Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Battle of the Sixes!

SIXTASTIC!

Choose one per matchup -- no ties -- on your opinion of the cover merits alone. Click images to see larger versions

Previous editions, for perusal and/or catch-up: Elevens, Twelves, Eights, Tens, Twenty-Nines, Eighteens, Fifteens, Fives, Nines, Seventeens, Nineteens, Sixteens



1. TEEN TITANS vs. NEW TEEN TITANS




2. CHAMBER OF DARKNESS vs. THE FLY




3. MASTER COMICS vs. NICKEL COMICS




4. CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS vs. TIP TOP COMICS

1. Teen Titans. In space, no one can hear you pontificate, Antler Head. It's busy. Planet, megavillain, superteam. But what's Robin scaling? why are there other buildings in the reflection? They look like fantasy fortress turrets than the JLA satellite (which it's taken me a while to figure out) How are they breathing? No, give me your basic cover that knows a Gorilla-snake-giraffe when it sees one.

2. Chamber of Darkness. I see this cover is carrying on the Freudian candle stuff from the last thread. But I think it's got a lot of sole. Mainly from the guy on the bottom left. That's a level of detail the rather basic (and I thought a fair bit of the Impact line was designed to be bland in order to ape (but not ape-snake-giraffe) cartoons.) Fly can't match. There, I didn't call it the Chamber of Dorkness once... well, maybe once...

3. Typing of Freudian, we have a guy getting full use of a huge firehose vs a guy with a plunging neckline and a certain aerodynamic shape atop his head. Well, I'm ignoring all that (clearly some nefarious Teeds plot) and giving winning points for the perspective of the buildings and trucks in Master Comics.

4. Tip Top. The face on Tip Top is definitely more terrifying than Auntie Monitor coming for tea. Those dead eyes of that Tip Top face...Brrr… And what a line up! Cynical Susie would be a favourite if she didn't look down contemptuously at everyone who said so. Broncho Bill: The bedridden tales of Bronco Bill's cough afflicted brother! And lots of stories that look as though they would be banned today! Sure, Crisis is done by Perez, and it has loads of detail. But if you can't capture the horror, that's just window dressing.

Oh, and this thread is the bestest of best things to have at the perfect time (not too early, or too late, or too y'know punctual) for my anniversary. Unless this isn't the thread Teeds was referring to, and I'll have to come back and edit this later.

1. NTT, no question. Well, the question marklike shape of Beast Boy is somewhat interesting, but I just cannot make heads nor tails of this cover. Probably my least favorite of SATT.

2. CHAMBER OF DARKNESS. I like The Fly's !Vega$! background -- especially its color scheme - but is anything actually happening? COD is pretty sharply delineated.

3. MASTER COMICS. More colorful. Matching the header to the hero's outfit may work better if there was more contrast otherwise. Speaking of contrast, this is kiddie stuff compared to the filth to come.

4. Ah, the battle of the anti-drug covers. Thoth can have Tip-Top cocaine, I choose heroin-chic CRISIS.

5. PLANETARY vs. R.E.B.E.L.S. ' 95




6. STAR SPANGLED COMICS vs. BARBIE FASHION




7. UNSUPERVISED EXISTENCE vs. NAUGHTY BITS




8. HAYWIRE vs. V

1. New Titans - kinda busy, but the other looks dull.

2. Fly - more busy, but the background reminds me of old Hollywood movies, like the carnival scene in The Third Man. Chamber is pretty good with that dramatic fall/leap.

3. Master Comics - (apart from the title) the hero is solving a problem, it looks like Bulletman made the hold in the dam. Is that a good thing? I think not. Plus Master Comics has interesting sidebar characters AND giant type, for the very young and the very old, I guess.

4. Tip Top - Crisis is surely a better cover artistically, but the face on Tip Top has a strange, mesmerizing fascination. My grade 7 gym teacher warned us about "black basketball eyes".

5. Planetary - the four figures approaching the something-or-other make it more interesting than Vril on acid. Or maybe just a 12th level migraine.

6. Star Spangled - nice airplanes against the moonlight. Barbie is just too star-spangled.

7. Unsupervised Existence - looks like Mom and Dad would approve, which is sort of dull, but Hippie Bitch Gets Laid looks a little on the creepy side.

8. Haywire, I guess. An awful lot of green on V and torture is icky. Haywire reminds us to always wear clean underwear.

5. PLANETARY, definitely. REBELS just looks like someone was messing with a photoshop feature. Planetary keeps your focus on the dark (literally and figuratively, IIRC) Four. Great colors and logo effect. I read a few early issues of Planetary and it didn't quite connect with me, am considering giving it another go.

6. STAR SPANGLED although Barbie is more to the point. SSC has a beautiful vintage look, and I like that the guys on the roof look like they're hanging out in the logo block. Doesn't really make sense but....oh, the Golden Age.


7. UNSUPERVISED EXISTENCE.

8. V. Compare the colors. There you go.

9. PANIC vs. ALPHA FLIGHT




10. WASTELAND vs. OPEN SEASON




11. NICK FURY AGENT OF SHIELD vs. THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN




12. SON OF AMBUSH BUG vs. SPACEMAN

5. Planetary. Archetypal explorers visit another dimension/ time/ world. LEGION might be someone pressing the wrong button on photoshop.

