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33. GREEN LAMA vs. SUPERMAN




34. WONDER WOMAN vs. FREEDOM FIGHTERS




35. ROYALS vs. SECRET WARRIORS




36. KID ETERNITY vs. KATY KEENE PINUP PARADE

25. Dollman. In his eagerness for some kinky candle wax action, Dane as forgotten to grow. The devil on Lucky isn’t anywhere near the same quality. I’ve no idea why there’s a photographer taking pictures of the marionettes, unless the camera captures the existential dread of people not in charge of their own fate.

26. Roche Limit. Eye catching yellow with ‘splodey couple reminding me of a Terry Moore book. Phonogram would have had a much better chance if it had changed the ponderous story title.

27. JLoA. Over in Misery, it’s the Knights of the Galaxy’s turn to battle the Tornado Tyrant. If only they had shell of Robot Archie to put him in. In JLoA gravity goes Wild! What a dreadful fate! And Wondy is key to the cover, just under Flash. Supes and Bats are way in the background. Lots of editorial politics going on in this one. Despite the odd angles of the buildings it’s a winner!

28. Air Ace. So Rocket Kelly’s rocket is blasting away, and he’s just waving with one hand on a rope ladder hanging form it. The people waving back to him are on the mountain he’s milliseconds form splatting into. He might have built the rocket, but he’s not the brightest. Despite the rocket cone type thing being very off centre, and being rudely pointed at, it’s Air Ace for the win.

29. Foot Soldiers. I just don’t think that the story title fits with the cover. Perhaps the cast have discovered they are really toys in a ground breaking delve into the levels of reality. But I doubt it. So, the points go to having credits on a mobile.

30. Doctor Chaos. One of the guys in 3 Geeks has anger management issues that he can’t control even with friends. There’s going to be a space at the table if he keeps that going. Over in Doc Chaos we learn that Thom would have lived if he had got a mullet instead of a beard. I’m interested to find out more about the cast in that one.

31. Bounty. If you stare too long at trying to decipher the lettering in the web, you will become a drone of the thing in the centre. Apis isn’t really going for world domination, showing a lack of trying.

32. My Girl Pearl. It has a wordplay gag. In Sparkling that punch bag hits and kills a slender man just at the start of his training with Ted Grant, depriving the Justice Society of what would have been their greatest member. I can’t give it points for that!

33. Green Lama. A touching tale of love found on the front lines. Superman gets unpredictability points by having Supes pose beside a Red Kryptonite Cross.

34. Freedom Fighters. I like the icon in place of the logo, and the cast within the stars. Wondy is more of a straight forward posing cover, with the logo needlessly obscured. I do like the background colour though.

35. Royals. There’s a humorous lesson in the face of impending disaster there. Secret Warrior guy is really just posing.

36. Katy Keene. If you’re going to talk about crime, don’t kid , or even “kid” around. Put some on the cover. It’s another odd inaction Kid Eternity cover. I don’t know why the cars and jets are on the Keene cover. She’s not going to fit in any of them wearing that.

33. GREEN LAMA. Stripey light beams, man.

34. WONDER WOMAN.

35. SECRET WARRIORS. More color contrast.

36. KATY KEENE PINUP PARADE. Katy celebrates yesterday, today, and tomorrow by disguising herself as a clove of garlic. How do you follow that?

Thanks Teeds. I thought there was something familiar about this one. I've never paid much attention to album covers, but my brother liked them for a while, so I'll have seen it around. I wonder if every issue had this as a theme. With pretentious story titles too no doubt.

Popular ones too Elastica, Black Grape, Blur for a start.

37. SPACE: 1999 vs. SPACE ADVENTURES




38. FABLES vs. FATALE




39. PREZ vs. AGENTS OF ATLAS




40. DOOM PATROL vs. DYLAN DOG

37. Space 1999. The crew of the Eagle are so mission focused they even object to the cover artist drawing them! Cool even without knowing they all wear flared trousers! The other one has some random pointing going on.

38. Fatale. The blade is still clean. Has she knocked someone out and is about to go all stabby? Has she picked up a random bit of cutlery when her dining partner fell over? Questions and a more proactive look than shivering in front of a wall.

39. Agents of Atlas. Speaking of British albums, is that Venus going all Bananarama doing "Venus" on this one? Prez may not even be looking at her own logo.

40. Dylan Dog. I like the Lightle effort well enough. Really puts the Doom in Doom Patrol. But Mignola doing Dylan Dog? A sure winner.

33. GREEN LAMA Love the muted colors! (Or is that just aged paper?) The intersection of spotlights in the background does a good job of focusing the eye in a logical way. The perspective is fun. And the idea of a soldier riding around on the back of a superhero, shooting down planes, is too hilarious.

34. FREEDOM FIGHTERS Wonder Woman needs something, anything in the background. It's so boring as it is. I remember when I was buying that run in back-issues, I kept leaving that issue in the box thinking it must be some throw-away variant. I was surprised when I eventually realised it was the regular issue.

