By 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.
Oh, and do you like free stuff? Well, keep reading! Details below.
All-New, All-Different Avengers #1, by Alex Ross. (Marvel Comics)
You can’t fool me with your ruse, Ross. I know that you know that I know that you’re throwing back all the way to 1997 to inspire confidence that Marvel’s big time debut for its All-New Avengers is exactly what superhero comics needs right now. I was already sold on the new Avengers roster once it was announced, but playing homage to Grant Morrison and Howard Porter’s powerful opening salvo in JLA #1 is a pretty damned effective way to get me to pick up a book. Of course, nailing what makes a cover great is what the man does.
Batman #46, by Yanick Paquette. (DC Comics)
These Looney Tunes variants are cute and all, but this is seriously the only one that contextually made perfect sense to me. Rocky and Mugsy aren’t just a hair-brained pair of criminal roustabouts, they’re a loving caricature of the type of ne’er-do-wells heroes like Dick Tracy, The Shadow, and the Dark Knight used to KO back in the late Thirties and Forties. Somebody tap Paul Dini and Yanick Paquette for a straight-faced one-shot pitting the Batman against these two lugs. That book’d sell faster than hotcakes, see?
Zodiac Starforce #3, by Jacob Wyatt. (Dark Horse Comics)
Oh no! Emma’s been infected by a shade monster! There’s plenty of reason to worry about Zodiac Starforce’s team leader (especially if you’re reading this series; stuff’s gone completely bonkers in the last two issues), but overcoming adversity is just what the ZS does. And when the bad times look this good — and let’s be real, Jacob Wyatt’s phosphorescent cover looks pretty darn good — it makes the journey that much more enjoyable. (Holy cow, how the heck are they gonna save Emma? Gah.)
Teen Titans #13, by Ricken. (DC Comics)
Where, oh where has Ricken been all my life? One glance at this cover to Teen Titans #13 and all of a sudden my morning’s completely absorbed by a seemingly endless Google Images sesh. Ricken’s chill-as-hell front shows me that I’ve been looking for my new favorite artist in all the wrong places. A night out on patrol with the Teen Titans would look precisely like this. Makes me wish I still hung out.
Radioactive Spider-Gwen #2, by Cliff Chiang. (Marvel Comics)
If you’re designing a costume for your superhero, the only rule of thumb is this: let Cliff Chiang draw it for you. If you are in anyway doubting the iconic nature of your champion, hand the design over to Chiang. I can’t explain how he does it, but the man can somehow take a superhero and make them look and feel a thousand times more amazing with each successive brush of his pen. And when a costume is already wonderful — as Spider-Gwen’s undoubtedly is — Chiang will take that icon and make it transcendent. What an image.
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!