6. Barbie Fashion. Barbie Fashion covers are always good. Elsewhere…
Gums Gallagher: Cheeses! Them heroes are gettin' away!
Ankles Anderson: We'll get 'em Gums! I've just called in air support!
Gums Gallagher: Um what? Isn't that a bit expensive for us low level crooks?

7. Naught Bits for living a bit more in the real world than the other one. It gets points for the sixties fonts too.

8. Haywire. "By the Power Of My Pants!" is the armour summoning cry that meant there was no cartoon for Haywire. The image on V contrasts really well with the cover text. But I've seen those devices encasing legs in other comics. They are supposed to be stopping superpowers, which V doesn't have, but I can only conclude they prevent the power use through feet tickling.

9. Alpha Flight. Really tough one. Ironically the Panic cover was recalled as EC editorial wanted to change the shade of white on the art (DC Legion joke for anyone reading this in the far future). I do like the point of it (or the asterisk). But Byrne's Snowbird cuts a lonely, cautious pose on the cover that gets it too many points to lose. I like the font too. Panic would have got more if it had lost the side text, but that's what makes it stand out on the newsstands., so I appreciate why they kept it.

10.Wasteland. Indifferent more than tough. Wasteland wins mainly because it has David Lloyd mentioned on the cover. So I know there will be some excellent art in it at some point.

11. Six Million Dollar Man. Nick Fury loses points for his utter failure as protector of Earth. Steve gets points because any time now he's going to realise he didn't bring any tools to make the repairs. He loses more points for having a silly ship, but gains a lot for having the phot-real circular character logo look at the same sized Charlton logo.

12. Son of Ambush Bug. "Hey Schwab! Ya Can't Quit! You Ain't The Thing and This Ain't Marvel! You Ain't Even the Thing on the Other Cover!" It's a pretty poor thing as well. Not having a damsel on a cover that ticks the Background Planet/ Raygun/ Retro-Rocket/ Evil Madman/ Peril checklist boxes seems to be an oversight. Mind you, there are two guys there. Maybe I should be giving it progressive points.

9. ALPHA FLIGHT! I love this matchup. Panic is hilarious, and AF is beautiful (and based on a joke!). Snowbird's figure/body language! The Deco font of SNOWBLIND! The logo coloring! I'm thinking this one is Hall of Fame. Panic is part of history -- c'mon, EC from 54/55! Counterpoint to Thoth: the side text was their standard feature, and NOT having it would make it look like a misprint and work against the gag. Half a point deduction for the last 3 words of the note at bottom.

10. WASTELAND. I do not like Open Season at all. When you go minimal, the details have to be right. I think all the fonts are wrong -- as well as not complementing each other. Here too Wasteland having a sidebar emphasizes that this is NOT a printing error - and also gives sharp contrast of black and white sections

11. NICK FURY. I'm not exactly sure what's going on on NF, but it looks like Steve Austin is trying to get free satellite TV off his neighbors or something. I realize you have $6M in medical debt but have a little pride, good grief. Also, the title block takes up too much space.

12. SOAB kinda looks like AB was skinned whereas on the other that guy just has a space-wedgie. (Oh, and I guess those guys may get eaten.) "Signed" is not a proper valediction and I am a debutante goddammit so SPACEMAN

13. PROMETHEA vs. BOMBA THE JUNGLE BOY




14. NAOMI vs. YOUNG JUSTICE




15. REG'LAR FELLERS vs. HAP HAZARD




16. X-MEN FOREVER 2 vs. BIG DADDY DANGER

13. Bomba. By the Emerald Orb of Ekron! It gets points for having the figure emerge from the scrying sphere. Tons of originality points. Promethea doesn't scream "Pulp!" at me as it veers towards uninteresting parts of Dungeons and Dragons.

14. Young Justice. Naomi is basically photobombing the DCU in a bid to get some sales. Young Justice aren't doing much, but at least it's slightly linked with the inside story.

15. Reg'lar Fellers. Someone is called Puddin'head. That is all.

16. Big Daddy Danger. Someone is coughing up blood, and is about to get stomped by a tentacled thingy. Plenty to like there. It also gets points for the prominence of the issue number.

13. BOMBA. COLOR!

14. NAOMI I guess. Whatever.

15. REG'LAR FELLERS. I'm gonna trust Betty knew her stuff.

16. X-MEN FOREVER 2 so I could say So I just voted for something called X-Men Forever 2. And the cover is a bit sharper.

17. STARFIRE vs. STAR HUNTERS




18. SUPERMAN'S GIRLFRIEND, LOIS LANE vs. GI JOE EUROPEAN MISSIONS




19. SOULWIND vs. PLANET TERRY




20. MISS FURY vs. MOON GIRL

17. Starfire. If only something like swords and science had caught on in the mid '70s like Starfire. You'd have sword fights on giant space stations that threaten the death of entire worlds. Nah, silly...

18. Lois Lane's look of unrepentance shows that she would kick Destro's butt. The pointy cover should go and find a thread more appropriate to it.

19. Soulwind makes me guilty about squishing a spider. I did apologise. Planet Terry's gag and style makes me think that having their innards turned to goop and digested may be too good for them.

20. Moon Girl. That is one curse street. Destroyed by an earthquake. Ten rebuilt only for it to catch fire and have to relay on Master Man from Master Comics to save it. Miss Fury's mask doesn't seem to let her see, spelling doom for her in that issue.

So what's your pick?

