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.
4001 A.D. #2, by Tula Lotay. (Valiant)
Shut it down. That’s right. Close all the doors, turn out all the lights, and everybody just go home already — Tula Lotay’s variant cover to 4001 A.D. #2 is one of the coolest damn things we’re likely to see all week. Lotay’s ode to slick, pulpy cyber noir has all the makings of greatness. If I had found this on the dog-eared, tattered cover of a yellowing sci-fi novel, my brain might have exploded.
Green Arrow: Rebirth #1, by Steve Skroce. (DC Comics)
*exasperated sigh* I need Steve Skroce to work at DC Comics in such a profound way. His Image Comics miniseries We Stand on Guard (co-created with Brian K. Vaughan) was easily one of the best we read all last year (and I can prove it), showing a grand display of his talent for sequential art. (Mostly, you know him for helping to make The Matrix look so ding-dang good.) Skroce’s “here’s Dinah and Ollie, no big deal” variant for Green Arrow: Rebirth #1 is certainly one of the strongest DC’s put out so far. So match his page rate, DC! Double it if you have to — could you imagine a Steve Skroce illustrated Teen Titans book?
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #1, by Marguerite Sauvage, Elsa Charretier, and Babs Tarr. (BOOM! Studios)
It’s a statement so true it’s cemented in fact: everyone has a favorite Power Ranger (provided we’re just talking about the first three seasons, anyway). And since I haven’t heard anyone professing their love for Billy friggin’ Cranston (he was the blue one), it’s a pretty safe assumption that everyone’s favorite Power Ranger is Kimberly Hart: The Pink Ranger. In fact, that’s so true that BOOM! Studios has wisely launched Kim into her own spinoff miniseries, and what’s more, they have some of the best artists in the business rocking the covers for her debut issue. Just don’t expect me to make a “pretty in pink” joke here. We’re all above that.
And that’s it! Don’t forget to share your favorite covers from this week’s releases in the comments section below!
