Cover Fire 4/26/2023

The Most Fire Cover From This Wednesday’s Releases
4/26/2023
In the same vein as my weekly Cover Tunes articles. Pi cks in Cover Fire will be “A” covers or regularly-priced alternate covers and will all be available during the current week for cover price. Don’t forget to check out The Wednesday One  and  Rumor Has It   to round out your Wednesday Warrioring!
NO INCENTIVE VARIANTS OR STORE EXCLUSIVE VARIANTS ARE COVERED IN THIS ARTICLE. THIS FEATURE IS ABOUT COVER AESTHETICS, ONLY, AND HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH SPEC. Don’t forget to check out The Wednesday One,   NCBD (Rumor Has It)  and  Indie Spotlight   to round out your Wednesday Warrioring!
HOWEVER… For this week’s INCENTIVES and EXCLUSIVES needs, check out the weekly “COVER LOVERS” podcast with TEAM NERD HERD and me, RIGHT NOW!

Weekly Rundown…
Welcome back, fine folks, to yet another week of comics! I hope you had a fruitful and restful week. This week is actually pretty good. Here are a few notes to get us rolling:

Lots of covers I LIKED but didn’t LOVE this week. I left a lot off. Curious if I missed your favorite. If so, drop me a note down below.
This is the week of Alex Maleev and I’m excited about that!
I like the Nakayama Green Arrow #1, but the greens actually all cancel each other out too much for my tastes.
I said it last time, but I’m still really disappointed in the D&D Saturday Morning Adventures covers. These should blow me away from a nostalgia level. After all, isn’t that the entire point of the comic?
Lots of good-not-great covers for Dead Romans. Nothing makes the list, though.
As usual, Ross has his own section even though one of the Timeless Villains could have made the main list (Apocalypse).

That’s all I’ve got for notes. Here we go…
And this week’s winner is…

Doctor Strange #2c
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/26/23
ARTIST: Alex Maleev
Maleev has been off the radar for a little while (other than that amazing Scarlet Witch from a month or two ago). His work is largely underappreciated in my opinion and this cover demonstrates that fact. Not only does Maleev capture the regal nature of the character here, but he also manages to create textural depth and movement in a way few others can. This is the clear winner for the week, hands down. This is gallery-level art.
*****
RUNNERS UP
*****

Harley Quinn #29b
PUBLISHED: DC – 4/25/23
ARTIST: Jenny Frison
What more can I say that I (and many others) haven’t already said about Frison and these Harley Quinns in particular. This one has perfect personality and I like that we get to see her in her “Doctor” mode.
 

Star Wars: Darth Vader –
Black, White and Red #1b
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/26/23
ARTIST: Gabriele Dell’Otto
The only other cover this week that could have beaten out the Maleev Doctor Strange. There are few things about it I don’t love, but overall this is a fantastic Dell’Otto, albeit a little dark. All of those little glints of light are amazing!
 

Dune: House Harkonnen #4a
PUBLISHED: BOOM! – 4/26/23
ARTIST: Raymond Swanland
Man, I love a good sandworm cover and this one crushes with awesome detail and wonderful rendering. Actually, all of the covers for this are good this week.
*****
STIFF COMPETITION
*****

Star Wars: Darth Vader –
Black, White and Red #1a
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/26/23
ARTIST: Alex Maleev
Maleev with three books on the list this week and all are deserving. All three are VERY different from one another, as well. The realism on this one is astounding and he manages to take the “black, white and red” trope and do something compelling with it (unlike 90% of the rest of them from various publishers).
 

Dejah Thoris #2a
PUBLISHED: Dynamite – 4/26/23
ARTIST: Junggeun Yoon
Just gorgeous work. I haven’t been the biggest fan of Yoon’s stuff until this cover. Some of these modern artists are really raising the bar over the past few months. Are there new digital drawing tools available all of a sudden that I am unaware of? This one has amazing depth, beautiful lines and is just a damned sexy cover. From a few feet away, I swore this was a cosplay photo.
 

Action Comics #1054d
PUBLISHED: DC – 4/25/23
ARTIST: Ibrahim Moustafa
There have been some sneaky-good Supes covers, lately. This one is excellent from an artistic and layout standpoint even though it’s nothing new under the sun. I really like the slash stroke paint style and the idea that there is some speed as Superman flies up (or down?). Cool effects and an overall impactful cover.
*****
WORTH A 2nd LOOK
*****



Detective Comics #1071b – Ivan Reis – DC – 4/25/23

Impeccable linework on this one and a lot of emotion.

Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives #5b – Alex Eckman-Lawn – DC – 4/25/23

Creepy, simple and perfect for a Sandman cover.

Gargoyles #5c – Lucio Parrillo – Dynamite – 4/26/23

This is Parrillo’s best Gargoyles cover. He got it to be just comedic enough and yet also realistic.

Vampirella Strikes #12a – Lucio Parrillo – Dynamite – 4/26/23

Another beauty. Not Parrillo’s best face ever, but plenty of other things to focus on in this cover that are stunning.

Alien #1c – Alex Maleev – Marvel – 4/26/23

This reminds me of the great Dark Horse covers from the 90’s. I love it! I do not, however, love Marvel’s attempt at VHS trade dress. That purple clashes with this cover. There is a virgin version, but it’s a 1:100. Sigh!

Blade Runner 2039 #4b – Veronica Fish – Titan – 4/26/23

For the colors alone, this one is worth a second glance.

Grimm Fairy Tales #71b – Al Barrionuevo – Zenescope – 4/26/23

Hate Zenescope all you like, but this is evil and awesome!

Grimm Fairy Tales #71c – Igor Lomov – Zenescope – 4/26/23

If the previous cover is “Beast,” this one is Beauty. Stunning!

Neighbors #2b – Stephanie Hans – BOOM! – 4/26/23

I decent Rosemary’s Baby homage. Not Hans’ best work, but the cover works nicely.

*****
ALEX ROSS
*****


Deadpool #6b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/26/23

For completists.

Hulk #14b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/26/23

Incredible texture on this one.

Sins of Sinister: Dominion #1b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/26/23

This is by far the best of the week and one of the best overall (I still think the Magneto tops them all).

Thor #33c – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/26/23

Again, another for the completionists.

Miracleman Marvel Tales #1b (1-shot) – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/26/23

Not a timeless Villains variant, but a great Ross nonetheless.

*****
A really good week with some wonderful covers. Because there were a lot of good-not-great covers this week, I was really picky about what made the main list. I hope you like the choices. I know I dropped a few decent ones off, so drop a comment and tell me what I missed that you dig. Until next time, stay cool, be good to each other, thanks for reading and happy hunting.


 
*****
NOTE: All products, pictures, names, descriptions and logos are property of their respective copyright and trademark holders. No items are listed for sale. All information is for educational purposes, only.
*****
 
 

 
 
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