Comics

Some comics have great covers. Here's a showcase of my favorites, somewhat sorted by series. Some drawn well, some just funny. Should be pretty easy to tell which is which.

The majority of these images are from the website GoCollect.com, which has some of the the highest resolution scans of covers I have ever seen. Thanks GoCollect, you're a life saver. Also, the header image is from Shade the Changing Man #5, drawn by Chris Bachalo, whose art I adore. It's just so pretty...

Read the comics whose covers are featured! (And whose aren't!)

(With an ad blocker)

Generation X #1 -- Chris Bachalo

Gen X #23
Mitch Byrd

Generation X (1994)-- X-Men spin-off title starring teenage mutants in training at a school. Starts off strong and quickly nosedives into stupid due to artists switching every other issue and the fact that it's written by Scott Lobdell (ugh). I would recommend reading the first three issues, as those are the best and very new-reader-friendly.
The majority of the characters in this were created specifically to be in this series, so they don't have any background that needs additional reading, which is a factor that puts a lot of people off of getting into cape comics.
Also, it's a hanging out book instead of a fighting book. Lots of issues with the characters sitting around and talking, which is honestly what I prefer. Character-driven stories are ideal in my world, and this is chock full of that. The characters really are great. While the writing itself may be constantly in flux when regarding quality, that cannot be said for the cast, which remains the same people the entire time.

Shade #47 -- Bachalo

Shade #20 -- Chris Bachalo

Shade #1 -- Bachalo

Shade, the Changing Man (1990)-- An alien by the name of Shade travels to Earth on the orders of his shady (heh) government to stop the sudden influx in "madness" on the planet, or reality warps sprouting from peoples neroses. He lands in the body of serial killer Troy Grenzer, and when escaping jail gets into the car of Kathy George, the daughter of the last people that Grenzer killed.
10/10 all the way through, definitely one of my favorite comics. The concept was taken from the 70s Steve Ditko series of the same name and very loosely adapted into this by one of my personal favorite comic writers, Peter Milligan. This was published by Veritgo, so there's no large inter-title continuity to be concerned about! I've never met anyone else whos ever even heard of it, unfortunately :( Check it out! You won't be let down.

Alpha Flight (1983)-- Marvel Comics seiries about a Candian group of superheros that has three gimicks: one, that they work for the Candian governemnt, two, that they all hate or barely tolerate each other, and three, have I mentioned that they're Candian? Boring, but it does have the occasional light spot like the existence of the Beaubier twins, Northstar and Aurora, and the arc when Sasquatch is turned into a woman and starts calling herself Wanda. She stays like that for two entire years! Astounding to have a trans character in any Big 2 comic, let alone on that isn't treated like shit, especially so in the 80s. Here's a (rather nice) website page about it.
Anyway, that doesn't make up for how extremely dull this series is. (though it does somehow have a fansite) If you like long-winded monologues about nothing in particular, read this.

X-Force #19 -- Greg Capullo

X-Force (1991)-- The series has a bad rep because it was created by Rob Liefeld and thereby is "the ultimate 90's comic" (because EVERYONE knows that no good comic has ever come out of the 90s!), but it's pretty decent if you can get past the first 12 issues that Liefeld is on, and honestly, those aren't even that bad either. I mean, they're not good, but they're not completely unreadable unlike everything else Liefeld has put his meaty paws on.
After Fabian Nicieza is let loose and able to properly write instead of just script, it gets way better. That's not to say anything on the art though... except for Greg Capullo's short run on here. I love Greg Capullo's work, and luckily, once Adam Pollina gets put on the title in Jeph Loebs run it's gorgeous (which can be seen in the X-Force police lineup cover!). Not my best sell, I'm sure. Oh well.
(As a side note, this X-Force image was massive as fuck at over 4 MB... no clue how big boy here got to be so high in quality, but I have successfully shrunk it down to a regular size.)

