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.
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!
Low #11, by Greg Tocchini. (Image Comics)
It’s unnerving. Okay, scratch that. It’s terrifying. I don’t want to dig too deeply into the Freudian implications brought to us by Greg Tocchini’s cover to Low #11 , but the prospect of being swallowed whole and crushed underneath the responsibilities expected of us by society is frequently the one thought that keeps me up at night. And yet, when such feelings are presented before me, not only do I not blink, I can’t look away. Tocchini’s cover is lurid, sensual, dangerous, frightening, nauseating… altogether a considerable work of art.
All-New Hawkeye #4, by Michael Cho. (Marvel Comics)
Last week. What did I tell you. (I feel like Robert De Niro in Goodfellas right now.) What did I tell you. Michael Cho would be back this week, and here he is. Cho’s returned to us with this gorgeous cover to All-New Hawkeye #4, with all the indigos, blacks, fuschias, and whites we commonly associate with Clint Barton and Kate Bishop. It captures the derring-do and spirit of Hawkeye beautifully. Of all the Cho Variants I’ve seen in the last month, this is the one most worthy of being placed under glass.
Darth Vader #16, by Kaare Andrews. (Marvel Comics)
Even if you only passively enjoy the world of popular culture, you know what Darth Vader looks like. Even if you’ve never watched a “Star War”, let alone know what the hell a Bantha is, you know what Darth Vader looks like. And for the seasoned Wars veteran, Vader’s visage is forever tattooed on our souls. We’ve seen him rendered by artists from the entire spectrum of talent and notoriety. But I don’t think I’ve seen Lord Vader quite like this before. Give credit where credit’s due: Kaare Andrews made me gaze at a Vader study for much longer than what’s considered appropriate. No small feat in a world with way too much Star Wars in it.
Jughead #4, by David Mack. (Archie Comics)
Of all the sentences I thought I’d write today, “Jughead‘s fantastic David Mack cover dropped my ding-dang jaw” was not one of them. Yet here I am, writing furiously about Mr. Mack’s minimalist cover to Mr. Jones’ premiere series, and I have to frequently stop to admire it all along the way. Mack gives the outline of Jughead enough diligence that we can separate lips from teeth, and burger patties from buns with our very eyes. (I do believe Jughead’s seconds away from mowing down a double cheeseburger.) But he also brings an ink-blot chunkiness and a desaturation of detail to the piece that easily recalls the works of Tim Sale and Klaus Janson. Jughead Jones is pop-art. And doesn’t that make all the sense in the world.
The Death-Defying Doctor Mirage: Second Lives #3, by Kevin Wada. (Valiant)
Kevin Wada has to be one of the hardest-working cover artists in all of comics. Every week we see yet another deliriously amazing cover from the artist, and every week the Twitters is set ablaze with words of astonishment, adulation, and respect from readers and creators alike. That’s due in no small part to Wada’s mastery of the watercolor, where he can make skin tones radiate with a glowing, satisfied hue. Look at the color on Doctor Mirage’s cheeks. That person is in love.
And that’s it! Don’t forget to share your favorite covers from this week’s releases in the comments section below!
