Great covers of our time. Nick Cardy's Superman #274.

Hooray! It's yet another great new feature from Steve Does Comics, the blog that, over the years, has brought us a whole slew of all-time classic features, like, erm, er...

I could claim the concept came to me in a flash of inspiration but the truth is I was going to review the story within but soon realised I didn't have anything to say about it.

It's a pleasant enough tale - even if Superman does save the world by a method that's far-fetched even by his standards.

But the truth is that what really makes the comic memorable is Nick Cardy's cover. Who couldn't be sucked in by the sight of Superman being sucked in?

Just to add drama to it he's crushing his own logo, a good six years before Dark Phoenix thought to do the same on the front of X-Men #135.

Probably the cover's only failing is the presence of Superman serenely flying along above the masthead. Is that figure by Neal Adams? It's a nice enough picture but the cover would've benefited from it being removed so the main image could reach right up to the top of the page.

Your favourite cover of all time. The Results.

There are times when you wonder if the Internet can possibly take the strain.

And this is one of them.

Mere days ago, I asked you to name your favourite comic book covers of all time. And you gave me your answers! So, without further ado, here is what you came up with:

Fantastic Four #72. Jack Kirby.
The Silver Surfer shows his peaceful intent by randomly zapping the Earth.
Wasn't this used as the cover for issue #1 of Marvel UK's Super-Heroes comic?
Nominated by Ronnie Poore. 

Action Comics #402. Neal Adams.

This is one of the very first comics I ever bought. I'm glad I did. After all, there was a lot at stake.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Action Comics #406. Curt Swan.

Superman loses his head in a crisis.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Adventure Comics #336. Curt Swan.

At last we find out who Starfinger is. I wonder if it's Clark Kent? I've never trusted that boy. I always felt he was hiding something.

Nominated by Stevenw888 (no relation).

Amazing Spider-Man #50. John Romita.

Spidey turns his back on a life of crime-fighting. Personally, I have a feeling it won't last long.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Amazing Spider-Man #59. John Romita.
Mary Jane Watson's first ever cover - and she's determined to make the most of it.
Nominated by cerebus660.

Conan the Barbarian #24. Barry Smith.

Barry Smith might bow out with this issue but Red Sonja certainly doesn't.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Defenders #16. Gil Kane.

The Defenders vs Magneto and his chums. Clearly, things are in the balance.

Nominated by Ade Salmon.

Fantastic Four #1. Jack Kirby.

Each of the FF gets to demonstrate his/her powers on their debut cover.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Fantastic Four #4. Jack Kirby.

The Sub-Mariner makes his Silver Age return and tries to make off with the Invisible Girl. The Invisible Girl? Personally I don't know what he sees in her. Or have I made that joke before?

Nominated by cerebus660.

Fantastic Four #46. Jack Kirby.
When Black Bolt waves his arms around, you know he means business.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Fantastic Four #51. Jack Kirby.
When Reed Richards starts to get sucked into the Negative Zone, Sue Richards shows her value to the team by just standing there asking the Thing to save him, instead of using her force field to do it herself. No wonder they replaced her with Medusa. Medusa would've saved him.

Nominated by both cerebus660 and Ade Salmon.

Fantastic Four #52. Jack Kirby.

The Black Panther makes his debut.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Fantastic Four #106. John Romita.
Is there any hope for our heroes?

Nominated by cerebus660.

Fantastic Four #5. Jack Kirby.

Dr Doom makes his debut and instantly wrecks the atmosphere. 

Nominated by cerebus660.

House of Mystery #195. Bernie Wrightson.
"Bat Out of Hell!" And not a Meatloaf in sight.

Nominated by cerebus660.

Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #15. Billy Graham.

Nominated by Ade Salmon.

Superman #233. Neal Adams.

Anything Luke Cage can do, Superman can do better.

Nominated by McScotty.

Superman #252. Neal Adams.
I'm totally showing my ignorance here but just who is that man with the bare chest and blue cape?
Then again, who's the man with the flying skis?

Nominated by McScotty.

Swamp Thing #4. Bernie Wrightson.

Nominated by Ade Salmon.

Teen Titans #16. Nick Cardy.
A genuinely wonderful composition from DC's cover maestro.

Nominated by McScotty.

Teen Titans #26. Nick Cardy.

Nominated by McScotty.

Thanks to everyone who took part.

Your favourite cover of all time.

ABC front-man Martin Fry once said  you should never judge a book by its cover - or the look by the lover. Then again he also said that when Smokey sings, he hears violins. But we all know a good cover can drastically affect the level of fondness we have for a comic.

In a couple of earlier posts [1][2], I gave some examples of my favourite covers of all time, and it'll possibly come as no surprise to the sharp-eyed that my all-time favourite's probably Jim Aparo's for (Weird) Adventure Comics #436. The thing's plain beautiful and proves the Hulk is right, and green and purple really can mix.

But even I realise the Internet's not just about me. So, what's your favourite comic book cover of all time?

In a few days' from now, when everyone's had the chance to nominate their favourites, I'll post them on here and, wearing my awesome Steve Does Art Appreciation hat, I'll have a see what I think of them, and invite the comments of you, the cognoscentus* that is the Steve Does Comics Reader.


*Warning! "Cognoscentus" may not be a real word, and Steve Does Comics cannot be held responsible for any humiliation you may suffer if you try to use it in educated company.

