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29. ASTONISHING X-MEN vs. WOLVERINE FIRST CLASS




30. KID ETERNITY vs. ALL-FLASH




31. X-FACTOR vs. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES




32. LEGIONNAIRES vs. JUDGE DREDD

29. Astonishing
The Wolvie cover seems to be looking for a Lobo type antagonist. Astonishing could be Emma Frost with a path to choose. From the roles/identities in front of her we see the outfit she had at the start of Quitely’s run and the one form her Hellfire Club days. There’s a lot more going on with Astonishing, while Wolvie could be an issue long fight scene.

30. Flash
Two very good covers. Kid is reasoning on his cover. Thinking about a problem, rather than beating something up in a fight scene. Classic comedy and tragedy masks both have a sinister edge. It’s nice that Kid’s sidekick is there to mentor him along too. But those guys over in Flash! Is it duplicates of the same man, controlled by one mind? Are they different men, changed by the thing controlling them? Is that the villain on the cover too? He might have an army of clones to control, but he takes time out to coordinate his tie and Hankie. Instant hit.

31. Legion
Another David comic, another Madrox issue. We do get lots of personalities/ lives that his bodies are living. The team are clearly stuck in the middle of it all. So, it gets points in the same way as Emma Frost above, without perhaps the sense of a crossroads being reached that it had. But the Legion as Dark Circle cover sends chills. It’s a lift of the classic JLA as Starro minions cover. It’s a shame that the story inside, didn’t really run with this. For example, someone on the cover really is a circle agent.

32. Legionnaires
Neither of these really do much for me. The Legionnaires fight other versions of themselves. But the versions don't look too dissimilar. Dredd is just growling like a lunatic at some pop art (10 years in an iso-cube for using Justice Dept. images without a licence!). The story could be satirical take on the place of art in a police state. But we’re here for the covers.

29. ASTONISHING X-MEN. Hit him, bub-y, one more time...that's his deal. But Emma facing herselves is more compelling to me. Nice grey fade from logo.

30. ALL-FLASH. OK, I've got to know what this "Hotel of Missing Men" story is! Over on Kid E, the 2 faces don't look all that different. pinched closed-mouth "smile" and mild grimace. Huh?

31. LEGION. I've read this issue. I own this issue. It didn't hit me until I was pulling together #18 images how beautiful this cover is. The rich coloring has a lot to do with that. (It's not the promise of a Dark Circle story, I can tell ya that. Yawn. And is that supposed to be the Legion? I guess I don't know their 5YL clothes as much, but that's very Devlin up top right, isn't it?)

32. LEGIONNAIRES I guess. Not all that fussed over either.

33. MARGE'S LITTLE LULU vs. GREEN LANTERN




34. RAGGEDY ANN + ANDY vs. COMIC CAVALCADE




35. TOPIX vs. THE FUNNIES




36. SECRET STORY vs. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

33. Marge's Little Lulu
It's nice of Doiby and Alan to take the time to wish their readers a happy holiday. You don't get anough of that togetherness in covers now. But then I wonder what I'm doing out in falling snow, looking up at their upper floor window. SO perhaps such covers have had their time. Little Lu is just adorable form helping santa to the outfit and the mantelpiece stocking.

34. Raggedy Ann
Jay, the man with super speed; Diana, the woman with the magic lasso; Alan, the man with the energy constructing ring. All forego their powers to prolong the trauma of a poor, terrified turkey. Over in Raggedy Ann, it's all about sharing and friendship. It's an easy choice.

35. The Funnies
Who knows the social pressures it took for the girls in Topix to produce their single valentine cards. Only to meet someone who has taken it to a completely different level. It's the opposite in funnies. A boy who is desperate to conceal his valentine. Is the card one he made for his secret love, or is it one form a secret admirer? Either way, he knows what the fun the gang will have at his expense. Funnies wins because fo the naughty doggy expression. It's close though.

