Comic Book Cover Art

I don’t know if this is because Unbreakable was on Encore the other day, or the recent hype for The Hulk and Daredevil and their subsequent SDMB threads. Regardless, it’s an interesting topic to me, and I have no idea where I would even begin, aside from here.

I’ve been in the process of redecorating my apartment, and my bedroom, specifically. I’ve got just a bunch of crap up, so anything is an improvement. I was thinking about getting 5-10 comic book covers to frame either seperately or in one large frame, but don’t know what would look good.

So, I ask the Teeming Millions:

What are your Top Ten favorite comic book covers? (Please list covers that are obtainable and affordable. If there are ultra-rare covers that you love, please list them, but include some that I could get fairly easily. Links would be great too, so that we can see what you’re suggesting.)

How would you mount them?

Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, Fathom, and Fathom

How would I mount them? :wink:

Probably one of those Dave McKean SANDMAN covers, or the one he did for “The Boy who Traded his Dad for Two Fish.”

Got edition numbers on that, or any links?

Several Classics Illustrated

“Bring 'em Back Alive” by Frank Buck
“Master of the World” by Jules Verne
“First Men in the Moon” by H.G. Wells
“War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells

Lots of the old Dell/Gold Key Tarzan and Turok comics, with their painted covers.

“Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” (esp. #1)

Fantastic Four Annual #6

Dave McKean is a graphical god. They released a collection of the covers that he did for Sandman.
“The Collected Sandman Dustcovers 1989 - 1996” - available at many places and easily ordered on the net.

You can see his style here: http://www.mckean-art.co.uk/

  1. Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 - Superman and Supergirl
  2. Infinity Gauntlet #4 - “Come and get me!”
  3. Wolverine # 79 - broken claws
  4. X-Men #1 - Wolverine/Cyclops cover
  5. Silver Surfer #4 - Silver Surfer Vs. Thor
  6. Avengers #4 - Captain America Lives Again!
  7. Batman #497 (minus the goofy black thing) - Bane Vs. Batman
  8. Spider-Man #22 - Spidey, Hulk, Sleepwalker, and Ghostrider
  9. Wonder Woman #63 (second series) - Miss me?
  10. Avengers King Size Special #2 - New Avengers Vs. Old Avengers

Can I count a series of covers as a single entity? If so, I’d include all 14 issues of Earth X, which has Alex Ross’ fabulous futuristic reinterpretation of the Marvel Universe heroes.

My favorite comic book cover art is Tony Harris’s painted Starman covers, which span the series from issue # 0 - 62 (excluding 56 and the 1,000,000 issue). I think the three-cover spread for the “Hell and Back” storyline (#24-26) stands out rather nicely. Issue # 55 has the bizarre spectacle of Jack Knight and Mikaal Tomas (both bearers of the name Starman) caught in the glare of the headlights of a space taxicab. Issue # 17 has a nice feel to it, with the fortune-teller Charity laying out Tarot cards that feature each of the principal charcters.

Tony Harris has a very unique and (to me) appealing painting style.

This is kind of a puzzler. Are you interested in the covers purely for their decorative value, or do you actually have favorite characters or genres that you would prefer to feature? You’d probably want covers that complement each other, so you wouldn’t want to be all over the board in terms of chronology, either (mixing Kirby with Macfarlane, for example). Details, please!

I have the same question. If you’re just looking for something that screams quality comic book artwork, head over to CrossGen and check out their lithographs and prints at their store. I grabbed quite a few wonderful looking pieces.

But as for my favorite covers, let’s see:
5: X-O Manowar #0 (the b&w lithograph is beautiful)
4: Agent X #2
3: Ash #0 - Future Cover
2: CreeD: Appletree
1: CreeD (original) #1

Terrifel, that’s a good question. I’m really not sure - somewhere in between. I’m not a collector, so don’t have any real favorites (other than having collected ~100 X-Men/Factor in the late 80s/early 90s). I think I’d like to lean towards to recognizable when possible.

Does that help?

The Jack Kirby covers for his run of “the Fabtastic Four” are very good for the ‘pop-art bombastic’ style. Very cool in frames, and not too pricey, also a little wear and tear just adds to the effect.

Gold Key’s “Doctor Solar” painted covers are good.

My personal favorites are the early 1960’s “Where Monsters Prowl” type of titles. Very surreal and over-the-top.

A variety is what I reccommend. 1950’s, pop-art, dark-edgy, use your own tastes but remember to get a quality frame.

Are you looking for original covers? Because if you are, you’re not going to find them – they’re quite pricey and typically are sold as b/w original art. If you’re looking for replicas, then you either have to buy a comic (expensive for some older or classic issues) or you have to limit your selection to something that the publishers have made into a poster or reproduction. On that basis, CrossGen might be your best bet as they have an extensive selection.

–Cliffy

Cliffy, I’m just looking for the comic. Like BMalion said, it doesn’t have to be mint.

If it was my wall, there would have to be a Flaming Carrot cover in there somewhere. But which to choose? 10, 12, 14, 19, 23, or 24?

There is an online gallery of Marvel silver age covers. Some of the covers mentioned here are shown there. I’m sure there are quite a few similar sites out there.

tourbot, I think you’re absolutely correct that I need a Flaming Carrot cover on my wall. And I’ll narrow it down to either 10 or 24. Excellent suggestion - those are hilarious!

Issue 10 of the second series of Wonder Woman was a gatefold cover. It was done by Perez, and it is quite stunning.

There was some issue of the Invisibles that had a jester sitting on a toilet.

Let’s see.
Something by Jaime Hernandez;
LifeDeath 1 & 2;
Wonder Woman: “Miss Me?” (First Bolland cover)–or really any Bolland cover;
Private Beach v.2 #1 (Slave Labor Graphics)–in which they’re not really frolicking on the beach, they’re just pretending for the cover;
Something HEAVY METAL;
Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #101 (?): Byrne cover entirely in black & white–not grayscale, black & white;
Sensational She-Hulk #1: “I’m going to rip up all your X-MEN”;
Justice League Europe #1;
The Usagi Yojimbo cover (late first series) by Ken Steacy;
The (1st-series) Albedo cover with Konny & Czu, or #7, with the Space Bunnies fighting off enemies on a pile of fallen comrades;
something Hunt Emerson, maybe CITYMOUTH (Boucheville).