Four Color #228, Eastern Color, May 1949. Artist: Bill Ely.
Bill Ely gives us some fine grace and elegance on the cover of Four Color #228, great perspective too.
David Mazzucchelli nails the mood of Purgatory, a great issue from a great story arc with a great cover.
Remember the Happy Days when the Fonz jumped the shark, the show soon tanked after that episode so they say when someone goes a little too far fetched they “jumped the shark”. I think the Kid Colt title jumped the shark with issue #228 even the Kid himself likely somehow avoided it. Gene Colan too! Gene Colan is the king of the angles, the below and above angles of his are amazing. Still, Gene gets the JOWA!
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.
Today’s pick strongly argues for this exercise having jumped the shark. At least Ely properly depicted the firmness of “Zorro’s” wrist. The real Zorro would not even mop the floor with this poseur as it would be dishonorable.
I understand that you dig the “Born Again” arc, and I take this to be a strong influence on the Daredevil pick. (Based on your recommendation I bought and read the compilation – it was solid but I have problems with Kingpin as a villain in general, and Mazzucchelli is not my style.) While some of the stylistic touches in both the art and colors become more impressive the more I look at it, this is a meaningless cover unless you have a strong knowledge of the story line, and otherwise does poorly against my criteria.
Regardless of the JOWA judgment I much prefer the Kid Colt. If it weren’t for the silly setup I might have included this as a pick.
#229 involves more shark jumping with little to choose from. There’s not much storytelling in Art Thibert’s Flash (1987) cover, but otherwise it’s great, so we haven’t come up completely empty. Otherwise no nominees. Batman is by Adams but it doesn’t do a lot for me. While far from “great”, I will say that the kitschy and retro Wonder Woman is amusing.
Blackhawk is left to plead with the reader to buy the book. I have a picture of the editorial process for this title being like something out of “The Office”.
JOWA to Avengers for the return of Egg Fu (Wonder Woman #158).
I really like the simplicity the Four Color… and despite the shark jumping I like the Kid Colt as well. I agree with Chris that the Daredevil cover taken out of context with the rest of the series leaves someone unfamiliar scratching their head. While homage covers are not necessarily my thing, for tomorrow I like Uncanny X-Men… which I believe is an homage to Frazetta’s Conan book cover…so NOT a comic homage. I also agree with the JOWA on tomorrow’s Avengers… although Egg Head seems far more menacing then Egg Fu ever did!
Hmmm, Superboy 228, Grell cover would have been my pick, expressions tell everything. No background but sometimes less is more. Then Avengers 228, which is a bible cover, WDCS 228, a fishing cover. Nonetheless keep up the good work.
I had picked that DD cover for it’s eye-catching display. It’s supposed to draw you in enough to try it, and I think it succeeded. That Zorro cover is meh. For 229 I’m liking……I can’t believe I’m saying this…….Looney Tunes or Mickey Mouse for the top spot. Daredevil is another good one, but I can’t get over how Murdock looks like he’s floating. Flash, new series, is also very well done. WWWP? (what will walt pick)
Though Day 228 was not a banner day for covers it certainly was a memorable one for comments. Chris claiming I’ve jumped the shark and C.K. with the WWWP – perhaps sung to the Beethoven’s 5th progression.