Journey Into Mystery #112, Marvel Comics, January 1965 – Artist: Jack Kirby.
I was jonesing for a battle cover today but could not pick between Fantastic Four #112 and JIM #112, at the end of the day it was the the Kirby movement and physical tension between the combatants that won the day.
The Blue Bolt #112 made the list but I found it a bit too loud, I liked the Dick Tracy #112 and for some reason Popeye #112 caught my eye.
A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.
“Gimme!”
“It’s mine!”
“MOM!”
Sorry, hardly a “battle” and not great.
Lots of good #113 covers but I am going to go with a personal key that I think is completely defensible as _the_ pick, which is X-Men. While the figures are small, the stage is large and the layout is nearly perfect, and the colors are beautiful. This has to be one of the best Byrne X-Men covers. Whoever decided to put the UPCs on the front covers will be spending countless ages in purgatory.
Batman, Blue Bolt, Ghostly Tales, Incredible Hulk, Sensation were other possibilities.
Unexpected is a clever Adams composition similar to what he did within Strange Adventures, but otherwise it doesn’t grab me.
Falling in Love – another really wicked brunette
Girls’ Romances – cheeky
Heart Throbs – nice composition
Finally I will say while Lois Lane is a reprint issue reusing old cover art, I still think it is a great cover due to its composition, colors, and implied Lois Lane/romance crossover. I have a really nice copy of this book and similar to my picture frame JLAs, it gets an exemption from my investment filter. It exudes early seventies DC, and I can also revel in it because at the time of publication I wouldn’t have been caught dead owning a Lois Lane, especially with this cover.
The last few days have been a battle among some heavyweight covers at the top of list, with Captain America and Blue Bolt leading the way. As difficult as it was to accept the defeat of Steranko’s Captain America #110, at least the Blue Bolt selection seemed a worthy winner.
But today, I cannot reconcile the choice of JIM #112 over Fantastic Four #112.
FF #112 is John Buscema masterpiece that is absolute gem among the sea of great Marvel SA covers. I read a Stan Lee quote in which Stan lamented the fact that he struggled the most with John Buscema’s art, because he found the placement of the dialogue so difficult as he never wanted to cover any of the art on the page. This cover is a testament to that sentiment – ‘nuff said!
Derrick, I will definitely second the choice of FF #112 over JIM #112, as it at least looks like a real battle is about to start. I certainly buy that this is a “classic” cover, but as far as “great” cover goes, I would still pick Blue Bolt. FF is pretty safe, when you get right down to it, while Blue Bolt is not only over the top, it’s over the top of the top. Cole swung for the fences in the adjoining park. Also my personal pet peeve is the way Buscema drew The Thing’s face – something whimsical/cartoony that I felt took away from his fundamentally grave situation.
Chris – I have to admit the Blue Bolt covers during this recent run of comics have each been outstanding and deserving of the nod. They look as though any constraints were lifted, and the covers were allowed to take on an exotic feel that is unmatched. The colors, backgrounds and composition are all just screaming to be released from the page.
Also, I couldn’t resist looking ahead at your Lois Lane nomination and I fear for tomorrow’s column, because a Lois Lane “romance” cover may be too hard for some to resist.
Numerically I favor the FF #112…but as far as Hulk battle covers go I always thought Astonish 59 was one of the greatest with the exception of having the Wasp solo blurb at the bottom.
Have to agree that Astonish 59 is a classic Hulk cover, setting the stage for Hulk to share the TTA title starting in issue #60. Another recommendation for a great Hulk v. Thing battle cover is the Starlin/Romita cover of Marvel Feature #11.
I looked at FF vs JIM for a while and ended up siding with the JIM, glad you guys are backing the FF because that’s a great cover too.
As for yesterday’s Just Married cover I’, gonna go with the girl walking in’s thought bubble reading “That cheating LIAR! She told me she didn’t like boys.”
“Honey, I know how much you love watching Charo on those Bob Hope specials. Well have I got a surprise for you!”
Oh Chris… I like that
JIM 112 …certainly powerful and an epic all time cover Walt. And the nuances of Kirby’s art here, clearly was the beginnings of inspiration for the Thor Ragnarok movie…a 900 million $ grossing movie. A legendary comic that FF 112 pales too. Great cover too…but its inception lies here