The dark eighties
I caught a link to this very extensive comic cover gallery and of course the first thing I did was check which comics were published the month I was born - you know, let's pretend it had some kind of mystical effect on what course the life of newly-arrived Tilly would take.
So have a spam!
For those keeping score at home, we're talking about May 1987.
10. DETECTIVE COMICS #574
(Cover Penciller: Alan Davis
Cover Inker: Paul Neary)
Yo Batsy, why don't you try keeping your Robins alive for a change!
Oh okay, just to show you how clueless I am about the finer points of the Batman mythos, I had to look up exactly which Robin we're dealing with as of 1987 (Jason Todd, if you were wondering). I quite like the composition of this cover.
09. DAREDEVIL #242
(Cover Artist: Keith Pollard)
I've seen several Daredevil covers with this kind of simple recognizable layout and I like it. Blue, white, red, Daredevil ready to pounce - it strikes me as being easy to spot on the shelves. Too bad "CAVIAR KILLER" sounds so non-threatening.
08. THE QUESTION #4
(Cover Penciller: Denys B. Cowan
Cover Inker: Bill Sienkiewicz)
The Question himself surrounded by flames. I've no idea if it's at all indicative of the story inside (apparently entitled "The Sacrifice" if you were wondering) but again, if I saw this on the shelf of a comic shop I'd take note.
07. BOOSTER GOLD #16 & BLUE BEETLE #12
(BG Cover Penciller: Dan Jurgens
BG Cover Inker: Bruce D. Patterson
BB Cover Penciller: Paris Cullins
BB Cover Inker: Bruce D. Patterson)
Yeah I'm cheating, but I just like to revel in the fact that I came into this world in that magical age where both Booster Gold and Blue Beetle had their own monthlies (though soon to be canceled at that point).
As for the covers themselves, they might not be all that interesting on their own merit. Dan Jurgens should be praised for trying something new (that didn't quite seem to work - but my hate for that shortlived crew cut on Booster might be colouring my judgement), but that Blue Beetle cover is a visual clusterfuck. BUT OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE TEEN TITANS! THEIR FACES! It looks like they're completely disgusted by how Blue Beetle is kicking all kinds of ass. I mean, what.
06. ADVENTURES OF THE OUTSIDERS #45
(Cover Artist: Brian J. Bolland)
I admit I've only the most rudimentary knowledge about The Outsiders, but this cover caught my eye. For one, it has got to be the least lurid image involving a scantily clad lady and tentacles ever made. And that roboskull thing actually looks super creepy.
I'm pleased by the fact that I recognized artist Bolland's name though - does "The Killing Joke" ring a bell?
05. SHAZAM: THE NEW BEGINNING #2
(Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake)
AWW YEAH. Dramatic shot of Captain Marvel going head to head with his arch enemy Black Adam. All kinds of cool. Captain Marvel is actually one of those characters I'm intrigued by and want to read more of, if only because a cheerful naïve Silver Age personality in a superstrong godlike body sounds like a pretty interesting premise to me.
04. WATCHMEN #9
(Cover Artist: Dave Gibbons)
Because the moment I realized I was born during the original run of Watchmen I'd be obligated to post one of the covers. This one happens to be one of the good ones, in fact. The colours, the composition, the uncanny ability to make me hear the song 'Unforgettable' in my head...
03. SUICIDE SQUAD #1
(Cover Artist: Howard Victor Chaykin)
I only know The Suicide Squad from their crossover with Justice League International, but this cover is super baller. I love how the characters are lit, I love how it feels more like a movie poster than a comic book cover, I love having the tagline in the middle like that.
I have no idea who doesn't come home though. I'm guessing the tiger?
02. BATMAN #407
(Cover Artist: David Mazzucchelli)
This is one of my favourite Batman covers of all time, no lie (and I... I haven't even read Batman: Year One). In fact for the longest time I've had that image on my computer, but with no title or credits, so I didn't know where it was from - to be honest I was kinda guessing Darwin Cooke.
Anyway, look at that cover! That is a gorgeous piece of art!
01. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
(Cover Penciller: Kevin Maguire
Cover Inker: Terry Austin)
This might not be the most visually interesting cover, but it is the only cover on this list that literally makes me grin every time I look at it. HOW PERFECT for me to be born in the month when the very first issue of JLI hit the stands.
Not to mention how it's a Maguire cover, and it's a Maguire cover with no gratuitous T&A, which in short makes it perfect. Maguire used to draw the best faces in the business (I'm not fond of his newer style, everybody look a bit too smooth and derpy) - this cover might not be the be the best example of that, but I still kinda love Batman's expression. Sure it's just his good old sneer, but if you look at it right it looks kinda like he's giving his best "DAT ASS" reaction. I'm easy to entertain.
AND NOW FOR SOME HONOURABLE (?) HIGHLIGHTS:
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #212
What can I say? Watching Hal Jordan in distress is an endless source of entertainment and amusement to me.
STAR TREK #38
Boring cover, badly drawn Captain Kirk, miscoloured (or is he actually supposed to be wearing an extra long shirt?) and to be honest I'm kinda wondering why they were publishing 1960s-style Star Trek adventures when The Next Generation was already starting to kick off. But hey, it's Star Trek, it's Kirk - obviously the fact that this was in the comic shelves on another continent when I was born influenced me profoundly.
EWOKS #13
There... There were Ewok comics? Goddamn EWOKS?!
Granted it's obvious it was meant for a young audience, but WHAT CHILD WATCHES STAR WARS AND GOES "I THOUGHT THE EWOKS WERE THE COOLEST THING IN THESE MOVIES"?