Steve Does Covers. Planet of the Apes #2.

As I roam the streets of Sheffield, people often say to me, "Steve, with your knowledge of the visual arts, you're like Sheffield's answer to Brian Sewell."

And I say, "What? the bloke from UFO? I'm sure he was great but, frankly, I'd rather be Ed Bishop."

"No, you great steaming fool!" they say. "Not George Sewell. Brian Sewell, the renowned art critic and vowel mangler."

"That's all lovely," I tell them, "but I'd still rather be Ed Bishop. Does Brian Sewell have a secret underground base full of unlikely equipment for fighting aliens? Well? Does he? Does he?"

Apparently he does.

Still, being Sheffield's answer to Brian Sewell gives me all the excuse I need to climb onto the roof with my bazooka and take a pot-shot at the flying saucer of Art Appreciation.

And I'll start with the cover to Marvel UK's Planet of the Apes #2.

After issue #1's beautifully painted cover [right], I was at the time hugely disappointed by it. It just seemed like a return to the second-rate covers Marvel UK habitually inflicted on us.

Nowadays I think it's great. Granted the draftsmanship's not what you'd call sophisticated but the actual composition's pleasingly dynamic, with the apes' heads rising above the horizon, their varying heights fitting in nicely with the curve of the logo but also breaking through it to exacerbate the sense of three-dimensionality created by having the crouching humans on a different plane in front of them.

The line of apes plays a nice trick on the subconscious. Obviously, we know it's a group of separate apes but, having them in a line as they make their way across the page, creates a subliminal impression of a single ape caught in a string of snapshots as it crosses the cover, creating a sense of movement in a static image.

I also like the red sky - and the presence of a low sun; a homage, I assume, to the opening titles of the TV show which featured a gorilla with raised rifle silhouetted by the burning sun.

At the time, I thought the ape in the lead bore a remarkable resemblance to Nationwide presenter Michael Barratt. Sadly, nowadays, the resemblance is lost on me.

More happily, none of them ever reminded me of his co-host Sue Lawley.

"Covering the Covers" - The Sequel!

As promised roughly a week ago, it's the second part of my trawl through my favourite Bronze Age covers. And we kick off with four Nick Cardy covers in a row.

Poor old Superman. First of all, in Superman #273, he's rejected by the people of Metropolis in favour of a man who dresses like Liberace...

...then, in Action Comics #440, he's rejected by his own dead parents.

Still, at least in Superman #276, Captain Thunder can't wait to meet him.

Something fishy going on. Superboy #194.

I seem to spend all my time on here going on about how I prefer Frank Robbins' and E.R. Cruz's version of The Shadow to Mike Kaluta's. So, to prove I'm not Kalutaphobic, here's his rather stylish and magnificent cover for The Shadow #12

Then again, I can't not include Frank Robbins' cover for The Shadow #7

My second Kamandi cover, this time from issue #20, and my second Jack Kirby cover.

I know this is technically not a Bronze Age cover, having been drawn by Jack Kirby for 1960s' Tales of Suspense #11 but it's reprinted here on a Bronze Age comic, Where Monsters Dwell #2, and frankly that's all the excuse I need to post a picture of a giant orange amoeba threatening all mankind.

Covering the covers, Part One.

Let's face it, when we were all knee-high to the wondrous Wasp, there were two factors decided whether you bought a comic or not. One was the star of it, the other was the cover. Of course, in the best of all worlds, it was both. But I thought I'd take the opportunity to post my favourite Bronze Age covers.

As is the case with the rest of the blog, I'm only going to post stuff I actually had as a kid, so there might be some great covers that get left off simply because I never had them. It's also my pick of the pics that grab me most, not necessarily what I think should be counted as the greatest covers of that age, so bear with me if some of my choices seem odd, perverse or just plain baffling.

After not a great deal of thought, I've managed to narrow it down to sixteen choices. To avoid going overboard on the image posting, I thought I'd split it into two posts of eight covers. So, in no particular order, here's my first batch:

I have to admit Jack Kirby isn't one of my favourite cover artists and, by all accounts, he hated doing them but, every so often, he showed us all how it should be done. Kamandi #23 is definitely one of those occasions. That thing's practically leaping out of the page, let alone the water.

The late Tom Sutton might not have been one of the more high profile artists but, for Charlton's Many Ghosts of Dr Graves #45, he gave us a masterclass in terror.

Rampaging Hulk #4. Jim Starlin as good as ever.

World's Finest #218. Was there ever a better cover artist than DC's Nick Cardy? Like all his covers, I just love his composition for this, with the note from our villain cheerfully undermining our smug (and somewhat unobservant) heroes.

Dracula looking like a wild beast, his foe looming like the spectre of death, as lightning crashes and tombstones stand witness. If Gil Kane and Tom Palmer's cover for Tomb of Dracula #16 doesn't leave you thinking we're in for the fight of the century, I don't know what could.

It's Jim Aparo. It's the Spectre. It's (Weird) Adventure Comics #436. It's green. It's purple. It's simply the most elegant thing you've ever seen.

Just to prove he didn't just do super-heroes, Nick Cardy gives us The Unexpected #149. If only the stories inside DC's horror mags had matched up to the drama of their covers.

It's Nick Cardy again. Is there no stopping the boy? There might be but there's no stopping Timber Wolf in Superboy #197 as he takes on the Legion of Super-Heroes, single-handed.