icing on the cake is the artistic choice of colouring the words he says with red. It is a delightfully subtle way to underline the sanguinary nature of this character.
Special mention for Teen Titans # 3.
First of all, the cover artist clearly spent a lot of time to draw the background: the efforts he clearly made to give us this cover deserve a medal alone.
Secondly, I love how the title is incorporated into the scene: not only it’s partially covered by ivy, but it’s also lit up by Robin’s torch.
Thirdly, I deeply appreciate the spooky nature of this image. An ancient temple being partially destroyed, a robot hanging in front of it, an ominous notice hanging from his neck… every single detail of this cover helps building a gloomy atmosphere I undoubtedly love.
Bronze medal for Teen Titans # 8, because it foreshadows an issue being full of slice – of – life scenes.
A few months ago I bought a trade collecting New Teen Titans # 1 – 8 (http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/new-teen-titans-vol-1): I haven’t read it yet, but these covers made me understand that I did the right thing when I decided to order it.
As for Spidey, the cover you chose got very close to the gold medal… but at the end I decided to pick the Annual.
First of all, we have something very unusual here. Instead of the same old “superhero vs villain” image, here we get a scene concerning Peter’s private life: as you know, I love when a superhero is shown while living everyday situations, so this cover instantly grabbed my attention.
Secondly, this cover has a romantic vibe I absolutely adore. Peter and Mary Jane are immersed in the crowd, but their love is so intense that they only have eyes for each other, and they decided to make that clear with a PDA in the middle of the road. This is exactly how you feel when you love someone.
Thirdly, I love the fact that the skyscraper behind them shows Spider – Man. It is a delightfully subtle way to suggest that, even when Peter doesn’t wear his costume, his life as a superhero always impends over him.
P.S.: Two days ago I watched Rambling Rose. I was shocked by the immense beauty and heart of this movie, and I do suggest you to watch it if you haven’t.
“There are many reasons why I decided to pick the same Teen Titans cover you chose.”
We are on the same page and I got the extra treat of your Retroactive take on the cover. When you have lines like this: “The icing on the cake is the artistic choice of colouring the words he says with red. It is a delightfully subtle way to underline the sanguinary nature of this character.” How can I not be happy? Also, I think this may be the first time ever that our Top 3 is identical. I may be wrong, but regardless it is quite an amazing feat for sure.
“A few months ago I bought a trade collecting New Teen Titans # 1 – 8 (http://www.dccomics.com/graphic-novels/new-teen-titans-vol-1): I haven’t read it yet, but these covers made me understand that I did the right thing when I decided to order it.”
I’ll be interested to hear what you thought of the trade after reading it as I have never had the pleasure of reading any of this run.
“As for Spidey, the cover you chose got very close to the gold medal… but at the end I decided to pick the Annual.”
This cover earned the distinction of my runner-up for the very reasons you provided while USM #127’s chilling and spooky cover featuring Gwen Stacy captures third. Never before would I have thought to use the words scary and Gwen in the same sentence.
Thanks, as always, for providing your excellent analysis and sharing your selections!
“Also, I think this may be the first time ever that our Top 3 is identical. I may be wrong, but regardless it is quite an amazing feat for sure.” It is amazing indeed! And you’re right, it’s the first time that our podiums are perfectly identical.
“This cover earned the distinction of my runner-up for the very reasons you provided while USM #127’s chilling and spooky cover featuring Gwen Stacy captures third.” Great choice. I love how light and shadow are combined on Gwen’s body.
“Thanks, as always, for providing your excellent analysis and sharing your selections!” Thank you as well for your compliments and for your reply! : )
Well, have to go for New Teen Titans #1 such a classic cover. Love how the team are all running towards some not-quite-seen threat. Brilliant cover to launch this classic series! Ultimate Spiderman #118 is lots of fun, reminds me of the cartoon, Spiderman and his amazing friends! A clean, simple, yet very eye catching cover!
New Teen Titans just misses my podium coming in fourth place. It was a fantastic way to start this legendary run. 🙂