CHUCK NORRIS #3
And there were... Chuck Norris comics. I really don't know how to feel about that.
So have a spam!
For those keeping score at home, we're talking about May 1987.
10. DETECTIVE COMICS #574
(Cover Penciller: Alan Davis
Cover Inker: Paul Neary)
Yo Batsy, why don't you try keeping your Robins alive for a change!
Oh okay, just to show you how clueless I am about the finer points of the Batman mythos, I had to look up exactly which Robin we're dealing with as of 1987 (Jason Todd, if you were wondering). I quite like the composition of this cover.
09. DAREDEVIL #242
(Cover Artist: Keith Pollard)
I've seen several Daredevil covers with this kind of simple recognizable layout and I like it. Blue, white, red, Daredevil ready to pounce - it strikes me as being easy to spot on the shelves. Too bad "CAVIAR KILLER" sounds so non-threatening.
08. THE QUESTION #4
(Cover Penciller: Denys B. Cowan
Cover Inker: Bill Sienkiewicz)
The Question himself surrounded by flames. I've no idea if it's at all indicative of the story inside (apparently entitled "The Sacrifice" if you were wondering) but again, if I saw this on the shelf of a comic shop I'd take note.
07. BOOSTER GOLD #16 & BLUE BEETLE #12
(BG Cover Penciller: Dan Jurgens
BG Cover Inker: Bruce D. Patterson
BB Cover Penciller: Paris Cullins
BB Cover Inker: Bruce D. Patterson)
Yeah I'm cheating, but I just like to revel in the fact that I came into this world in that magical age where both Booster Gold and Blue Beetle had their own monthlies (though soon to be canceled at that point).
As for the covers themselves, they might not be all that interesting on their own merit. Dan Jurgens should be praised for trying something new (that didn't quite seem to work - but my hate for that shortlived crew cut on Booster might be colouring my judgement), but that Blue Beetle cover is a visual clusterfuck. BUT OH MY GOD LOOK AT THE TEEN TITANS! THEIR FACES! It looks like they're completely disgusted by how Blue Beetle is kicking all kinds of ass. I mean, what.
06. ADVENTURES OF THE OUTSIDERS #45
(Cover Artist: Brian J. Bolland)
I admit I've only the most rudimentary knowledge about The Outsiders, but this cover caught my eye. For one, it has got to be the least lurid image involving a scantily clad lady and tentacles ever made. And that roboskull thing actually looks super creepy.
I'm pleased by the fact that I recognized artist Bolland's name though - does "The Killing Joke" ring a bell?
05. SHAZAM: THE NEW BEGINNING #2
(Cover Artist: Tom Mandrake)
AWW YEAH. Dramatic shot of Captain Marvel going head to head with his arch enemy Black Adam. All kinds of cool. Captain Marvel is actually one of those characters I'm intrigued by and want to read more of, if only because a cheerful naïve Silver Age personality in a superstrong godlike body sounds like a pretty interesting premise to me.
04. WATCHMEN #9
(Cover Artist: Dave Gibbons)
Because the moment I realized I was born during the original run of Watchmen I'd be obligated to post one of the covers. This one happens to be one of the good ones, in fact. The colours, the composition, the uncanny ability to make me hear the song 'Unforgettable' in my head...
03. SUICIDE SQUAD #1
(Cover Artist: Howard Victor Chaykin)
I only know The Suicide Squad from their crossover with Justice League International, but this cover is super baller. I love how the characters are lit, I love how it feels more like a movie poster than a comic book cover, I love having the tagline in the middle like that.
I have no idea who doesn't come home though. I'm guessing the tiger?
02. BATMAN #407
(Cover Artist: David Mazzucchelli)
This is one of my favourite Batman covers of all time, no lie (and I... I haven't even read Batman: Year One). In fact for the longest time I've had that image on my computer, but with no title or credits, so I didn't know where it was from - to be honest I was kinda guessing Darwin Cooke.
Anyway, look at that cover! That is a gorgeous piece of art!
01. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL #1
(Cover Penciller: Kevin Maguire
Cover Inker: Terry Austin)
This might not be the most visually interesting cover, but it is the only cover on this list that literally makes me grin every time I look at it. HOW PERFECT for me to be born in the month when the very first issue of JLI hit the stands.
Not to mention how it's a Maguire cover, and it's a Maguire cover with no gratuitous T&A, which in short makes it perfect. Maguire used to draw the best faces in the business (I'm not fond of his newer style, everybody look a bit too smooth and derpy) - this cover might not be the be the best example of that, but I still kinda love Batman's expression. Sure it's just his good old sneer, but if you look at it right it looks kinda like he's giving his best "DAT ASS" reaction. I'm easy to entertain.
AND NOW FOR SOME HONOURABLE (?) HIGHLIGHTS:
GREEN LANTERN CORPS #212
What can I say? Watching Hal Jordan in distress is an endless source of entertainment and amusement to me.
STAR TREK #38
Boring cover, badly drawn Captain Kirk, miscoloured (or is he actually supposed to be wearing an extra long shirt?) and to be honest I'm kinda wondering why they were publishing 1960s-style Star Trek adventures when The Next Generation was already starting to kick off. But hey, it's Star Trek, it's Kirk - obviously the fact that this was in the comic shelves on another continent when I was born influenced me profoundly.
EWOKS #13
There... There were Ewok comics? Goddamn EWOKS?!
Granted it's obvious it was meant for a young audience, but WHAT CHILD WATCHES STAR WARS AND GOES "I THOUGHT THE EWOKS WERE THE COOLEST THING IN THESE MOVIES"?
CHUCK NORRIS #3
And there were... Chuck Norris comics. I really don't know how to feel about that.