Batgirl #21 by Dustin Nguyen
With Stephanie poised ready for action against a gorgeous stained glass of the Grey Ghost, this cover is without a doubt not only one of my all-time favorite Batgirl covers, but Dustin Nguyen covers as well. The way he plays with the different geometrical shapes and colors all while keeping it so striking and gorgeous shows us how much time and effort Nguyen commits to his craft. This cover just grabs your attention, and sucks you in for the kill. If this cover was stalking you out in the jungle, consider yourself a goner. Even the perch is incredibly detailed! I don’t feel like I have to cover any other covers this week. We could just end this segment here and now. It may be a bold statement, but this could be a very likely contender for Cover Of The Year for me.
PunisherMAX #13 by Dave Johnson
There are two sides of Frank Castle, and only two sides; Vietnam Frank and Punisher Frank. With such flawless execution, Dave Johnson sums up Frank Castle in a nutshell with this very special Punisher skull yin-yang. Vietnam Frank was a killing machine who didn’t have an off-switch, and Punisher Frank, um, well, is the same thing only with years of experience and a mission of vengeance. With the current arc focusing on the origins of the Punisher while at the same time throwing a captured Frank Castle into a maximum security prison, this cover is the perfect concoction of both, letting the reader know what’s going on within the pages. No twists, no secrets, this cover is as honest with you as Abraham “Honest Abe” Lincoln.
Cinderella: Fables Are Forever #4 by Chrissie Zullo
Confession time; whenever I see solicitations for the next Cinderella issue, I get more excited for the actual cover itself by Chrissie Zullo rather than the current story. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in love with this current miniseries, but I’ve been in love longer with Zullo’s art going all the way back to her first work on the first Cinderella miniseries. Is that so wrong, to be completely head-over-heels in love with an artists covers? It’s not like I’m trying to marry them or anything (and believe me, I’ve tried!), I just want to whisper in it’s staple-hole “you are the most beautiful image I’ve ever seen.” Apparently society doesn’t allow this, and I must continue to bury my shame deep down within my broken heart. Slightly off-track, yes, but I’ve still communicated my point; this cover is amazing. Chrissie Zullo is amazing. Therefore, Chrissie Zullo could do nothing but covers for the rest of her life and I’d still melt into a warm puddle of goo every single time. Also, this cover in particular makes me suddenly crave those hard peppermint candies with the red and white swirl.
Batman Incorporated #6 by Chris Burnham
Not going to lie, I thought at first glance that this was a Frank Quitely cover. Upon closer look, it’s definitely a Chris Burnham cover. And that’s the thing I love about his style; it’s something familiar, yet he completely makes it his own. In this cover in particular, we get a wonderful look at the extended and updated Bat-family so far. With so many different caped crusaders now running all over the world, it’s nice to see them take time out of their busy schedules to take this one group photo. Some of the characters we’ve seen before, some we haven’t been introduced to yet. Either way, this cover intrigues me and looks like we’re going to be in for some epic fun with a flip of the page!
FF #3 by Daniel Acuna
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” -Michael Corleone, The Godfather: Part III. That quote was the first thing that came to my mind when seeing this cover. I love the multiple Reeds storyline that Hickman introduced, and I love Acuña’s painted style that helps illustrate that the boys are back in town. The best part about the multiple Reeds was the fact that each Reed, while incredibly smart, was also drastically different from our 616 Universe Reed. That’s what we’re treated to in spades on this cover, and the primary color of blue helping highlight the main Reed adds that extra ‘umph!’ factor. The rest of the Reeds are visibly pissed-off, and judging by the look on our Reed’s face, he knows fully well. I can see this as the cover to the second trade paperback as well. Very well done, and a true sight to behold!