17. STARFIRE. Interesting outfit (the lady wore green!) and purple shadow demons.

18. GI JOE. Hey is that the Tomax and Xamot pointing? I hope it's Tomax and Xamot! Lois is kooky but sedate visually.

19. PLANET TERRY. Not a starfield but a webfield? I kinda dig it.

20. MISS FURY. Chandelier swinging and a swag valise? Old-fashioned ass-kicking? Yep. Rearranging deck chairs in Titanic City? Nah.

Soulwind. Planet Terry=bleh!

21. SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN vs. SUPERBOY




22. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT vs. JUSTICE




23. STAR TREK vs. STAR TREK: THE NEW GENERATION




24. CAPTAIN ATOM vs. WONDER WOMAN

21. Superboy. Maguire is often a good pick for a cover artist. Olsen's cover looks as though Superman is going to fall on Jimmy and it was drawn as a Giffen gag.

22. Crime & Punishment. The police had been going on about that treeline for years. It was the second time that month that every one of the trees was used as cover by escaping crooks. These crooks are the distant descendants of stormtroopers. They have to be within 6 inches of their target before shooting it successfully. Elsewhere, the guy was no good. Why didn't he get into journalism where he could peddle lazy advertorials or the police and judiciary where he could take kickbacks? What a bum!

23. The Next Generation. It took those precious extra seconds to see that there could be a story of horrific secrets in the Star Trek one. The Next Generation one is more immediately appealing, with its spotlight on the two central characters, and the hint that there's some action in the comic. "...Now?" Well, since one of them is dead...

24. Wonder Woman. I wonder if this started off as one of those Golden Age puppeteer covers? The nuclear detonation forming part of the clouds is a subtle hint to the story. I don't mind the Captain Atom cover. The all orange villain helps make Cap stand out, while getting the threat across. It's the Chroma guy I think as a villain, and it takes me a moment to see the human figure in the monster.

21. SUPERBOY. Co-sign Thothy.

22. TOO MUCH YAP. I do kinda like how Blondie says his breed is just bad...to the MOTHER. But CRIME AND PUNISHMENT looks better as a thmbnail, so there ya go.

23. TNG. Sharper. Other is just huffiness-n-heads.

24. WONDER WOMAN. A case where a bright logo works with a dark cover.

25. MARVEL FANFARE vs. SHOWCASE 93




26. STARSTRUCK vs. SPEEDBALL




27. JUSTICE LEAGUE EUROPE vs. JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL




28. SONIC DISRUPTORS vs. DINOSAURS FOR HIRE

25. Marvel Fanfare. Wanda & Peter make for a creepy pose. But it loses a lot of points for having a Castle Greyskull fantasy backdrop. I'm not a fan of the lozenge logo either. But the blurb on Showcase tells us that Robin is alone against Gotham's Crime Czar. If he's alone, who are *those* guys. A Marketing fail. Fanfare wins for Wanda & Peter and hopefully it was a what if thing not involved in the Wanda goes bad story.. or second time it happened or...

26. Starstruck. Lockheed has pretty much ruined any attack by a smaller dragon. You just want to tickle 'em. So it's not clear if there's a threat on the cover. Or what that device is that's over the side. But Speedball (surely they knew what that was when they named the book aimed at kids?) vs Lacrosse players looks very dull. Starstruck wins for Lockheed, the nicely detailed boat and the logo.

27. Justice League Europe...If you stare at the pattern on the legs long enough, you get the urge to buy variant covers. But it gets a win, not because it's the better cover. But because it's a proper-as-published-at the-time-cover. New fangled Justice League International digital version can add to the sparse, lifelessness of the dead village by losing all the publisher captions and pricings. Bah!

28. Dinosaurs for Hire. It would win because Dinosaurs with Machine Guns (the lost follow up to The Cramps' Bikini Girls with Machine Guns. Or was that a lost Malibu series...) . But also because...

DC Editorial: Don't forget to make sure we put out that "No Jewish people" issue this month!
DC Marketing: Great idea. That will distract readers from our utter lack of diversification beyond belated tickbox exercises. Do we still put the swastika on it?
DC Editorial: Oh sure! Better put a cross through it too though. Not big enough that it won't attract those people who pick up the History Channel magazines though.

25. MARVEL FANFARE. Showcase is a better package, but that picture of Wanda cannot be denied!! I'm pretty sure I pulled this out of a quarter bin and was unimpressed with the inside, but really, that cover pic! Too bad the title logo DOES NOT WORK WITH IT AT ALL.

26. Neither really works for me. STARSTRUCK, fine, let's move on.

27. UH OH...I MESSED UP. JLI is a TPB. I don't like to include TPB covers even when they're a direct lift from a single-issue cover. Indicia is part of the package! But occasionaly I accidentally put one in (it's happened a few times before). Still going with JLI though, because I like the finishings. Even though it makes the menacing shadow a lot less obvious. (And in either iteration, it looks like the JLs have trampled the villagers.)

28. DINOS FOR HIRE. Honestly, the other one is all negative, negative, negative. DFH is all about what it's FOR: automatic gunfire and jerkitude!

29. KID ETERNITY vs. THE LAST ONE




30. CRAZY vs. TALES TO ASTONISH




32. MY GIRL PEARL vs. DIZZY DAMES




32. INFINITY, INC vs. INFINITY, INC

Fashionably late to the party....

