COMIC DISAMBIGUATION
June 7, 2019 - Scott Whitman ComicBookInvest.com
This subject comes up a lot online, be it as click bait in the form of “best cover” or simply as a way to generate comments. Regardless, it's always a fun topic for people to engage in. So, in my own desperation to keep to a weekly schedule, I figured I needed something that requires much less research. So here are some covers that I personally really like and don't feel get enough love. These are a mix of variants and regular covers, some may be old hat while others might be new to you.
Superman Unchained #4 Guillem March 1:25 Variant Recently I ended my quest to find a 9.8 of this book, so now I can talk about it. I've learned my lesson in regards to talking about a book before I have one, or multiple copies. It's true that this book has a rather large print run in comparison to other variants for this issue. But let's face it, there's not many Silver Banshee covers. Much less good Silver Banshee covers if we're being completely honest. While any heat Silver Banshee may have had due to the Supergirl TV show has long since died off, there's no reason to think that a much better attempt at the character won't happen someday.
G.I. Joe Vol 1 # 43 This cover is an old one, and probably one of the earliest covers to make an impact on me artistically/visually. While the idea of a skeleton with a machine gun isn't anything new, even in the 80's, it's the way it's drawn and composed… the use of lighting and shadows to frame it. Covers like this are why Mike Zeck's is considered a master illustrator. While Zeck is a well known name among many comic collectors. I don't think he or his work has really received the recognition it truly deserves. He's probably best known for his work on Secret Wars #8. But his largest contribution to comics, in my opinion, was his work on GI Joe and the first Punisher mini series.
Uncanny X-Men #257
How could I put together any comic cover list and not include Jim Lee. While many would argue this isn't even one of his 10 best cover I'd completely disagree. While it lacks the excessive rendering many covers around this time had. It's the composition and shadows that really make this a striking cover. Subject matter wise, sitting on a rack, I wanted to read this book. Wolverine zonked out, Psylocke in the crazy Mandarin armor, I need to read this! Sadly with a lot of modern covers, which are mostly just pin-ups that don't relate to the story, an image like this makes me long for the days when covers were a glimpse inside. Not just beautiful and random.
JSA Classified #3 Second Print Variant This is hands down one of my all time favorite covers. The image itself is light hearted and fun, but when combined with a joke about which printing it is, it's just magnified. Years from now I firmly believe collectors will be tracking this one down. In part because while it's a second printing, the silver coloring is something DC Comics does for later than second printings. Second printings typically have a red coloring added, as I'm sure many are aware of. In addition to the above mentioned reason I love this cover there's an even more obvious one for those who've been following this column over the past few years. I'm a big fan of both characters featured.
Unstoppable Wasp #1 1:25 Torque Variant While I'm not really a fan of the character, I love this cover. It works so well on several different levels and is just pure comic fun to look at. More than anything, when i look at it, i'm reminded if more comics had covers with this level of brilliance… well, variant ratios wouldn't be necessary in order to push sales. Issue 1 would have sold just fine if this was the sole cover. Granted, at prices in the $75-$100 range, an argument could be made that it's not underrated. However an argument could also be made that the book should be worth considerably more. That's it for this week! I'll be back next week with some sort of barely legible ramblings about comics.
