The Best of the Week in... Covers (08/19/09)
35 Posted on Aug 20, 2009 in articles by Conor Kilpatrick |
Not a lot of gold in them thar hills this week, but there was beauty to be found if you looked hard enough. Here were the covers that shined the brightest.

Punisher: Frank Castle Max #73
Cover by Dave Johnson

Batman: Streets of Gotham #3
Cover by Dustin Nguyen
Cover by Tony Harris
Those are my favorites. What are yours?
Comments
Ex Machina hands down looking all Lobster Johnson.
Posted by 0and18 on 08/20/09 at 04:09 PMConor is right, it was an off week for covers. Not that they were bad on the whole, but just dull. That Punisher cover is striking, really draws the eyes. Streets of Gotham was nice too. I loved the white-space bounding it. Not a fan of the Ex Machina cover, though. I've been digging the cover design of the "Spock Reflections" series from IDW, if not the cover art itself. I also thought Phil Noto's cover for Batgirl is worth noting, if perhaps not the best.
Posted by PraxJarvin on 08/20/09 at 04:28 PMGotta go Power Girl #4 and Punisher: Noir. Not reading either title, but the covers kick some serious ass. I haven't been a fan of the Ex Machina covers in a long time. They tend to get pretty redundant I think. And saying something is near Geof Darrow level detail is saying a lot. Especially considering that background on Ex Machina is photoshopped.
Posted by ActualButt on 08/20/09 at 04:33 PMEx Machina is great, as well as the Djorjevic (sp?) and Ross covers for Daredevil. Other than that, an OK week for covers
Posted by drakedangerz on 08/20/09 at 04:36 PMShit, I take it back. Didn't realize that Punisher cover was Bradstreet. Yeecch.
Posted by ActualButt on 08/20/09 at 04:39 PMIf there is one thing that has stayed consistant with the Punisher MAX since Ennis left; it's the covers. All of Dave Johnson's covers have been excellent and they are striking to look at. It's a style I don't see often with covers.
Punisher Noir also had a good cover. It's variant (with Castle walking away from an explosion) was also good to look at.
Posted by TheNextChampion on 08/20/09 at 04:41 PMWhen I saw that Streets of Gotham cover, I was hoping it would end up in this column. That's a freaking awesome cover.
Posted by Neb on 08/20/09 at 04:44 PMI really liked the 70th Anniv. Variants Marvel released. They were simple but the iconic poses that each character gave were classic.
Posted by roadcrew1 on 08/20/09 at 04:44 PM@roadcrew1 and a riff on the 25th Anniversary covers from 1986 which I always liked.
Posted by PraxJarvin on 08/20/09 at 05:10 PMI liked the Daredevil covers.
Posted by jdnicho on 08/20/09 at 05:28 PMNot only is it an awesome Ex Machina cover, but a great issue as well. A lot is explained.
Posted by BenBugenig on 08/20/09 at 05:33 PMOnly Power Girl really gets a nod of my books this week. There were a lot of good books, but the covers were not exactly exciting.
Posted by zombox on 08/20/09 at 05:56 PMWorst cover of the week had to go to Amazing Spider-Man for one fugly Mary Jane!
Posted by SlightlyMad on 08/20/09 at 06:20 PMThese may not count, but the two Vertigo Crime books had fantastic designs to them. Good stuff.
Posted by daccampo on 08/20/09 at 06:23 PMI liked the Batman/Superman cover. It got me to buy the book off of the shelf.
But I always like monkeys.
Posted by MisterJ on 08/20/09 at 06:26 PMNo DD?
Posted by MrWilson on 08/20/09 at 06:35 PM@Actualbutt: So the Punisher Noir Cover was one of your favorites until you found out who drew it? Does this mean it's not the art that matters to you, but the name attached to it?
My favorite this week was the Streets of Gotham, and I've got to agree with SlightlyMad, the last two or three ASM covers have been hideous. They make it look like Mary Jane (who, last I checked was supposed to be a model) is the product of monkey incest.
Posted by akamuu on 08/20/09 at 06:44 PMI almost forgot: Dark Reign Mister Negative had a great cover this week, too.
Posted by akamuu on 08/20/09 at 06:53 PMThe wrap around Daredevil #500 and the smallville sign variant of Blackest Night Superman.
Posted by lantern4life on 08/20/09 at 07:09 PMI liked the punisher #8 cover, dug the way they used the old school avengers on the cover, even though the isuue wasn't so great it was a awesome cover.
I agree on the Ex Machina one, they always have the best covers.
Posted by shenanigans on 08/20/09 at 09:56 PMI'm normally not into cheesecake, but damn i dig that batgirl cover.
Posted by mulletpeep on 08/20/09 at 11:13 PMThat cover's really not cheesecake.
Posted by conor on 08/20/09 at 11:20 PMPretty great choices, the only others that I would mention are Batgirl #1 and G.I. Joe Origins #6 cover A
Posted by Noto on 08/21/09 at 01:46 AM@Mulletpeep: I agree with Conor, and I know cheesecake. I have a whole short box I hope my girlfriend never opens...
Posted by Mangaman on 08/21/09 at 04:48 AMThe Batgirl cover might not be cheesecake per se, but it does portray a physically idealized woman, without the top of her head (where the brain is), so it strikes me as a tad misogynist.
Posted by Harper on 08/21/09 at 08:12 AMI love clean lines of that the billboard on that Streets of Gotham cover. It makes it looks like it's simple to draw and design but I couldn't do it to save my life.
Posted by JasonB35 on 08/21/09 at 08:14 AM@Harper: It's fousing on the Bat symbol and obscuring her face because it's a mystery as to who she really is. I think you're looking too deeply into this.
Posted by conor on 08/21/09 at 01:50 PMThe Batgirl cover is gorgeous and it's not cheesecake.
Unless you have a chin fetish.
Posted by ohcaroline on 08/21/09 at 01:58 PMI liked the Punisher cover and the Ex Machina cover as well, but Daredevil 500 should be on the list as well.
Posted by ThePunisherMAX on 08/21/09 at 11:17 PM@stuc - damn straight! the All Hail Megatron covers have almost all been tops of the week and this one was no exception.
Posted by FACE on 08/22/09 at 09:22 PMwhen i picked up Street of Gotham i thought to myself, "they had better mention that in the best covers section on ifanboy". easily the most striking cover of the week
Posted by mikeandzod21 on 08/23/09 at 01:26 AM@Harper: what conor said. And you misused the term misogynist. A misogynist is more like that character my little sister watches... erm Squidword, a people-hating person.
Posted by Mangaman on 08/27/09 at 02:12 AM



My favorite was Streets of Gotham Cover. Even if I thought that Batgirl #1 wasn't as great as the other Batverse titles the cover was still cool. I also liked the Viking cover and the variant Weapon X cover.
Posted by JesTr on 08/20/09 at 04:09 PM