25. Robin - the steel grey makes them look like a sculpture. Strangely calming.

26. Starstruck - odd angles and chaos and high heels.

27. JLI - dwarfed by the elements and disaster and the big trouble is just off page behind them. Back to School is sorta too cute.

28. Dinos for Hire - priceless. Sonic Disruptors is hard to look at, maybe I'm just sick of road signs.

29. The Last One - better colours, nice wings although the main figure doesn't look that appealing. Dead? DeMatteis would be enough for me to check it out. I don't really care if Kid Eternity is the fat guy in the smoke or the fresh-faced kid.

30. Crazy - for trying to be cool and alerting us to the dangers of tourism.

31. My Girl Pearl - such an Archie knock-off, but at least she may have a future in the legal profession. Moronica? Are you kidding? And what's with that 4-inch waist on Red?

32. Infinity Inc. + Bats - I guess. Maybe it's the green bricks, maybe it's been done before, but Infinity Inc. alone doesn't seem as interesting. The bat shadow enveloping people is something I don't get tired of, even though that's an oft-used image.

We gonna get a Cramer Catch-up?

29. Kid Eternity. Mr Keeper doesn't look very busy. Normally this would be a lose right there. But the main figure on the Last One cover looks so out of place, Eternity gets the win.

30. Tales to Astonish. Just the creepy looking stoney guy in the background was enough. The one bursting through the ground, that I didn't notice immediately, detracts a little from that. Crazy has to bring Pym Particles to the party, ruining the gag.

31. Pearl. "Dumb" vs "Moronica" isn't a great contest. But I'm sure I've had a pre picnic conversation like the one in Pearl, particularly if the person with the fancy hamper isn't in your location. Pearl keeps so real, it's part of her name.


32. Infinity Inc: Ordway. Because Ordway. Just as well Norda is only reading form the poster, and not ridiculously over the top about hunting down the JSA. Elsewhere, Infinity readers were very upset when the guest star turned out to be the Shadow Puppeteer. Infinite Machine sound too close to Miracle Machine, so keep yer mitts off Infinity!



That would be spiffy.

29. KID ETERNITY. Mr. Keeper never has a bad hair day.

30. TALES TO ASTONISH. Better art. I understand the Crazy gag, but visually it does not makes sense to me.

31. MY GIRL PEARL. Sharper (visuals).

32. INFINITY INC (21C). The Baxter is solid. The newer one gives me..well, something newer.

I'm too lazy to go looking for it, but Golden Age green bricks in some previous matchup thread.

33. SAVAGE SHE-HULK vs. CEREAL KILLINGS




34. GI JOE vs. DOOM 2099




35. ALL-AMERICAN COMICS vs. HUMOR COMIC




36. WHISPER vs. DARK CORRIDOR

33. Cereal Killings - partly for the name, but also a much better reflection. Iron Man's mask doesn't look reflective at all, it's as if Jen's figure is painted on it, which is pretty weird.

34. Doom - more chopped up reflections, but prettier than G.I. Joe, which I wouldn't expect to be pretty anyways.

35. All-American - that gag just appeals more plus all those faces promising more stories. Why don't Alan and Ted have more exciting names? Are they the accountants for All-American Comics?

36. Dark Corridor - I love a good disaster story, but want to be there to see that mushroom cloud, not in my grave. So Dark Corridor wins and it's also a more interesting image.

The catch-up thread, running on empty:

9. Alpha Flight - Panic's a bit of a joke, but I like that Alpha Flight image.

10. Open Season - at least there's something to look at. Wasteland doesn't look like a wasteland, not sure what the point of this was.

11. Six Million - clearer image.

12. Son of Buggy - Speed Carter is classic goofy space comic, but I'm partial to the Bug.

13. Promothea - not too fond of either, too much green on Bomba; Promothea has a real old-school look.

14. Young Justice - Naomi is nicely designed and all that, with the trinity at the top in dim light, but there's more dynamism on Young Justice. I find the expression on Naomi's face a bit odd and it puts me off.

15. Hap Hazard - because I've never seen the donkey suit gag done with a dalmation, or a dalmation wannabe. Where are you now Betty Smith, and did you sign all your comics?

16. X-Men - exactly how I view children, monsters within. Big Daddy Danger monster is unclear, could be tentacles or angry kelp.

17. Starfire - I dunno, wackier costume? Something else about the colours on both disturb me.

18. Lois Lane - because it's hilarious that she's in jail for counterfeit license plates.

19. Soulwind - a bit washed out but I don't like the super-cartoony figures on Planet Terry.

20. Miss Fury - Is she a jewel thief? I love jewel thieves. Dashing! Looks like early Catwoman too. Moon Girl - why save that particular building? She looks stiff, no panache.

21. Superboy - okay, it's green kryptonite, I get it. But generally better image. Those two well-dressed criminals aren't very well-hidden. They're probably careless after their success in framing Lois for counterfeit license plates.

22. Crime & Punishment - both very wordy covers, but there's more of a story on C&P. Why does Blondie have to tell Ma that "his breed" is no good? Doesn't that cast aspersions on Mother?

23. TNG - nice, very theatrical image. I don't like all the background heads on Star Trek although the woman facing Kirk looks pretty good.

24. Captain Atom, no, Wonder Woman, no, Captain Atom - that's an awful lot of monster , but great teeth - and bonus polka dots. Wonder Woman is too symmetrical. Or something. I failed Art Criticism 101.

