By Molly Jane Kremer and Jarrod Jones. Undercover is our opportunity to lovingly gaze upon gorgeous works from magnificent artists. Each week, we single out the most striking covers that grace comic book stands and gush all over them.
Southern Bastards #10 by Jason Latour. (Image Comics)
MJ: There’s been a lot of well-deserved scrutiny on the Confederate flag of late – a topical subject tailor-made for a comic like Southern Bastards, a book that inspects and dissects both stereotypes and realities of the modern American South. Wild dogs have been a motif throughout the series, and the image of one tearing up the “stars and bars” is a visceral one. Proceeds for the variant will go to families of victims of the Charleston shooting. Latour’s tumblr post on the subject, reprinted in Southern Bastards #10 after the issue’s letterpages, eloquently sums up his thoughts on the matter.
Star Trek/Green Lantern #1, by Jae Lee. (IDW)
JJ: It’s not necessarily a crossover I’m raising all kinds of hell for, but Jae Lee’s cover to Star Trek/Green Lantern #1 certainly perks up my replica Vulcan ears. What would one experience during a mind-meld with noted ladies’ man, Hal Jordan? Methinks the amount of Andorian ale Mr. Spock will need to consume to adequately numb the experience will be most logical, indeed.
Black Widow #20 by Phil Noto. (Marvel Comics)
MJ: This is the final issue of this Black Widow volume, and – unless some unannounced post-Secret Wars trickery takes place – the last time we’ll see this particularly well-suited creative team on the character. Depressing as that may be, at least the final cover is a gorgeous one. By regular series-artist Phil Noto (also the regular cover-artist too, since that doesn’t always occur in tandem nowadays), the cover is a striking image of Nat walking away into stark-white negative space, her hair and silhouette revealing a ravaged expanse of blood and bodies behind her. Black Widow goes out with quite a bang: we can only hope.
Ninjak #5, by Raul Allen. (Valiant)
JJ: Maybe it’s just the natural result of their notoriously generous page rate, but Valiant consistently kicks out the most gorgeous covers by some of the industry’s finest artists every single week. And Ninjak is usually the recipient of that work, as evidenced here with Raul Allen’s striking, moody, and elegant front. Lots of emotions, drama, and blue can be found here. Definitely one of the finest covers on stands this week. It’s only polite that we stare.
Superman #42 by Jorge Corona. (DC Comics)
MJ: The last week of July brings with it the last of the Teen Titans Go! variants, and Jorge Corona’s cover to Superman #42 is just as cute as all the others. Superman, clad only in red boxers, gazes into his Fortress of Solitude closet, with each of his many costumes hanging across in rows. (Even his Kingdom Come suit, possibly brought by a time-traveling Barry Allen?) It’s incredibly cute, and I’m sad to see this series of variants end.
Star Wars #1, by John Tyler Christopher. (Marvel Comics)
JJ: Hey, I know Star Wars #1 came out months ago! But this exclusive variant cover from Comicxposure is singing my eyeballs with all this white. Princess Leia’s badass smirk certainly doesn’t hurt matters, and her flanking Stormtrooper buddies makes me hanker for a rewatch of A New Hope like you wouldn’t believe.
What are the covers that float your boat this week? We want to know! Tell us about them in the comments below, and the best response gets a DoomRocket sticker/button combo sent to their door. Get to it!