36. Secret Story
Needy Girl can only hope that her partner won't break her heart. From his expression, that's exactly what he's going to do. And she knows this, going so far to put it on the cover blurb as a plea. Maguire provides the more detailed facial expressions on JLI. But it doesn't have that emotional connection. I think #19 of the JLI had the positions reversed. Or perhaps it was #17. The book was already past it's Helfer inspired prime by then.

33. LITTLE LULU. It took me a bit to recognize that LL is *helping* Santa leave. The usual beat for this kind of thing is to TRAP Santa, but it's clear from posture that's not what;s happening. GL's black brick kinda weird/groovy, but what happened to the roof?

34. RAGGEDY ANN + ANDY. Although my problem with RA+A is the minimal trade dress that makes this look like a big paperboard book rather than a comic. Should that make a difference? When is a "violation" of a comic cover norm a good thing, and when is it not? In other business, I like how torked off the CC turkey looks.

35. THE FUNNIES. Hey, is that li'l Cobie over on Topix? Being overly picky is one thing, but have SOME criteria, pls.

36. SECRET STORY. At least one person looks at least kind of happy.

37. TITANS vs. BATGIRL




38. MAGIC COMICS vs. BATGIRL




39. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO vs. HERE'S HOWIE




40. PONYTAIL vs. KING COMICS

37. Batgirl
Both covers really leapt out, so it's a shame that one has to lose. Where the Frost cover (29) or the Madrox cover (31) looked at identities, the Raven one simply has a snapshot of the rest of the team. I had expected each glimpse to be related to Raven in some way. But there's no sense of that or that her powers are working on them in any way. The damage behind her seems to suggest that she's responsible for some kind of split. But not many behind her look to be particularly bothered. Somehow, she seems to be wearing Psylocke's costume. Batgirl seems genuinely tearful, rather than whiny like Sodam or Supes. The robin on her shoulder tells the reader why without detracting from the focus at all. Nicely done.

38. Batgirl
This is the Mandrake cover that made keeping the heads of people you liked in bowling balls a popular fad for a while. It looks pretty flat. Yet the points are close because Klarion's cat looks distinctly uncatty. Batgirl wins because the colouring and the swirls add a nice background, offsetting the logo.

39. Here's Howie
The A&C joke doesn't really work. It's too much of a stretch between what A says and C does. Howie's joke gives a smile. The cover makes you sympathetic for the central character, against the character cut out Sgt Shouty, while also providing eye candy to make you interested in seeing who else Howie meets inside. I do like everyone's expressions.

40. King Comics
Ponytail has a couple of music obsessed teens on it. Teach isn't looking forward to something outside his comfort zone. The strong red background behind the logo would make this one stand out in the racks. Decent enough. But there's a lot going on in King Comics. Popeye in the middle; then the books; then the baby enjoying the ride on the books; then the bird. A second glance shows the characters waiting behind the fence and then there's the open manhole cover. Adding the school is a nice touch, and I wonder if it's the location of Popeye's story.

37. BATGIRL. It's the bird, for sure.

38. BATGIRL. Okay, that was just mean. I haven't seen every Mandrake cover but it's a pretty safe bet that any random one .

39. HERE'S HOWIE. Both gags are a little tortured, but HH less so. Good thing Sarge didn't ask for the breastplate stretcher.

40. PONYTAIL. Cute if not mind-blowing. King Comics has all kinds of problems. Popeye needs to respect the books (and the baby's safety). Swee'Pea needs to lay off the watermelon bird. Bird needs to read with its eyes, not its mouth. Jackass crossing guard Henry needs to get an immediate remedial course in safety. Wimpy needs to stop hanging around the school with weird (or even non-weird) kids.

41. BATMAN: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD vs. X-FACTOR




42. DRIFTER vs. TALES OF THE BEANWORLD




43. AMAZING MYSTERY FUNNIES vs. ADVENTURES OF THE FLY




44. MOPSY vs. PATSY AND HEDY

45. KING CONAN vs. JOHN CARTER, WARLORD OF MARS




46. FAMOUS FUNNIES vs. POPULAR COMICS




47. FANTASTIC ADVENTURES vs. THE SPECTRE




48. SANDMAN vs. SAGA

41. Batman
X-Factor ahs Havok out of control, a torn Polaris haunted by the presence of her father. The circles of Havok's power, the flowing of Polaris' hair and the fade of Magneto all add to the image. But it just doesn't have a fleet of flying saucers on it. And that's why Bats wins.

