Judging (Marvel's July) Books By Their Covers

Marvel's July Solicitations are up, so let's make some prejudgements based just on the covers (as we all love to make prejudgements, don't we?).

Let's begin!
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I didn't expect him to duplicate the strong cover effort from last month...



but damn, couldn't he have at least TRIED?
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"this is the explosive climax to the amazing series of events that go back to Mark Millar's first issue"?!?!

NOO!!!

HOW CAN WE GO THAT FAR BACK!!

It is too much!!

12 ISSUES IS TOO FAR BACK FOR ME TO REMEMBER, EVEN FOR AN EXPLOSIVE CLIMAX!!!



Pretty pedestrian cover, too.
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Ugh. Tom Raney appears to be doing the "washed" look with his pencils.



I do not approve.
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CIVIL WAR COVERS!!
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Man, Steve McNiven makes being annoyed at Civil War difficult, because he's so talented.



Great cover, although this scene better damn well appear in the issue!

Luckily, Michael Turner is there to make it easy to make fun of Civil War.



Although, isn't it funny to see a costume design that is actually BENEATH Turner?
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Due to the ugly trade dress, Civil War covers are automatically disqualified from Top Five consideration, but if not, this Juan Doe cover for Civil War X-Men would be a top contender.



Very strong cover image.
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Wow.



I think this is one of the best arguments against photoshop comics. This Civil War Daily Bugle comic looks less like a cohesive drawing and more like a photo collage.
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Is it just me, or does Cheung's art for this Young Avengers/Runaways mini-series cover...



look a bit regressive? It looks more like his X-Force style than his post-Scion stuff, no?

I bet Rich Watson can tell me (completely obscure reference I should not have made, sorry, folks)!!
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I like John Watson's work a lot, but this Civil War Frontline cover is a bit goofy looking.


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Man, wasn't Waid and Garney's Captain America awesome? The book is in capable hands at the moment, but I bet Waid and Garney could do something ELSE cool.



Oh, by the by, the solicit for this issue? "When one of the War's leaders comes to recruit Spidey for his troops..." Which one could it be?!!? I love a mystery!!!
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I am pleased that they are allowing the Black Panther/Storm wedding to be without the yucky trade dress.

Nice cover, except the dress.



Luckily, Michal Turner is chipping in on a variant cover.



Yep, nothing says "wedding issue" more than a half-naked lady in the rain!

Turner - All class.
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You know what Civil War needs more of?

People standing with their arms folded!!





Oh.

Never mind.
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Ryan Sook is a really, really good artist.



Nice cover (except, of course, the silly trade dress).
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Man, what an awful Cable/Deadpool cover by Roberto Campus!!



Is Deadpool glowing?

That is barely recognizable as Deadpool!

And the Daredevil ain't that good, either.
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I like Leinil Francis Yu's art a lot.



That being said, this New Avengers cover is kinda lame.
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Ooooh...now Nitro has Wolverine!!

Remember when Justice League International did that with Lobo and Guy Gardner?

That was cool.



This is less so.

No giraffe neck, though!!
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I really admire the way Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man lately has tried to avoid the crossover crunch, and stand on its own.



Also, nice cover by 'Ringo.
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Man, that is one creepy looking cover.



Clayton Crain's work scares me.

And I don't want to know where he got the photo basis for this cover from!!
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Pretty low-key last issue of Last Planet Standing.


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Wow, that is probably the most boring Mary Jane cover I've seen yet.


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This is a very nice cover as both a last issue AND a 100th issue.



There's no mention in the solicits of Sal Buscema, though. I hope he's still on board.
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ANNIHILATION COVERS - NOW INTERLOCKING!!!

It's funny, though, THESE covers are interlocking, but since most of Gabriele Dell'Otto's covers have looked basically the same ANYways, this is not exactly osmething new.

I don't like the new Nova costume...



I like how somber Ronan looks...



Nice Silver Surfer...



Best Super Skrull I've seen from Dell'Otto yet!!


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HA!

I love it!



The grim and gritty Power Pack!

Classic idea!
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Very weird poses.



But since I love obscure Marvel characters, I'm down!!!
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Pretty decent Fantastic Four: First Family cover by Chris Weston...


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Nice drawing by John Romita Jr. (as usual)...



however, it's not exactly a striking cover.
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The same thing can be said for this Tex Ghost Rider cover.