33. SAVAGE SHE-HULK. I had to look carefully to make sure TCK wasn't a TPB because it looks more like a book than a comic. Yes, my funny lil indicia thing pops up again.

34. DOOM 2099 is a lil more weird. What's with those purple/pink tendrils?

35. I like the clean lines of humor but the gag doesn't work that well for me. AAC is a bit busier but I like that too. (Including the quilt!) I think I'd like it a lot more if the sidebar characters were in color too. Eh, AAC wins anyway.

36. DARK CORRIDOR. Back alley Thomas Kinkade?

37. FLASH COMICS vs. SPEED COMICS




38. LOVE IN TIGHTS vs. LOVE FIGHTS




39. MOONSHADOW vs. THE INVISIBLES




40. CRYSTAR vs. MICRONAUTS

37. Flash - we are given an image of speed here. Speed comics appears to have nothing to do with speed and has a lousy logo.

38. Love in Tights - a bit different art style and a pleasing image. Although I like Love Fights cover, it's not too original (except for the flat flying cat). I read that series but have no idea now what it was about.

39. The Invisibles - silvery blue and metal grey appeal, nicely creepy image although the centred credits don't display well. The flattened cat distracts me, even though it is a DeMatteis book.

40. Micronauts - better colour scheme, curious characters, but had to enlarge the cover to see the background fight. That green starfield (!) looks strange, but good look of shock on Nightcrawler. Did Marvel put a Spidey image on all their books back then?

33. Cereal Killings. is it a robot? Is it a can opener? In younger days, maybe watching a fight between She Hulk and Iron Man might have got the points. But "Enter: Iron Man" isn't very imaginative.

34. Face of Doom. Unlike Iron Man "Face of Doom" is very catchy. There's some robot thing going on with his too. He may also be able to open cans, putting it on a par with Cereal Killings. GI Joe is supposed to be showing tow different reflections, arriving at different angles? But the image crosses over ruining that.

35. All America. The brutality of the dreams really offsets the sweetness of their expressions. Lots of points for art on the blanket. That's one of the first issues that Ted and Alan were on the cover, offering an exciting alternative to the dull Tim and Bob from the last few issues. Humor...well...isn't really.

36. Dark Corridor. Wins on the colour palette. It loses points when I notice the person with the rifle. Loses more for "Season 1" (stop pretending you're a TV show) and more for the blurb saying its a city when it clearly isn't. Whisper, from what I recall, does take the major story elements and combines them in a death theme. If you'd followed the story, it would be an enticing cover.

37. Flash. For combining the text with the speed effects. The Flash gets A-Listers for it's cover bubbles too. This forced Alan in All-American to become Green Lantern. Ted, dropped from the book, left the company. After a tough career, he later appeared as Blue Beetle some two decades later. Shock Gibson looks like he's become a villain. It's less a bridge than a viewing platform, going by the angle of it. SO, the truck shouldn't be on it. He does have a colourful costume though. The red in it goes well with the logo too.

38. Love Fights. Two really good ones, so it's a shame one has to lose. The city being so low down, and what's flying above it (I'm making it a flying cat) almost underlining the title, creates a very interesting gap on the cover. The colour of the trail matches the city too.

39. The Invisibles. It carries much more menace because the cat in Moonshadow looks really bored. Missed opportunity form Moonshadow there.

40. Micronauts. Kurt is the spotlight of the cover. It also makes good use of his powers to be that spotlight, with an unexpected guest star appearance. Not sure about green space though. Maybe it's a Crystar thing (I really wanted one of the Crystar dollies action figures when I was a kid.) Micronauts combines text and image well. "Bug Stories" could be about the central characters, or about the things that threaten the Micronauts. Looking at it, there's a hint that Bug has gone bad? (I had some Micronauts toys when I was a kid. A lot of the characters were created for the comic, so due to licensing were never toys.)

Yay!



They might have alternated it with other characters, but it was on a lot of them. The image would stand out on the racks at the bottom left.

For modern comics, I choose the direct market version -- no UPC, or the "house ad" in its place. Exceptions: when the direct market one isn't easily available (or possibly doesn't exist) such as the She-Hulk a few sets ago, or when I think the direct market example at the GCD is off in its color.

Snowblind

I hadn't realised the barcode had been on everything for so long. Thanks for the comparisons Teeds.

By the by, I don't consider the UPC (or the house ad) crucial indicia.

37. I too like the Flash's words/speed effect, but man is that art rough. It's not much better on Speed...that guy is taller than the truck? And it looks like it's on a footbridge? Plus just too much orange and yellow. Okay, FLASH but not by much.

38. LOVE FIGHTS. I don't care for the yellow on the other.

39. INVISIBLES. Once again, good work with their logo. A "small" thing that adds a lot. Moonshadow holds 0 interest for me.

40. CRYSTAR. Both appealing. It does look like a green starfield but I think it's crystal reflections. Gotta be Nighty!

I do admit to being a little swayed by Micronauts fondness. Pleasse don't punish me by making me look at '90s Image covers! I'd rather my last words weren't "Oh, The Anatomy Of It All!"

The Micronauts toys somehow passed me by. I believe I saw an ad in a comic or something and wondered how a non-major comic book could get a toy line. Or a miniseries with the X-men, who were the MAJOR STARS but where was their toy line?!?