42. Beanworld
If I'm going to be confused, I'd much rather have some fun with it. They might even be standalones, which isn't something a lot of Image books are.

43. Fly
Noooes! I want them both! Watch as the Vandal Savage's Velocity drug takes over Biron the bowman's life! How could I not want to read all about the Horse of Horror?! This is while Fly Girl is about to leave fro B Boy! The Fly wins for the very central placing of the horse's head, with the heroes coming in at either side. Drug induced centaur is attacking horse and one has its hooves over part of the logo.

45. Patsy & Hedy
Mopsy makes the mistake of making the sea look like a hedge. There just seems to be so much room over on the Patsy cover. The beach, the sea, other bathers and a distant lighthouse. And a funny too!]

45. Conan
The creature obviously survived Conan's attack on it, to vacation on Mars a bit later on. There's some nice detailing on the outfits and in the landscapes for both. But Tarkas isn't battling alone. That would be Fight Club. He's battling the creature, making the cover blurb silly. Conan for the win.

46. Popular
Famous Funnies is the better constructed of the two. The carpet is central and leads the eyes up to the central character and to the curtains behind her. The actual event shown makes no impact at all. Over in popular we see that as long as you had a name, you could get a serial. Terry alternated months with the Bob and Fred strips. The kid shouldn't worry. Uncle willie isn't going to wake up after that hits him. The boulder should hide the shallow grave quite nicely. I'm interested in the other dubious antics that might be in Popular.

47. Fantastic Adventures
Hal, who is embracing the naturist life he always wanted to lead could spend this issue walking down those stairs. With Fantastic Adventures, I'm at least guaranteed a chase scene. An added bonus is that if Griffin flashes, I'll never know. Hal's chest isn't the only thing likely to flash on his cover.

48. Sandman
Although it's a small part of the cover, the cat on it is still completely central. I'm distracted by how jaggy that collar is over on Saga. What idiot put that there?

41. X-FACTOR. The hair!

42. DRIFTER. I'm curious to know what the symbols are. But if I ran across Beanworld in a bin, I'd grab that too.

43. THE FLY although if there was a comic book version of Hollywood Babylon I'll wager Speed Centaur is in it

44. MOPSY. Not a fan of "look I'm touching my scapula" posing.

45. JOHN CARTER. WARLORD OF MARS. Prefer the art style.

46. FAMOUS FUNNIES. No real gag on either side. FF has decent layout anyway.

47. SPECTRE.

48. SANDMAN. Gives you a little something to ponder.

49. I LOVE YOU vs. LOVELORN




50. COPRA vs. LSH IN THE 31ST CENTURY




51. TINY TITANS vs. BRAVEST WARRIORS




52. WOW COMICS vs. DNAGENTS

49. I Love You (No not you...you)
The couple have the good sense to go into cover from the rain. The bloke in Lovelorn seems to have driven into road work, and got a smooch from the person whose life he endangered. That's not a healthy relationship.

50.Legion
From a distance it was Copra. Lovely colour matches between costume, background and logo. But looking closer, the costume is far too fussy. There are pom poms on the boots. The threat on the legion cover is up there with the main book. A little disappointed it's one scene. Initially, I thought the team faced three bog threats that Mordru was behind. No one wears pom poms, so it wins.

51. Tiny Titans
Some of the faces on Bravest Warriors are unsettling. Titans looks like it could be fun, and there's a play on an Event comic there too.

52. Wow Comics
DNAGENTS gives a happy group shot. But look at the wind through Mary Marvel's hair and the V for victory arrangement of the covers.

Kid Eternity would like a word.