35. SECRET WARRIORS But both bore me.

36. KID ETERNITY So bad it's good!

37. SPACE: 1999 Space looks so crowded on the other one.

38. FABLES Fables had some of the best covers ever!

39. PREZ I feel like there's too much computer graphics going on on the other one.

40. DOOM PATROL Tells a story. Even without knowing anything about the DC Universe you know a) some people have died; b) in a sudden and horrible way; c) two people are mourning them; and d) it's a dark and cataclysmic moment. All the other one says is that two people are hanging out in a graveyard.

37. SPACE:1999. Color scheme isn't my favorite, but the lines are hard to deny. Other one does not direct the eye.

38. FABLES.

39. PREZ. I don't like the style of AOA, but the logo is pretty good.

40. DYLAN DOG. Guess I'm not feeling the DP callback

41. FINAL GIRL vs. LITTLE SCROWLIE




42. ALOHA, HAWAIIAN DICK vs. CODENAME: KNOCKOUT




43. WE ARE ROBIN vs. JINX




44. GOTHAM GIRLS vs. KISS KISS BANG BANG

49. THE BOYS vs. ASTONISHING X-MEN




50.BULLSEYE: GREATEST HITS vs. ROSE & THORN




51. FADE FROM GRACE vs. KISSING CHAOS




52. TRUE STORY SWEAR TO GOD vs. VELVET

41. Little Scrowlie. The cat, and therefore presumably the pair of them are going to go up those stairs. They have a purpose, and its taking them past some nightmare things. On the other cover, the person can just go up to the edge of the beach and go on, just like you'd do if it were rocks on the beach.

42. Aloha, Hawaiian Dick. The gun as reflection is at least an effect, which is more than Knockout has. The cover text is a bit groan worthy on knockout. Aloha has a nice colour scheme too.

43. We Are Robin. Ugh! for both. But the guys on Jinx could be posing for an album cover or waiting for a bus. Robin wins for the bullet effects, I guess.

44. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Another Ugh! Batgirl doesn't look as though she's about to kick anything, and her body shape doesn't make it likely to have an effect either. You don't combine teenage mutant ninja turtle weapons! That's one of them out of a job. Why not just have Nuclear Turtle and be done with it? Kiss Kiss wins for the colours on the background panels and the pic on the target (that you wouldn't kick or hit with the nunchaku.

45 - 48 ???????? Noes! The Cover Crook has taken 'em! Hopefully this means we get four more. Yay!

49. X-Men. You see that 44? That's a cover where something is getting hit. A win for the logo getting thumped, but actually making it more prominent at the same time. The Boys is just trying to look tough.

50. Rose and Thorn. Like 49, Bullseye is just trying to look tough with a pose. Thorn has actually just shot you, stuck her finger in the wound and is taunting you with the blood. That extra effort is worth a win. Both are lessons for 44.

51. Kissing Chaos. Meh for both. Fade from Grace might be a crime story about a rich wife who finds that her whole life is a lie and escapes being thrown off a bridge by people who turn out not to be her relatives. But not even the horizontal sections of the cover do much, especially as that logo carelessly drops into one. I guess it's talk to the hand.

52. Velvet. Anything that reminds of Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber is going to get points. I'm not super keen on a book whose best story is "I held up an apple. Swear to god I did. Right above my head."

45-48 will appear soon.

(You can imagine it as some fifth-dimensional chess move if you want, but it was just an oops. I'm a debutante, not an arithmetician.)

Four more? Strap in, sentient, we're not even halfway through yet.

41. LITTLE SCROWLIE.

42. ALOHA, HAWAIIAN DICK.

43. JINX.

44. GOTHAM GIRLS although I don't really care for either.

49. ASTONISHING X-MEN. Doesn't everybody have that urge every now and again to beat the shit out of a logo?

50. BULLSEYE Default win. What exactly is going on over on R&T?

51. FADE FROM GRACE as I don't like the scratch art on the other. FFG also has a pretty good color story.

52. VELVET but oh, those poor white gloves!

45. SILVER STREAK COMICS vs. FLASH COMICS




46. BATTLEGROUND vs. OUR ARMY AT WAR




47. ROMANTIC ADVENTURES vs. FALLING IN LOVE




48. THE WITCHING HOUR vs. MYSTERIES OF UNEXPLORED WORLDS

45. Silver Streak - more dynamic. Both are really busy, but Silver Streak has more interesting busy bits.

46. Army at War - again, less static.

47. Romantic Adventures - is this the story of Alfred Pennyworth as a young man? They both look scared of the green lady on Falling in Love.

48. The Witching Hour - less movement, which I disliked in #45 & 46, but more suspense. You feel the stillness and the sky is creepy-coloured. Is that guy the official announcer or is he about to fall into an unfortunate adventure?

I can...and I shall...

45. Silver Streak. Because he's getting on with some streaking...hang on...is that how his powers are described.... while the flash only appears under his logo. Johnny Thunder loses points for not having the Thunderbolt; Hawkman for preposterously large wings; the Whip for animal abuse; Cliff Cornwall for being tediously dull and The King for being anti-subtle by using such a big torch. Idiot.

Silver Streak #5 is the issue where Dickie Dean's plans are to build a small nuclear reactor in your living room. Authorities brought Dean and Streak in for spying offences, but were amazed at just how many parents had ready access to uranium.