Static (1993)--Virgil Hawkins is a huge geek, 15 years old and spending most of his time reading comics and playing tabletop RPGs with his equally geeky friends. That is until he gets caught in "the Big Bang", an explosion that left many people with superpowers--him with the ability to control electricity. In a Spider-Man-like fashion, he kicks villain's butts while never missing the chance to make a joke.
I really like this comic, and it's a shame that it was cancelled, but when a publisher goes under it's kind of impossible to keep a series running, so it's understandable albiet sad. In my opinion, there isn't a bad issue in the series, writing and art-wise. How many comics are well written AND drawn AND not a mini?! It's the ideal combo that comes around so very rarely!! Virgil is a really great protagonist. He feels like an actual teenager, one who would be fun to be friends with. He's also crazy smart, and uses his powers in such unique and technical ways that it makes my head spin a bit sometimes.
The publisher is Milestone comics, an imprint of DC whose thing was having the majority of their main characters be Black. The reason they went under was because the 90s was a crazy time for comics sales, and when those sales dropped they hit real hard. There are a few other titles under them that I've been meaning to be getting around to reading, like Blood Syndicate, which has Ivan Velez Jr. writing a good chunk of it like he did on Static (his Tales of the Closet is also really good, though unfortunately unfinished).

X-Men: Legacy #6

There was also a cartoon based off of this comic, Static Shock, that I will eventually get around to watching an episode at some point. They made it for a younger target audience than the comic, so I'm not sure that I'll enjoy it quite as much as the original, but I'm keeping my mind open. Anyway, check Static out! I promise you it will not disappoint!

X-Men Legacy (2012)--Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, dies, and his estranged son David Haller is left to pick up the pieces of his legacy and figure out what he can do that will make a difference in the world, choosing to go proactive instead of reactive like he belives his father was. This is made harder due to his unwieldy powers that breaks loose after years of getting it contained and controlled: that of a split personality, each personality with a different power.

It's really good, though I don't know how welcoming it is to new readers because I am so deeply entrenched in X-Men lore that it's kind of hard to imagine seeing it with fresh eyes. Unfortunately, the amazing art on the outside does not translate to amazing art on the inside. The majority of the run is medicore looking, no other way to put it (though the issue by Jorge Molina that the panel pictured is from is pretty good in my opinion). Still, that doesn't impact the quality of the writing itself which I as I have already mentioned, is great.

Marvel Age #16 inks & NM promotional poster

Enigma #6 -- Duncan
Fegredo

Enigma (1993)--The most boring man in the world, Michael Smith, is going about his same strict weekly routine with the same dull bliss as he has for years when the characters from his childhood favorite comic come to life and start killing people.

His small world now turned upside down, he is on the hunt to find out what the hell is going on, all the while strangely captivated by the protagonist Enigma.

Now, I know this synopsis is not all that enticing, but trust me on this one. If I could read any comic again like it was new, it would be this one. It's only 8 issues! It's from Vertigo! Check it out! (If you do click the link, read the individual issues instead of the trade. The TPB digitally retouches the art and in the process completely fucks up the colors.)

New Mutants #32

The New Mutants (1982)-- The original X-Men spin-off title! The very book that started the tradition of each decade having it's own school team, though the 2020's have yet to have one... Fun with pretty decent art most of the time, especially when Bill Sienkiewicz is doing it. Can never go wrong with Sienkiewicz. He did all of the covers featured and the poster, but not the image of the photograph to the right. That's by Steve Leialoha, who honestly I have never heard of until I looked up his name (sorry Steve).

Uncanny X-Men #413 -- Phillips

Uncanny X-Men #414 -- Sean Phillips

Chuck Austin's run of Uncanny X-Men (#410-#443) (2002-2004)-- GODDAMN IS THIS ONE BAD! So, so bad it's good. It is considered to be the worst X-Men run ever, and damn if they're not wrong. But they are wrong when they say it's not worth reading. The soap opera aspect that is present in all X-Men comics is ramped up to 1000% in the stupidest and most entertaining way ever. If they gotta be out of character to have drama who cares?! If the 18 year old Husk and 30-something Angel have sex in front of Husk's mom while flying in the sky who cares! If the mutant-racist Nurse Annie is working at the mutant school for some reason then who cares! If Havok, who was in a coma and treated by Annie and leaves his fiance for Annie does so, who cares! It's pure shit and pure entertainment of the lowest order. I may be a bit drunk or tipsy or whatever while writing this but my words ring true. Chuck Austin thought that this may be his one chance to make a mark on the world and have his name remembered in the minds of loser nerdboys forever, and he took his chance. Goddamn.