49. LOVELORN. ILY is cute, but Lovelorn is funny.

50. LSH 31ST CENTURY. Copra is giving me something to look at, but LSH 31ST gives a story.

51. TINY TITANS. Plenty to look at with all the kids, and "Infinite Detention" makes me laugh.

52. WOW COMICS. I've seen plenty of recursive covers. Wow gives it a little something different.

53. BIG BANG vs. THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS




54. POPULAR TEEN-AGERS vs. SWAMP THING




55. CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES vs. THE MARVEL FAMILY




56. TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED vs. MYSTERY IN SPACE

57. JUSTICE LEAGUE ADVENTURES vs. JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA




58. THE TRAVELERS vs. CAPTAIN CARROT AND HIS AMAZING ZOO CREW!




59. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES vs. QUASAR




60. ARCHER & ARMSTRONG vs. JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE

53. Big Bang
Yesterday, I'd have went with The Trouble With Girls. I prefer the pencilling. Ther'es more going on than in Big Bang, in that this might be a flashback issue. And the cover is a parody of Big 2 Events. But today, I'm interested in finding out more about the Pantheon of Heroes, a homage to the Big 2.

54. Popular Teen-Agers
The foliage frames the characters and the logo really well. Lots of text on there and, again, the leaves do a good job of not letting it dominate. It has flutterbys too. The Swamp Thing cover is too close to trying to emulate the book when it was written by Moore.

55. Captain Marvel
Another close one. I prefer the simpler lines of The Marvel Family to the photo-real Captain Marvel. But there's something about the colouring on Mary's hair. So, it's a win for Captain Marvel. Heroes introducing line ups on stages would become part of Avengers and JLI in later years.

56. Mystery In Space
Noes! Another real tough one. I love the sci fi story on a cover that Tales gives. Electro-Brainiac is like so many of their great one -shot alien threats. But Misery In Space reminds me so much of a JLA cover. IS the main character trying to free prisoners? Why? Then there's the star field background. Unexpected tries to win me back with a oupon for ice cream, but its Mystery for the win.


57. JLofA
The paly on words in JL Adventures is no match to the threat of shrinking away to a size so small not even the Atom can find you. A classic cover that gives you a real hint at the peril inside.

58. Travelers
I find Travelers a little busy, but it gets points for integrating the logo etc with the poster look. I like the seat pricing at the bottom too. Captain Carrot makes the mistake of referring to his team as turkeys. Turkey Teen is in an entirely different book. They might be taking over the logo, but I'm not really told much about what goes on inside. IIs it a team rebellion? If Cap doesn't care, should I?

59. Legion
While some of the others have been really close contests for good reasons, this is more like picking the one I don't like least. The Infinite Man is a real powerhouse, and there's a Crisis feel to all those worlds (not to mention that cross-over link at the top). But Brainy has very wonky LaRocque legs, not to mention him running in terror. The ghosts in Quasar actually get in the way of the logo. It's a rubbish costume, even in the world of spandex and I wonder if the whole thing has been brought on by the steroids that Quasar is clearly taking. The Legion for all those worlds I guess.

60. Archer & Armstrong
I was going to go with the JLE. You see the team in danger and Sears' art makes them all interesting. But it could be the hand of Mickey Mouse that's holding them (not too tightly either). Actually, I wonder if this was an Extremists story. As much as the Archer & Armstrong cover is a homage, and has someone's idea of paradise being 4 clingy naked women, it gets the win for the concerned partner and particularly the doctors with him.

53. THE TROUBLE WITH GIRLS. You know that just because I hang out at the Pantheon boards I'm not THAT big of a Pantheon fan, so the SLSH/Imperial Guard homage isn't space-catnip.

54. SWAMP THING. Foliage and butterflies? Sure, sounds good, but that frame is terrible.

55. MARVEL FAMILY. I don't care for the painted cover. It just doesn't go with the Marvel Fam aesthetics.

56. MYSTERY IN SPACE. OF SPACE!!

57. JLA.

58. THE TRAVELERS. Handsomely done!

59. LSH I guess. It's kind of disorienting, but I suppose that's the point. Side note: I don't remember anything about this issue. I had to check if I own it. (I do.)