41. WITCHCRAFT vs. SHE'S JOSIE




42. JUGHEAD ANNUAL vs. SCRIBBLY




43. THE AUTHORITY vs. ATHENA




44. GRAYSON vs. TOTALLY AWESOME HULK

41. Witchcraft. Mainly because I'm wondering what the police report says when they find a guy crushed under a giant skull on the driveway. I wonder if the Josie cover was a horrifying in conxext when originally published.

42. Jughead. It's a better gag, although it would have been better still without a closeup of Archie explaining it to us. I knew someone who liked Scribbly well enough, but didn't love him. There was a mob and it wasn't pretty.

43. Athena knows that you only have to put a logo on the cover of a comic once. Jenny Sparks was a complete Mary Sue that Ellis could pretend wasn't because she "dies" in the end. Sort of. Reds 'n blacks work well together on Athena.

44. Hulk. The "awesome" in the title gets extra points as he's thumped through it. I take it that's the female Thor that upset some people. I had to rely on Teed's titles to tell me that was a Grayson book. I was thinking that Count Vertigo was doing well to get his own series. The Midnighter is another emotionally stunted power fantasy as per Wolverine. It's just as well the plots in the Authority were so good for a while.

41. Witchcraft - looks a lot more witchy and good logo.

42. Jughead - so how many kids went and tried the twisted straw trick? The problem is Betty won't be fooled for long, unlike lovestruck Scribbly and friend. But points to Jughead for suggesting new ways to annoy your friends and little sisters.

43. Authority - I quite like Athena, it's strange but Jenny has that look of leaning against the windowpane, smoking away time because you're annoyed with somebody.

44. Hulk - flying right off the page, smashing his own title. The balance of the figures on Grayson is appealing, but the lime green swirly hypnotic stuff is sicky.

41. Hmm, it's the Bates house (although years before Psycho) vs. the Addams house. I like a lil kooky with my creepy, so SHE'S JOSIE

42 . SCRIBBLY I suppose. Jughead has solid art but that gag isn't exactly new and what was Jughead's motivation? It wasn't that Betty paid for it and he's not all that hot on her company (or sharing food with ANYONE) so...what?

43. THE AUTHORITY because Jenny yells at people a lot and I can relate. (I haven't electrocuted anyone yet, but the future is wide open.) Despite the double logo, and I do not approve of smoking -- but it wasn't like it was gonna kill her. Athena style just not my bag.

44. GRAYSON. I like both, but I keep looking at that acid green op art...even though it kinda obscures the logo.

45. FANTASTIC FOUR vs. WHAT IF




46. ALL-FLASH vs. ANIMAL MAN




47. ELEKTRA: ASSASSIN vs. ASSASSIN




48. BEWARE THE CREEPER vs. THE SPECTRE

45. FF. Despite Reed swearing on the cover (how did *that* get past the code?) And despite Doom's silly pose while firing. But because The Thing is is reduced to raising his fist and going Grrr as his contribution to the battle. It took me more than the allotted cover peeking time for me to figure out who was who on What If? What If you had the new team fight big name villains to make that clearer Marvel?

46. All Flash. I'm sure I've seen that blood smeared along walls thing elsewhere. Besides, look at the blood loss. He should have been dead by now. All-Flash provides slapstick and the chance that those rascals are going to paint rude things on the Flash poster.

47. Elektra. For the skin/costume colour contrast. On thumbs, it would have been Assassin butt it is now at the rear. Gets Pulpy points though.

48. Creeper. The guy in the furthest away bin-that-looks-like-a-barrel is maniacally creepy. The spectre forming from and angled to underline the logo also gets lots of points. But there's something just scary about the Creeper's predicament. I thought at first the guy was pouring something in there, which may have helped that along. But still...

45. WHAT IF. FF too pose-y.

46. ALL-FLASH Kinda cute. Animal Man sure spreads blood very neatly, I suppose he picked that up in the Vertigo years?

47. ELEKTRA for Elektra, not the background so much.

48. BEWARE THE CREEPER! COLOR and PERIL and PERSPECTIVE! Srsly, that lefy hand looks like it's right in front of you. Spectre can grit his teeth all he wants but that cover is still kinda goofy.

49. SECRETS OF HAUNTED HOUSE vs. MR. DISTRICT ATTORNEY




50. JEMM SON OF SATURN vs. FORBIDDEN WORLDS




51. BLUE BEETLE vs. BATMAN




52. SUPERMAN vs. THE MARVEL FAMILY

45. What if FF - all white background displays the characters well, with a full background there would be way too much going on. Johnny's flame seems to provide a balance to the cover.

46. Animal Man - brighter, which they probably couldn't do when All-Flash was published, bloody streak very effective. All-Flash is just goofy guys and good times.

47. Assasin - good pose, unusual colours but they work in an odd way, and I'm wondering what sort of material bunches up like that but holds the form of a blazer. Light silk? Cotton lawn? Elektra clashes colours and styles.

48. Creeper - more danger and desperation. Pilgrims of Peril? They're kidding aren't they? And is that a chef's hat lifting the barrel lid in the lower right corner?

49. Haunted House - that spike looks promising. They might have added more fog for effect. I do wonder who's getting slugged on Mr. D.A. - the D.A. himself or is he the one hitting?

50. Jemm - cool ships, like the logo and the dominating Empire State building. Forbidden cheats on the building, Kong is boring.

