Cover Fire 4/12/2023

The Most Fire Cover From This Wednesday’s Releases
4/12/2023
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 to Cover Fire, everyone. This week is thankfully a much slower week. After two huge weeks in a row, my wallet can breathe a small sigh of relief. My only notes are as follows:

Essentially a 4-way tie for the top slot.
Many of the really cool covers this week are incentives which is both annoying as well as probably how it should be (even though it rarely ever is).
Marvel beats out DC for the first week in ages.
A big bunch of failed homages (I’m looking at you Harley, Gryffen, Traveling to Mars and Children of the Black Sun).
One NAILED homage… see below.
Another large “Worth a 2nd Look” section along with a Ross Timeless section.

That’s really all I have. Let’s just dive in…
 
And this week’s winner is…
Depending on your perspective, this week could almost be considered a 4-way tie with all three runners up. As I always say, your mileage may vary since art is subjective. However, here is my choice which just eeks out the win…
 

Legend Fell #1e
[Premium Painted FOC Variant]
PUBLISHED: American Mythology – 4/12/23 
ARTIST: Rare Scalf
This one will be a ghost this week as most shops will have missed it. It is stunningly intricate painted work that harkens back to Dragon Magazine #1 and/or the D&D Red Box set. So deeply imbedded in my childhood psyche that I actually HAVE to have one. This is technically open order and cover price, but that cover price is $10 and most stores are selling it for $20-$30 as if it were an incentive… but it isn’t. Savvy folks will know where to snag it cheap if they’re good at this game.
*****
RUNNERS UP
*****

Star Wars: Ewoks #1 (1-Shot)
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/12/23
ARTIST: Ryan Brown
This was the winner until I realized that they screwed it up with the terrible black bordered-trade-dress-vomit party around the edges. Either way, the art is ridiculous and there is a virgin incentive for those with the funds. Anyhow, you can love the Ewoks or hate them, but it’s hard to deny that this cover has all kinds of personality and is tonally perfect. The fur and the eyes alone are mesmerizing, but Brown nailed all of the textures on this one. The Ewoks are equally tied to my childhood as much as this week’s D&D covers.
 

Guardians of the Galaxy #1b
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/12/23
ARTIST: Alex Ross
Tough not to choose this as the winner, too. An absolutely amazing cover of Doom. His others this week aren’t as amazing (although the Zemo is close… see below). This one is a classic Doom cover people will want for decades and will be happy to see that it’s a cover price book.
 

Legend Fell #1c
PUBLISHED: American Mythology – 4/12/23
ARTIST: Buzz Hassen & Ken Haeser
Some sources had these dropping last week, but most have them solicited for this week. This homage is perfect! It is also so deeply and nostalgically tied to my childhood that I almost chose it as the winner (I know, I’ve said that a lot this week). I can’t wait to get one. How this concept didn’t get used for the recently-released Dungeons & Dragons Saturday Morning Adventures title is beyond me.
*****
STIFF COMPETITION
*****

Marvel Voices: Spider Verse #1b
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/12/23
ARTIST: John Giang
I love Giang’s color palette and sense of space. His detail is also fantastic and while this cover has a bit of a manic and busy feel, it seems to coalesce into cohesive and very lively piece that has the feel of the animated Spidey movies.
 

Storm and the Brotherhood of Mutants #3a
PUBLISHED: Marvel – 4/12/23
ARTIST: Leinil Francis Yu
Absolutely gorgeous layout for a character that frankly has been shafted on great covers over the decades. This simultaneously shows off her power and beauty. Yu has always been underrated and underappreciated.
 

Dark Ride #5b
PUBLISHED: Image – 4/12/23
ARTIST: Reiko Murakami
Super creepy and disturbing for a title that hasn’t been digging into the horror aspects of the book too deeply on the covers. This is an obvious departure from that model, and I really like it.
*****
WORTH A 2nd LOOK
*****



Batman: The Adventures Continue Season III #4b – Mike Perkins – DC – 4/11/23

Overall, a rather unremarkable cover, but that cool light flair effect on Batman is worth a 2nd look all by itself.

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season III #4c – Brian Bolland – DC – 4/11/23

I love Bolland’s line work, but I have been rather unimpressed with his colorists as of late.

Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – Glass House #1c – Yoshitaka Amano – DC – 4/11/23

I am admittedly not a big fan of Amano’s overall product, but I know others are, and I also VERY much appreciate the amount of work that goes into these covers. Thus, I have this cover down here. For me, it isn’t any higher, but I understand if your mileage varies.

Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country – Glass House #1a – Reiko Murakami – DC – 4/11/23

This cover is beautiful albeit a little busy and a little too digitally smooth.

007: For King and Country #1a – Joseph Michael Linsner – Dynamite – 4/12/23

I usually love JML’s work, but I love this one even more than normal. The slimmer, classier female body type is a nice departure and I love the rest of the layout, as well.

Fantastic Four #6c – Kaare Andrews – Marvel – 4/12/23

I really love this cover. It has always been really hard for any artist to depict four characters on a cover and have it NOT look a little cluttered. Andrews manages to give each of the four their own space/layer and mood. This one also has a bit of an impressionistic feel which I like better than his hyper-photo-realistic style which he sometimes utilizes.

Guardians of the Galaxy #1D – Skottie Young – Marvel – 4/12/23

For the Skottie fans. I’m not among them. It’s cute… I guess. Sigh. I really wish he’d use his early style again. It was so visceral and moddy.

Frank Frazetta’s Tales of Science-Fantasy #1b – Frank Frazetta – Opus – 4/12/23

Certainly not the best Frazetta, ever, but still compelling.

*****
ALEX ROSS TIMELESS SECTION
*****


Captain America: Cold War Alpha #1c – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/12/23

This Zemo is among the best of these Timeless Villains variants. Maybe not as nice as last week’s Magneto or this week’s Doom, but as always, it shows off Ross’ mastery and his ability to depict tone and texture.

Carnage #12b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/12/23

Another excellent Ross. I think the Zemo blows it away this week, but it still worth taking a closer look when you’re staring at it at the LCS. I’m also a sucker for Hela covers, so I may be biased.

Fantastic Four #6b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/12/23

Ditto ^

Miles Morales Spider-Man #5b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/12/23

The worst Ross of the week, but still a Ross, so…

Moon Knight #22b – Alex Ross – Marvel – 4/12/23

He captures the character nicely, but it’s nothing special.

*****
A much slimmer week, but still some excellent grabs (especially those top 4)! Hopefully, there’s something you like. Drop a comment and tell me what I missed and what you plan to snag on Wednesday. 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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