Showcase Of Brilliant Comic Book Cover Art

By Robert Bowen

From Rudolph Töpffer and Wilhelm Bush’s precursors to modern-day incarnations, comics have been a large part of popular culture for generations. Growing over the ages through contributions to the genre from Christophe Chabouté, Angelo Agostini and, of course, Richard Outcault, this then-revolutionary new way for artists to create and deliver a narrative exploded throughout the art world, leaving a lasting mark that would mature over the years, morphing into a mainstream artistic medium. Today, with a more stylized focus on heroic tales and dark worlds beyond the imagination, this genre continuously churns out amazing artwork from some extremely talented artists.

In this inspirational installment, we look at some of the wonderful works over the years that have graced the covers of comics — art that has delighted and dazzled fans and non-fans alike from shelves and displays across the globe, the kind of works that tempt those not usually taken by this genre to give it another look or to pick up a book for the first time. We feel these impressive feats that draw this kind of attention and inspire this kind of adoration deserve a showcase, so we proudly present examples of brilliant comic book cover art!

Spoiler Alert!

Britta und Colin - Yglinga #2
Cover Art by François Bourgeon

Bone - Rock Jaw: Master of the Eastern Border, Volume 5
Cover Art by Elizabeth Lewis and Jeff Smith

Batman: The Killing Joke - #1
Cover Art by Brian Bolland

A1 #3
Cover Art by Brian Bolland

Daredevil # 97 - To the Devil, His Due, Part 3
Cover Art by Marko Djurdjevic

Broken Trinity # 2
Cover Art by Stjepan Sejic

Jonah Hex # 5
Cover Art by Tony Dezuniga

100 Bullets # 62 - Staring at the Son, Part 3
Cover Art by Dave Johnson

Dead of Night, Featuring Devil-Slayer # 1 - One Foot in Hell
Cover Art by June Chung

Marvel Zombies vs. Army of Darkness # 3, Part 3 of 5: Night of the Livid Dead
Cover Art by Arthur Suydam

Moon Knight # 8 - Midnight Sun, Chapter 2: The Dead Don’t Stay
Cover Art by David Finch

Faker #1
Cover Art by Mark ’Jock’ Simpson

Zentak 3 - Digital Nation
Cover Art by Olivier Deffieux

Les Désarmés #2
Cover Art by Michel Pirus

X-Men # 190 - Supernovas: Part 3 of 6
Cover Art by Chris Bachalo

Y: The Last Man # 55 - Whys and Wherefores: Chapter One
Cover Art by Massimo Carnevale

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season # 2 - The Long Way Home, Part 2
Cover Art by Jo Chen

Angel: After the Fall # 11 - Chapter 8
Cover Art by Alex Garner

Zero Girl: Full Circle # 2
Cover Art by Sam Kieth

Iron Man # 32 - With Iron Hands, Part 4 of 4
Cover Art by Adi Granov

Manhunter # 17 - Who’s Your Daddy?, Part 2: Fear and Loathing
Cover Art by David Lopez

The Vinyl Underground # 11 - Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down
Cover Art by Sean Phillips

Hellblazer # 225 - The Red Right Hand, Chapter 2
Cover Art by Leonardo Manco

Captain Britain And MI:13 # 5 - Hell Comes to Birmingham, Prologue
Cover Art by Bryan Hitch

X-Men # 177 - House Arrest, Part 1 of 3: Losing It
Cover Art by Salvador Larroca

Watchmen # 4 - Watchmaker
Cover Art by Dave Gibbons

Kid Eternity # 2
Cover Art by Sean Phillips

Grant Morrison’s Doctor Who # 1 - Changes, Episodes 1 and 2: Culture Shock!
Cover Art by Robert ’Hack’ Hacker

Echo # 2
Cover Art by Terry Moore

Runaways # 1 - Pride and Joy, Chapter 1
Cover Art by Jo Chen

Ex Machina # 25 - Standalone
Cover Art by Tony Harris

Druid # 2
Cover Art by Leonardo Manco

Marvel Knights Spider-Man # 21 - The Other: Evolve or Die 8/12 - Aftermath
Cover Art by Pat Lee

The Ultimates # 13 - How I Learned to Love the Hulk
Cover Art by Bryan Hitch

Werewolf by Night # 6
Cover Art by Leonardo Manco

The Invisibles # 14 - Day of Nine Dogs (Sheman, Part 2)
Cover Art by Sean Phillips

Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America # 4 - Depression
Cover Art by Michael Turner

Astonishing X-Men # 6 - Gifted, Part 6
Cover Art by John Cassaday

Faker #4
Cover Art by Mark ’Jock’ Simpson

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter - Guilty Pleasures # 4
Cover Art by Brett Booth

The Darkness, Volume 3, # 6 - Empire, Part 6: Daybreak
Cover Art by Stjepan Sejic

Daredevil # 76 - The Murdock Papers: Part 1
Cover Art by Alex Maleev

Last Click

One of my personal all-time favorite comics has got to be Wolverine. So I couldn’t compile a list like this without throwing in some of the covers that have inspired me through the years. So, the last click is a nod to a series whose artwork is as fantastic as its stories.

Wolverine # 180 - Everything’s Zen
Cover Art by Andy Kubert

Wolverine # 165 - The Hunted, Part 4
Cover Art by Sean Chen

Wolverine # 187 - Down the Road
Cover Art by John McCrea

Wolverine: Origins # 2 - Born in Blood, Part 2
Cover Art by Bryan Hitch

Wolverine: Origins # 10 - Savior Conclusion
Cover Art by Joe Quesada

Wolverine: Origins # 28 - Dark Deception: Prologue
Cover Art by Mike Deodato

Resources

• Comic Vine
  Comic book database.
• Comic Book DB
  Online database of comics.
• Cover Browser
  Expansive comic book cover gallery.
• Lambiek.net
  The Comiclopedia. Lots of info about the history of comics.

About the author

Robert Bowen is an emerging author, celebrated podcaster and poet, and most recently the co-founder and imaginative co-contributor of the creative design and blogging duo at the Arbenting Design Blog, a graphic design, Web design/development, and copywriting venture. (al)