51. Batman - prefer the balance of the two figures with the line bisecting the moon.

52. Marvel Family - green background seems odd, but what colour might work better? Family portrait ok. Superman dull, despite curious reveal of secret identity.

49. Daughter: Look Mother! a fight!
Boadicea: Well, no wonder! Look how long *we've* been waiting for this light to change. I'm really bronzed off about it...
Daughter: And that cab driver's been down there since 1906.
Boadicea: ... bloomin' Romans will get reinforcements at this rate...

Mr D.A for me, as the victim in the Haunted House is the Vampire... a fashion victim that is. If there's a vampire, teasing us about victims gives away a lot of the surprise Mr Editor.

50. J'Emm. It has a good background and, by the positioning of the ships, gets more of a closeup than a lot of covers. Freud Ape Fails on Forbidden Woilds! It's not a forbidden world if it's Earth. A giant ape wouldn't be supernatural if you put a sheet on him and got him to bellow Boooo! from the top of the Empire State.

51. Batman.
After a hard day at the docks, Bert returns home through the dreaded short cut. Suddenly, a costumed figure leapt (by virtue of trampoline on the other side) over the fence and accosted him!
Beetle: Aha! Clearly you are a miscreant in league with the Dock Side Terror!
Bert: Beat it you perv!
Beetle: I shall wrestle with you for a good five manly minutes, in order to get the information from you!
>police whistle<
Bert: Whew! Thank heavens the law are clamping down on the costumed fondlers!
Beetle: Curses! You have crooked cops on your side! Your villainy knows no bounds...unlike me! >BOUND<

Bats wins as the crane hook and line gives them both a reason to be positioned as they are, rather than the usual running at us for no purpose pose. The line cuts the cover at a nice angle too.

52. Marvel Family: Tough one. Both are really well done for the styles they are aiming for. I give to the Marvels as it's tough to think of the Kents realising that the Rocket from Krypton dropped Clark on his head.
Mrs Kent: Whatever you do, don't give away your secret identity!
Clark: OK, Ma!
Mrs Kent: Especially don't give it away on the cover of a comic with a large circulation!

49. HAUNTED HOUSE Even though that fog/mist is mighty inconsistent.

50. JEMM. far more interesting composition. Plus the CHRYSLER BUILDING. Maybe that world on the other is Forbidden because of the knockoff Empire State Building.

51. BLUE BEETLE. BB is well highlighted. B&R recede into the edges of the Big Dot.

52. MARVEL FAMILY. Color thing.

53. KARNAK vs. RACHEL RISING




54. PHANTOM STRANGER vs. MY LOVE AFFAIR




55. BUNNY vs. THE INFINITE LOOP




56. LOST WORLDS vs. MADMAN

Chrysler Building, yep, should have caught that. Much more stylish than all-rectangles Empire State. Extra points to Jemm for that.

53. Karnak - creepier and more eye-catching but I find Rachel Rising has a certain heavy dreariness which doesn't exactly appeal, but makes me stop and look.

54. Phantom Stranger - wonderfully wacky. So once it's closed, does it just hang there in the sky? Love Affair is dull, although it does have a hint of blackmail set-up.

55. Lost Worlds - ordinary people fighting giant red ant-like creatures looks like more fun than superheroes evading hands.

53. Karnak. Unusual and the column is central, dominating the cover space. That might well be a citadel his face superimposed on it. But I prefer to think that his superpower is making his neck stretchy. Elsewhere, a comic book so grim even the songbirds are thinking of ending it all.

54.
Anne Parris: Phantom Stranger! Close the door!...
Stranger: Sure! I'd just been leaning against the sky door by sheer chance until you gave me a purpose! Phantom Stranger vol 1 (near imminent in my reads pile) still wins as most folks would be saying "sorry, wrong house number" and moving away from Love Affair. How can you smear your name!? Use a blotter!

55. Bunny by a mile. It's a cover making history. That's the Graysons being bumped off background left, while Boston Brand waits to take up position background right. It wins for the barbed" Bunny is better than peanuts" remark. Is Loopy Lady mad because she wanted squillions and got a spectrum? Has she no real idea about wavelengths. Bunny would know.

56. Lost Worlds. Gentlemen prefer blondes, putting them on a collision course with giant alien ants! Them! is terrifying on Lost Worlds. Madman talks Reed down from the psychedelic Bunny ish.

53. RACHEL RISING.

54. PHANTOM STRANGER. But goodness, isn't that Fox comic frank?

55. BUNNY is just too much.

56. LOST WORLDS but neither quite hits. LW needs a stronger title to balance it out, and MM needs more color contrast.

CRAMES! 55/56!

57. DAYTRIPPER vs. THE DISCIPLINE




58. KARATE KID vs. BOOSTER GOLD




59. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY vs. THE NEW FRONTIER




60. THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD vs. STAR TREK AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES

Missed the Bunny vs Infinite Loop, have to go with Infinite Loop. All alone and shouting against infinity, stand tall, young woman! Bunny is overdose and too cute. Is "ish" misspelled or is she drugged? Points for making mispelled the second misspelled word.

57. Daytripper - enchanting. Like Discipline but it's a bit washed out by comparison.

58. Booster Gold - Karate Kid is full of action, but Booster is more interesting.

59. New Frontier - the fists in air image is common, but elevated by that one outstretched hand. Also, I really miss Darwyn Cooke.