60. JLE. I don't care for the A&A art style. JLE not quite as amazing as JLI 11, and I didn't realize it was supposed to be a "funny animal" hand until I read a synopsis. Hey, count how many fingers *I'm* holding up.

61. OUTSIDERS vs. SECRET ORIGINS




62. WEB OF SPIDER-MAN vs. SUB-MARINER




63. VIGILANTE vs. SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL




64. BETTY & VERONICA SPECTACULAR vs. IMPULSE

65. SUPERGIRL vs. ARION LORD OF ATLANTIS




66. THRILLS OF TOMORROW vs. DAREDEVIL




67. OLD MAN LOGAN vs. BIRTHRIGHT




68. EXILES vs. WIINDOWS

61. Secret Origins
I like the central column of characters on Outsiders. the laughter and the mist also add a lot to it. The off kilter logo suits the Creeper too. But Secret Origins has gone to the trouble of figuring out a way its two characters can interact. Outsiders would have had to have had Rex as a laughing gas canister to get the same effect.

62. Namor
"Where is Spider-Man?" Well, if you don't know why should I buy the book? I can't say I'm too keen on Namor, but it tries to introduce a character with unknown allegiances, and gives a twist on Namor's powers. How much business can the guy who sells trunks to Namor and Triton get at the bottom of the sea?

63. Vigilante
Spider-Man is probably the more iconic design utilising the two masks, with a single bullet hole. But Vigilante gives me a cast, and the indication that something has shattered all their lives. Moore & Baikie? I'll need to look out for those. I didn't get past the first few books when I got the back issues.

64. Betty & Veronica
Betty and Veronica has a joke, while Impulse just has a play on words in its title. Not much of a contest.

65. Arion
It's my fav Supergirl costume, and Kraken is more interesting than either Namor or Triton. He also shops at the Sea Floor Trunk Emporium. But look at the insanity on the face on Arion's cover, as the wave crashes through those detailed ruins. Cyclopean aren't they?

66. Thrills of Tomorrow
Daredveil is a good cover. The circles are his radar sense, and they seem to be picking up a lot more than usual. Or perhaps he's haunted by the powers and what he's picked up by using them. The jagged lines around the cover also indicate some sort of trauma. But the way the time vortex just covers the central character in Thrills that grabs me. It's the key part of the cover, but doesn't hog it, allowing for the nicely coloured space and planets to pull the reader in. He's in a flight suit, but there's no craft. He's captive to whatever strange forces are going to take him, and the reader, across time and between the barriers of life and death...in space! I want to know more.

67. Birthright
A win for Birthright, as I can tell what it is the characters are looking at.

68. Exiles
A tough one for the wrong reasons. Exiles is a gimmick cover. I don't really remember the cast, so having one of them as Elvis doesn't work for me. Wiindows is like a Grant Morrison story. Trying far too hard to fit in art/culture references before Brendan McCarthy shows it up for the pretension it is. So , it's Exiles by default.

61. OUTSIDERS. Center!

62. SUB-MARINER. The question isn't where is Spider-Man but why didn't he take them gold bricks with him? Think, Parker!!

63. SPIDER-MAN/DEADPOOL. Bold!

64. Impulse has a problem...Veronica has *solved* a problem. But the setup is UNDER the punchline. And the IMPULSE art is more handsome, so that.

65. SUPERGIRL. This is one of those matchups where I don't have any major criticisms...or enthusiasm. Supergirl because the coloring is more appealing to me.

66. THRILLS OF TOMORROW. Has that excellent retro-yet-modern feel.

67. OLD MAN LOGAN. Mostly because Birthright has that undercooked, off-brand look.

68. EXILES. I'm blanking on the storyline in the issue, but Morph as Elvis def fits with his character. Wiindows looks like a Vertigo parody but I don't think it is.