The answers to the 2 questions on the cover concerning Lance Hale and Ace Powers are no and no. This issue was their only appearance.

46. Battleground wins because of the explosion around the cover. The surprise ending to The Observer is that he helps defeat Galactus and then flees with a new name to a small out of the way world, where his past will never catch up wi….ah...

47. Falling in Love wins for the colouring of the sky and the better wave effects. Both issues are Legion themed. On the left we meet Alfred Norg, about to fall for a girl called Myla. A girl who hates all Norgs from beyond the grave. On the right, Yera's getting in some practice before replacing Salu.

48. Witching Hour - the logo as a character quote. I always felt the witch was going to fly off on the chimney, like a western Baba Yaga.

45. SILVER STREAK. Brighter. Better logo interaction.

46. BATTLEGROUND. Dark blue.

47. FALLING IN LOVE. The Lady Wore Green...and a very self-satisfied expression.

48. THE WITCHING HOUR. Weird sky!

53. MONSTRESS vs. REIGN OF THE ZODIAC




54. THE HAWK AND THE DOVE vs. WARLOCKS




55. MOPSY vs. PENNY CENTURY




56. GHOST MANOR vs. THE JOKER

57. IRON MAN ANNUAL vs. VIGILANTE




58. YEAH! vs. X-STATIX




59. BIG SHOT COMICS vs. SMASH COMICS




60. CRASH COMICS vs. CLYDE CRASHCUP

53. Monstress - very subtle colouring, but the figures are more interesting
54. Hawk & Dove - too much green on the other one. The text bubbles are well balanced on the page and the shading on Dove is dramatic. Is that a blonde afro on Warlock? Points for weirdness.
55. Mopsy - no great preference, but Mopsy wins for old-style look
56. Ghost Manor - giant ghosts, ok. Giant Joker, no thanks.
57. Vigilante - great perspective, white background makes the figures stand out.
58. Yeah! - just goofier with the cartoon look
59. Big Shot - Bozo the Robot killing alligators just doesn't appeal, not to mention the Tintin rip-off, so Big Shot wins by default
60. Clyde Crashcup - did they have LSD back than? Reminds me of the Jetsons. Lighthearted silliness. The green building and searchlight eyes of Catman don't appeal.

53. Monstress. So Jan didn't kill her. He just transported to a universe where she had her own title. He gets such a bad press. Monstress is beautifully intricate, without telling me anything, beyond a mechanical hand. I like the colouring and romanesque as art deco revival feel to it all. But it loses points for the butt and side boob forced combo. I'f I had to pick one in the shop, I'd peek inside both.

54. Hawk & Dove. It's not that I like H&D. In fact there's loads of better Gil Kane work. I'm not even bothered about the shouty dove on there. It's just that Warlocks looks like a bad KISS tribute band gone wrong.

55. Penny Century. It has the benefit of a lot of comics decades, but I like the title and it's just charming. It looks like Mospy's going to be on the town for a bit longer until those drugs wear off.Although it is a nice cover.

56. The Joker. Ghost Manor knows it has to double dare me if it wants me to read a book length special. I guess the Devil's cauldron feeds the Devil's Jury and the Devil's Dozen as they wait for Legion appearances. The Joker doesn't have a huge amount going for it. But it's themed, and the Royal Flush Gang are using those cool flying cards.

57. Iron Man. The cover tells you everything you want to know about what's inside. It's happy to do so, knowing that you'll not pass it by. Nice split in the cover using the armour, and rivets in the logo always gets points. Canon & Sabre vs the Vigilante has an interesting perspective, but there's no context. Maybe it was a book that didn't need any.

58. X-Statix. There's a comic called Super****ers, and it might be a twisted version of Yeah. While I can't imagine why they're all in a toilet cubicle, X-Statix gets the win. The floaty alien placement is better.

59. Big Shot. When people say "thoth, you're a bozo" I think fondly back to my time in Smash comics. But nostalgia gets no points here, as Big Shot has the better line up, a gag on the cover and a stripey background to the logo.

60. Clyde Crashcup. It's just so desperate sounding a title. It's like the editor dropped something at breakfast on deadline morning and thought "that'll do" I guess it's a take on flying (cup and) saucers. It has a nice, clear sky, mountain freshness and a drunk professor about to upchuck over the side of the cup. Over on Crash, I'm wondering why Cat Man is the only human to fight crime wearing oven mitts.

53. REIGN OF THE ZODIAC. Both are very nicely done. Zodiac's colors tip it for me.

54. HAWK & DOVE. The Warlocks background effect is pretty impressive for community theater, though.

55. PENNY CENTURY. Hats ain't everything.

56. THE JOKER. Sharper art

57. VIGILANTE. Grid and shadows do a lot.

58. YEAH! Looks amusing and I'm not sure I want to know what's going on in X-Statix.

59. SMASH COMICS The Big Shot diagonal lines are distracting

60. CLYDE CRASHCUP even though it's just okay. A cat...with searchlight eyes? That's climbing up a green semi-brick building that's at an angle to the background buildings? What??