60. Star Trek/Legion - it's pretty busy and I don't much like the circle with the HQ adding to the business, but the Star Trek characters look good against that darkly glowing background. Something else about those three bright dots on the eye make me want to squint.

Ask these guys!



Which I think was linked to the JSA tale...




57. The Discipline. Daytripper is the one I like to look at more, conjuring memories of the coast. But Discipline is the one I want to read, due to the shadow threat.

58. Booster Gold - A time bubble and a Legion ring give some hints to the hero's origins. Possibly Luthor blackmail about to be tried. Much more interesting than the flat background on KK.

59. LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY (cut n paste. not typing that lot out ) Interesting angle gives it a topsy turvy feel. Is Brainy a robot in that series? I always look at the New Frontier cover and wonder when Ben Grimm got the Lantern ring.

60. Brave & Bold. The Legion HQ looks lovely on the Trek cover. The group flying from the planet is nice too as is the Trek crew with the space background. The parts are great. But a pic of the HQ has no place being there. It gets in the way. So, while Bruce and Hal seem to have taken extra steroids, the design on the Perez cover is a winner. The Luck Lord looks suitably icky too.

Beckoning Lady up in 54 says make love not doors

57. DAYTRIPPER. COLOR.

58. BOOSTER GOLD. Throw my "more interesting" on the pile.

59. LSH 31. THIS IS RAINBOW SHERBET AND I WANT TO EAT IT. New Frontier makes me uneasy because while you can count that all the joints are there, it LOOKS like those fingers met with a nasty slicing accident.

60. I don't really like either. ST/LSH is less gross, so that.

61. MANHUNTER vs. ROACHMILL




62. LETHARGIC COMICS vs. BATMAN BEYOND




63. DC COMICS BOMBSHELLS vs. CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME




64. CLASSIC COMICS vs. MAGIC COMICS

After doors in the sky, we should do stairways to heaven.

61. Manhunter - bisected image with mostly black below gives the impression of movement toward the black. There's some source of light unseen as well which attracts the eye. Roachmill ok, there have been lots of black-white-red covers. It's very static compared to Manhunter.

62. Lethargic - for the look on the figure's face mostly, but the shadow tells the rest of the story.

63. Bombshells - really captures that wartime poster art feel, although the women don't look anything like a WWII pin-up poster girl. I like Catwoman too, but that white panel distracts rather than highlights. The background looks like it's trying to be the flag of Italy but with a black instead of green band.

64. Classic comics - I didn't make it through Tale of Two Cities, but the hero looks suitably noble as he goes to a far better death. Never liked Henry, so that's an automatic loss.

Why limit ourselves?

61. MANHUNTER. Co-sign FC about the line. Think the logo font is corny though.

62. LETHARGIC LAD. Co-sign FC on this one too. Maybe I can get her to write all my book reports!

63. CATWOMAN: WHEN IN ROME. Oops, guess not. While I like both of the Bombshell figures, what's going on here? And how did Babs (is she Babs in this universe?) get through the doorway?

64. CLASSIC COMICS. As seen from the audience, La Guillotine frames the central character. Magic is just...well, who does like Henry? Gag is too much setup for no real payoff.

61. Manhunter. If Roachmill were less busy, it would get more points. The crooks are well done as is the alley wall. But 'Mills leg is too close to a crook, he's at slightly the wrong angle and the background has too much on it. Oh, and points for the red stabbies are lost as there's no corresponding wounds. Mahunter gets points for striking simplicity. He's also using the top corner to wedge his webslinger. Unfortunately his groin is going to thump right into the barcode. Villains that month would be confused by Manhunter's high pitched "I'll get you...in the...direct edition."

62. Batman. The Formless Spawn of Ashton Smith reach the Batverse! Points for having a male hero threatened by Japanese tentacle ickiness. No they know what it's like, we should see less of it.

63. Catwoman. It shouldn't due to the , already noted, colouring issue with the bottom band. But the other cover is where one random figure walks into a room where there's another figure. No plot indicator, only perhaps an era. Catwoman wins lots of points back for the arms resting on the line between two of the other colours and the arm colour merging into one of them. More points for the posture and the flow of the clothing (plus the odd million for the kitty).

64. Tale of Two Cities. Mr Giles O'Teen tries to convince the mob that he's from Dublin and his name wasn't to be connected to his fate. The moving of the basket gets bonus grisly points. Over in Magic the kid's destiny is hypothermia.

65. FURY vs. OLD MAN LOGAN




66. INFINITY vs. NYC MECH




67. MARA vs. DREAMWALKER




68. BATMAN; DARK VICTORY vs. BATMAN: THE LONG HALLOWEEN

]

I like them all. Must be this dark cold morning. But since La Deb insists on choices...

65. Fury - solitude, despair, death. Yum! Logan lost just because it's yet another black-white-red cover.

66. NYC Mech - it's a love story, the logo has a bit of a neon city sign look, but not so bright as to distract. Is the red scrawl a signature?

67. Dreamwalker - the logo's a bit faux-fancy, but there's more of a clearly ominous story here. Mara could be snoozing peacefully or unconscious, falling through space.

68. Dark Victory - the shamrock hair is great as is the little bat necklace. She looks angry, evil and determined - but the Penguin is so simple and nasty, with that big grin emphasizing the darkness of hate.