Then again, Tex at least has the benefit of following Clayton Crain, which will make people be happier to see his cover.
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Iron...

Maniac.

Iron Maniac.



This is what I love about Kirkman. It's just SO stupid that he manages to sell it!
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MARVEL ADVENTURES COVERS!!
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Wow, this Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four looks like the most generic cover ever!


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Oops...I spoke too soon!!!


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I like Aaron Lopresti's art...



but not that Giant-Girl costume.
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There's scary.

And then there's unintentionally scary.



This cover nicely pulls off both.
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First disappointing cover for Frank Cho (well, outside of his absurd #1 cover).



Too bad, I was really impressed with his last two covers.
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Tsk tsk.



One of the few times that the cheesecake cover motif WORKS, and Horn has to blow it by putting a picture of a wolf on the cover and then pretending that he is drawing a werewolf.

Poor form, Mr. Horn, poor form.
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Gary Frank is an AWEsome artist.

However, look at this Squadron Supreme cover...



DAMN, his Squadron Suprem covers are boring!
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Luckily, his Fury Peacemaker cover, while still being fairly static...



has enough attitude to pull the cover off.
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COOL WRAPAROUND COVERS BY NEW X-MEN CREATIVE TEAMS!!
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First, Billy Tan on Uncanny X-Men...



Next, Chris Bachalo on X-Men...



I would have put both of them in the Top Five, except that they really only REALLY impress me because my expectations were lowered so much...so not enough for top five!!
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Seriously, New Excalibur has got to quit with these covers.



It's like they're in a Mentos commercial, the way everyone is so freakishly giddy.
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This is an impressive Storm cover by Mayhew.


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I like Paul Pelletier.

This is a nice drawing.



A bit subdued for a cover, though.
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You can debate the merits of Paco Medina's pencils (which seem to tighten and loosen from issue to issue)...



but you have to admire his cover design sense.
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What an odd decision by Quesada...



it's like he's trying to draw them like Sin City.

Weird.
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Another colorform cover by Bradstreet!



Detach - move - apply.
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I like the idea behind the Halo cover.



You don't need a fancy cover, just slapping "Halo" on the cover is probably enough to sell the comic.
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Pretty good Jack Kirby cover.



I dunno about the concept, though.
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Nice cover design by Oeming.


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HONORABLE MENTIONS (really nice month for covers, so there's a lot of them)!!!
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ERIC POWELL COVERS!

He is awesome.

These covers for Marvel's Western one-shots are awesome.





A lighter month, both easy top five - but once I kept out one, I couldn't decide which one to keep, so BOTH became honorable mentions!
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What a perfect encapsulation of the fun that is Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius!!


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This reminds me of the super-sweet Dave Gibbons cover for this month's Action Comics.



Great job by Granov.
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Off month for Nextwave.



I expect greatness every month!
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This coloring book incentive would be a guaranteed top five...



except it looks just like a black and white version of the original cover!!

What gives?!?!
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MAN, do I loves me some Marcos Martin.

I can't wait until he draws Doctor Strange!!



However, this cover is a bit too weird for me to make top five. I still dig it a lot!
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It was SUPER close between the two Ladronn covers (heck, all the top six titles I could be convinced to mix around)...but since this on is a bit more of a static cover, I put this one (for the Handbook) in the honorable mentions.



Great cover, though.

Ladronn rules.
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TOP FIVE COVERS!!
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5. Claire Wendling is an excellent artist.

This is a great cover for X-Men Fairy Tales.



Last month, it was Kyle Baker, this month it is Claire Wendling!

Who's going to draw a cover next?!?! H. R. Giger?!?!
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4. How freakin' badass is this Ladronn Hulk cover?!?

It's like it's leaping off of the page!



Amazing.
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3. Steve Epting has delivered some really strong covers for this arc.



This might be a little high, but I feel bad for excluding him from the top five in the past.

Still, great cover, no?
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2. David Mack is a design genius.



An amazing cover.
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1. Finally, Richard Corben's covers for House of Horror: Edgar Allen Poe have been awesome, but for this cover...



he amps it up a notch!

What an amazing design, and he pulls off the design flawlessly.

What a great artist Corben is.
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Well, that's it for this month!

Feel free to weigh in with your prejudices (and your top five covers)!

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