Judging (Marvel's August) Books By Their Covers

Marvel's August 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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Good lord, man, that's some misshapen anatomy!



Sadly enough, it's not even the worst depiction of character builds on a cover this month.
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Stuart Immonen AND Frazer Irving?



Where do I sign up?

The Immonen cover, however, was just slightly too bland.
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Also, the bloom sure seems to have come off Pasqual Ferry's rose, eh?



For a time, I was all, "How could DC let him go?!?"

His projects for Marvel, though, have made it a good deal less shocking.

I still dig his work, though! Just like I did pre-Adam Strange. There just isn't the same "WOAH" effect anymore.
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Well...



that's SOMEthing.

Can't say it isn't that.
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Am I the only one who gets a kick out of Mark Brooks' current job assignment?



Essentially, he is just the "Ultimate Spider-Man Annual" artist.

Or at least that has been what "special projects" have turned out for Brooks - two Ultimate Spider-Man Annuals.

I'd like to see him try something else.
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Very nice Salvador Larocca cover for the Ultimate X-Men Annual.



It's to the point and packs a lot of zest.
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Compare that to Tom Raney's bland, lifeless cover for the regular Ultimate X-Men.



Did he really think he was achieving "movement" with this cover?!?

Seems more like Wolverine and Cyclops "Vogue"ing.
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CIVIL WAR COVERS!
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This is just toooo unfair.

The pro-registration side has Wonder Man, Tigra AND Hank Pym on it!

Who could ever side against such a collection of superhero titans?!?!



Sorta belies the whole "fair and balanced" thing when one side is basically represented by the freakin' West Coast Avengers!

Very nice drawing by McNiven, though.
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This reminds me of when Denny Crane led everyone in reciting the National Anthem.



It was creepy there, too (at least Boston Legal was intentionally so).
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WAIT...Spider-Man ends up siding AGAINST Iron Man!?!?

Why is this cover the first I've heard of this?!!?



Oh.

Right.

Never mind.
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Pretty nifty Amanda Conner cover for Cable & Deadpool.



At least the drawings of the heroes.

Deadpool looks a bit like a colorform.
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Wow.



That MAY be the worst thing I've ever seen David Mack draw (I reserve the right to remember some awful project I'm sure he did during the 90s, where everyone was required to do at least ONE dreadful project).
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I can honestly tell you that I have no idea WHAT the hell is going on on this X-Men: Civil War cover.



And I think Juan Doe is awesome normally.
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So, do you think this cover will be the truth, and it'll be Sue and Reed along with Ororo and T'Challa?



And why does Ben look so...odd on this cover? Almost like a crocodile.
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Sadly, I think you could photostat this Thunderbolts cover from a page from Avengers/Thunderbolts, that's how similar it looks to the work Grummett did there.



Live a little!!
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You have to give Tucci credit...



he knows how to use shading and light to make things seem more prominent. He presents his work well.
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What is Wolverine trying to achieve on this cover, exactly?

Is he trying to STAB Namor?



That seems odd.

What would happen if he DID?

I bet he would feel sad.
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Coipel does a GREAT job with Jessica Drew's indecisiveness regarding Civil War on this New Avengers cover.



I can't iamgine how hard it must be to draw a FEELING and make it the centerpiece of a cover like that.

Good, good work.
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Fairly generic Jim Cheung cover for Runaways/Young Avengers.



Not bad, though.
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This is the first Ladronn Hulk cover that I've been less than thrilled with.



Seems a bit too muddy.
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ANNIHILATION COVERS!
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Man, Dell'Otto is a lot cooler looking when he has to mix things up a bit, as he does with the first issue cover for the Annhilation mini-series.


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However, Andrea DiVito draws the tie-in "Guide to Annihilation" cover like it's a boring dinner party.



Way too bland.
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Okay, now Angel Medina has ALSO showed...



no one can make the new costume look good.
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I love how FUN the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man covers are!!



I keep expecting to see the Fonz show up!
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I don't think this is a great Venom cover for Beyond #2.



