COVER SHOOT: The Top 5 Comic Book Covers For July 3rd

Cover Shoot

By: Chris “DOC” Bushley

This weekly feature will take a look at the most visually compelling covers on the market today. Whether they be variant editions or standard ones, these are the top 5 covers that stand out amongst the bevy of books that are released each week. They say, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” these covers are worth more than that! No matter the storylines found behind them, these covers draw you to at least check them out, which can be worth exponentially more than just words to the companies that publish them! Enjoy!

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1. Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger #10 (DC): A constant addition to COVER SHOOT, Jae Lee, creates eerily alarming covers that draw the eye to a central image by diluting the background and using stark, contrasting colors. Through his meticulous line work and expertise at using shading to accentuate the image, Lee has created some of the most awe-inspiring covers to date. His skill makes the images he creates transcend past the realm of “comic art” and into the plane of just Art!

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2. Next Testament #2 — Variant Edition (BOOM! Studios): Haemi Jang creates a stunning modern art cover than will overshadow any book on the rack! Using a myriad of colors, Jang fascinates the eye, all the while drawing it into the center of the book where he sums up author, Clive Barker’s, horrific tale with two famous quotes. It is a great juxtaposition between the color and prose that does exactly what it needs do to stun the buyer into grabbing a copy for a closer look.

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3. The Superior Foes of Spider-Man #1 — Variant Edition (Marvel): My daughter and I just love Scottie Young’s “Baby” variant editions he has been doing for the past few years. They may seem simplistic, but his line art is some of the best “cartoon” style renderings on the market today. These covers have become so popular that other companies are now doing their own “kid’ version covers, but none breed the sheer hilarity and enjoyment that Young’s do! Try to find them at your local shop — if you can!

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4. Shadowman #8 — Variant Edition (Valiant): David Mack, creator of Kabuki, gives fans an amazing “collage” style painted cover that exudes so much emotion — it’s scary. This is a stunning cover, filled with layer after layer of exquisite detail and hue. It conveys the overall tone of the book perfectly, dark and morose and laced with a heaping helping of fear! Everything David Mack creates is just astounding and instantly gallery worthy!

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5. The Shadow #15 (Dynamite): Alex Ross is the pinnacle of “life like” comic art and this cover shows off his skill perfectly. From the use of angle to show velocity and depth, to the perfectly painted facial features, Ross gives fans the raw emotion and fun of great comic covers with the skill of “high end” art. Everything is done perfectly to convey action with absolutely no action at all, making it as stunning as it is skillful.