February 2012 – Cover of the Month

February was a warm month this year, the tail end of a rather mild winter.  Just chilly enough to curl up with comic books and enjoy a hot beverage without feeling oppressively wintery.  I haven’t done a cover of the month in awhile, so here goes.

Nominations:

• Deadpool #50
• Wolverine #301
• X-Men #25
• King Conan: Phoenix on the Sword #2/4

And the winner that I selected is:  X-Men #25.  The artwork for the cover was done by Jorge Molina.

X-Men #25 cover by Jorge Molina; Marvel Comics

September 2011 – Cover of the Month

Even though the new DC 52 hit the shelves and caused all the uproar in the comic industry, my pick for this month was one of less popular Marvel titles. I picked it because in this month wherein Marvel took second stage to DC’s new offerings, this cover was designed to be eye-catching (red) and interesting (the shadow).  It was done by Andy Troy and Patrick Zircher.

Nominations:

• Black Panther #523.1
• Annihilators: Earthfall #1
• Batman: The Dark Knight #1
• Demon Knights #1

Black Panther #523.1 cover

August 2011 – Cover of the Month

I cannot stand any of the issues with the Fear Itself banners… so I pick from whatever is left.

Nominees:

• Hulk #39
• Punisher #1
• X-Men #16
• Justice Society of America #54

I call the winner:  Punisher #1 with art by Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary, and Paul Mounts.

Punisher #1 cover

July 2011 – Cover of the Month

I found July to be sparse in terms of good covers. A lot of issues were released, some involved in large company-wide event storyarcs, but really, the covers were weak.

The best of the lot….

• Green Lantern #66
• Superman #711
• New Avengers #12

Hands down, New Avengers wins. Cover by Rain Beredo and Mike Deodato.

New Avengers #12 cover

June 2011 – Cover of the Month

To my eye, there weren’t as many standout beautiful covers as in the past. Kind of a lean week. Nevertheless, here are my picks:

• Conan: Island of No Return (Dark Horse)
• Punisher MAX #14 (Marvel MAX)
• X-Men #12 (Marvel)
• Moon Knight #2 (Marvel)

And the winner is………..  X-Men #12.  Art by Ed McGuinness

X-Men #12, cover

May 2011: Cover of the Month

For this month, there were several good choices.

• Superman #711
• Uncanny X-Force #9
• Booster Gold #44
• Detective Comics #877
• Green Arrow #12

But the hands down winner has to be Detective Comics #877.  Shame on DC Comics for putting the Green Lantern banner across this cover!  The cover artist is Mark Simpson “Jock”

Detective Comics #877

April 2011: Cover of the Month

I didn’t love any of the April 2011 covers. The nominations came down to just these three:

• Red Robin #22
• Punisher MAX #12
• Brightest Day #23

And the winner is. . . . . . . Red Robin #23.  Cover artist:  Guillem March

Red Robin #22 cover

March 2011: Cover of the Month

Lots of nice covers to choose from this month. I finally selected these from which I had to pick just one!

• Batman #706
• Captain America #614
• Batman & Robin #19
• Uncanny X-Force #4
• Daredevil: Reborn #1

And I picked Captain America #614 by Marko Djurdjevic as the winner. This was a tough call, but this cover is chilling and scary and very remarkable. (I hate the Nomad blurb on it, though.)

Captain America #614 cover

February 2011: Cover of the Month

I had a hard time choosing covers that really stood out and were worthy of being considered very good covers. In the end I selected three choices. I have to say, picking the winner was a tough thing to do as well.

• Brightest Day #15
• Black Panther #513
• Detective Comics Annual #12

Black Panther #513 as done by Simone Bianchi…..

Black Panther #513 cover

January 2011 – Cover of the Month

The nominees for this month include:

• Brightest Day #14
• Deadpool #29
• Justice Society of America #45
• Batwoman #0

And the winner is…… Justice Society of America. Cover by: Shane Davis.

Justice Society of America #45, cover