However, maybe Scott Kolins is on to something, as I keep coming back to it, in a sort of a "gawking at a trainwreck" type of thing.
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I like that Linsner made Wolverine shorter than Black Cat.



Nice touch.

That is all.
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Man, only Chris Weston can make a guy walking around on fire seem mundane.


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Mark Texeira's Ghost Rider cover at least delivers what most people expect from a Ghost Rider comic book.


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Man, Hester really falls apart with this Marvel Team-Up cover.



It looks almost kinda painful.

And we've SEEN him draw Wolverine well before, so I don't know what the deal is.
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Speaking of painful, THIS is the winner for weirdest builds of characters - Moon Knight #5.



Unless, of course, that's the Incredible Hulk under Taskmaster's costume.

Maybe that's Doc Samson under Moon Knight's costume.

It might be some sort of new-age therapy.
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Very nice Paolo Rivera cover for Mythos Hulk.



I look forward to seeing Jenkins' take on a character he's so familiar with.
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Bah!

I miss Marcos Martin on Runaways covers!!



Jo Chen is okay, too.
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Gotta give it up to Greg Horn!



Still not thrilled with the drawing, but it sure is a clever idea!!
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Did Gary Frank do the covers for the Nighthawk mini-series, or did Steve Dillon do them?



If so, Frank is looking like Steve Dillon these days.

It's odd.
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Gotta give Mike Mayhew credit.



Cheesecake art has its place in the world, and poster books are one of those places.

He is quite good at it.
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That is one weird group.


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I love Marvel Westerns!



I think this would be cooler if it was Eric Powell PENCILLING the cover, though, rather than inking Marshall Rogers.

Still, Englehart and Rogers!!!
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UH OH!

A Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man cover by...CAMERON STEWART!!



The collection is almost complete!!

DC, clutch Doug Mahnke and JH Williams to your heart and never let them go!!!
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Decent David Williams action shot for this Marvel Adventures: Fantastic Four cover.


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Nice, dramatic pose by Aaron Lopresti for this Marvel Adventures: Avengers cover.


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Strong John Cassaday cover for Astonishing X-Men.



Surprising that this hasn't been used more often as a cover design.
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I love Bill Sienkiewicz, and I applaud the use of him on the cover of X-Men: Fairy Tales...



but I think he dropped the ball a bit.

A bit TOO abstract.
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Now THAT is a hilarious cover!!



Well done, Paul Pelletier (and Tony Bedard for the idea of an Exiles team made up of all Wolverines).
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Nice Paco Medina cover for New X-Men.


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I enjoy seeing less of a "Barney and friends"-style cover of New Excalibur from Michael Ryan.



Good work.
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I think John Watson is great.



And this is a nice painting.

But I don't think it is dramatic enough for a cover.
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Holy crap, Bianchi!!!



That is just WEIRD!!!
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Interesting cover layout from Sook for X-Factor.



I don't know if I love it, but I love his willingness to try new things.
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I like Tim Bradstreet's backgrounds, at least!



Clever silhouette use!
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Strong Jack Kirby cover.



I wonder if this bounty hunter book will be any good?
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HONORABLE MENTIONS!
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I'm sorry, but I can't help it...



this looks like it could be fun!
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Just SLIGHTLY too hokey for the top five.



Still, very nice cover.
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Very nice Adi Granov cover for Iron Man.



Just outside of the top five.
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TOP FIVE!!
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5. Very strong cover design by Tomm Coker for Agents of Atlas #1.



Anyone know what Coker is up to these days?

I enjoy his work.
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4. Good Trevor Hairsine cover for Black Panther.



Panther v. Doom is a nice matchup, and the cover demonstrates that.
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3. Very dynamic Captain America cover...



even if we WEREN'T all comic geeks and understood the symbolism of the cover.
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2. A large round of applause for Rick Berry's redesign of Sersi for Gaiman's Eternals.



Excellent work!
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1. Finally, an amazing job by Chris Bachalo.



Best cover I've seen from him in years.

Such striking character design.

And yes, kudos to Carey, for putting Bobby (a person people keep rumoring is gay) with a character who can become a man. Clever job, there.
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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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