Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities A Study in Seventeens!

21. WHIZ COMICS. HE PUNCHED OUT A TANK YOU GUYS.

22. WINTER SOLDIER by default. The BatFam background is great, but I do not like the taxidermy stars (which do Man-Bat no favors, knowhatimsayin).

23. KATHY but not by much.

24. CAPTAIN MARVEL. Crack colors are wack.

Wasn't that the follow-up to What Does The Fox Say?

25. SPIDERWOMAN vs. SPIDER-GWEN




26. OUTER SPACE vs. OLD MAN LOGAN




27. BOY COMMANDOS vs. ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN




28. SHE-HULK vs. BIRDS OF PREY

21. Whiz - don't just lift the tank, send it flying. More realistic tank than on Action Comics, too.

22. Winter Soldier - single star with phantom image, standing on the logo. This also may qualifiy for the finger-pointing thread.

23. Candy - they're about the same, she has better clothes than Kathy.

24. Crack - Come on, is the Clock really the oldest and best character? Points for that, anyways as well as Molly the Model, Millie's mom?

25. Spider Gwen - real sense of movement.

26. Old Man Logan - mysterious, contemplative, he looks a bit desperate and so he should... Don't badger me to read for the good of the nation, Outer Space.

27. Boy Commandos - servants of the Emerald Eye! Girl on Unknown has floozy fashion sense.

28. Birds of Prey - oof, that's got to hurt. They've both got to hurt, but Power Girl is knowingly taking the hit, which is pretty heroic, and her hair still looks good. Fingernails digging into the missile add drama.

25. Spider-Woman. I didn't immediately make out the buildings on Spider-Gwen. As I'm in the huff about that, I'm going to quibble that the story title distracts from the image. Even though it has an interesting perspective, and Spider-Woman's "deathplunge" is hardly that when you can see her rescuer, I just find the detail of the building on Spider-Woman more interesting. John Lydon's Public Image Limited wrote the single Death Disco based on this cover. Maybe.

26. Outer Space. Sure, the art is better on Old Man Logan. But the pointy clawed psycho will survive in space, healing even as the vacuum impacts. But let's face it, by not picking outer space you're condemning every man, woman and child to ignorance on an issue of vital importance. Without that information, none of them will be able to draw an entire cover by their deadline!

27. Boy Commandos. Space suits, rayguns, cities in peril, robots where any one of them could be the Eye of Ekron, jet packs and one of them trying to keep his hat on. HG Wells meets Buck Rogers! Unknown has a nice logo, but if the bottom wing is the size of the top one, that bird shouldn't be able to keep flying. Why did he bring a gun on a remote boating trip? Did he plan the perfect murder only to foolishly leave out a Pteranodon attack?! How could he be so careless? There, I resisted a "bird trouble in a boat" gag...

28. Birds of Prey. Shiny Land-type art doesn't really do anything for me. Power Girl might be wondering where the BoP are, but I'm wondering what use they'd be. Huntress to throw a batarang at the missile? Black Canary to sing a nice song before the end? Maybe Oracle could disrupt the guidance system... Anyway, much more about the imminent city destruction than the phallic missile being grasped by a heroine whose breasts grew as an in-joke and who has her legs spread on the cover.

25. SPIDER GWEN.

26. OLD MAN LOGAN. Outer Space wants to lecture me on space junk, just look at the illustration.

27. Ha, it's the Jonny Quest opener matchup. ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN. The use of "white" space on BC is a problem for me.

28. BOP. Old Man Fury needs to get hauled into the Super DMV of Space.

29. HARROW COUNTY vs. HELLBLAZER




30. BATMAN CONDFIDENTIAL vs. JUSTICE




31. LUCIFER vs. LAZARUS




32. L.E.G.I.O.N. '90 vs. PETER PORKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-HAM

33. THE BLACK TERROR vs. TE FIGHTING YANK




34. UNCANNY X-MEN vs. X-MEN BLUE




35. A DATE WITH JUDY vs. ROMANTIC SECRETS




36. LOVELORN vs. NEXUS

29. Harrow County - a lot creepier because the purple blotch with black on Hellblazer is more confusing. An eye or not? I prefer the rest of the image on Hellblazer, but the background is distractingly vague.

30. Justice - better perspective on the fall, less clutter. It looks like Batgirl could catch that tail, but she's reaching for the hand or something.

31. Lazarus - good sense of danger, grim colours for grim story. Lucifer's pretty good too, but less tension.

32. L-dot - a lot more menace in that targeted Mommy scratch-out.

33. The Fighting Yank - Black Terror has a better costume, but there's more threat for the Yank, three science guys with guns and another at the window, plus it looks like the death ray has already been fired.

34. Uncanny X-Men - yup, that looks like the middle of nowhere and the kids look properly confused. In the future, will each year have a welcome sign for the time-displaced?

35. Romantic Secrets - the old twin caper? Does she know, or is she enjoying a little adventure? Polka dots!

36. Nexus - Now that's summer fun! Poolside romances are so fleeting, so shallow.

29. Hellblazer. I didn't pick up the eye on Hellblazer on first glance. My brain creates the nice curvature on the train. In a world of superheroes, Constantine goes by public transport or guilt trips a mate to give him a lift. I'd have been reading this at the time, and there's a very good story regarding a train. I wonder if it's this one. Harrow county loses points for the cover hyperbole. Quotes from pet sources make me less likely to pick up a book.

30. Justice. I'd really like Maguire's work and there's nothing wrong with this image. Perhaps it's the excessive cover blurb about Catwoman. Perhaps having the cat tail over the Batlogo rubs that in too much. Perhaps it's Barbara's desperate, but foolish lunge, while Justice looks as though he had no choice about where he is. He's been thrown off a building. It looks very bleak for him. As the backgorunds for both are good, that might be enough for a win.

31. Lazarus. Lucifer is taking a break form a Win Wenders marathon, while Lazarus is a bity Bat-like. But she's not lurking at the top of a building. She's overseeing troop movements up close, and that tells me a lot about the main character's engagement with her world, compared to one of the Gotham capes.

32. Spider-Ham. Sparkly effect, pained clawing arm, poster... I thought the sparkly stuff was causing a weird static effect, before I realised it was a wall. Spider Ham is simple and direct.

33. Black Terror. Why has a guy in a loincloth got access to transparent plastic? Why isn't it wax like all the horror movies? How will the girl be displayed or will she be upset at the Terror for failing to save her legs? There's so many scientist over on Yank that one of them seems to have shot his colleague in the face. Another is reduced to perving through the window. I wonder when they'll realise that the death ray isn't achieving anything their guns can't do at a fraction of the price.

34. Uncanny X-Men. I like both of these. X-Men 2099 gets added points for an airship. But it's too close to the Eisner cliché. Uncanny gets points for not having anything X-related in the "Nowhere" sign with the logo etched onto the desolate ground.

35. A Date With Judy. A masked ball mix up isn't remotely angsty. Judy wins for the head and shoulders above the logo.

36. Nexus. Lovelorn gets points for the interesting background extras. But someone doesn't know what's coming on Nexus.

29. HARROW COUNTY. Weird texture!

30. JUSTICE. Color story.

31. LUCIFER. Slice of red.

32. PPSSH. Here we know the hand is fuzzy cause it's the hand of fuzzy wuzzy.

33. BLACK TERROR. Transparent plastic!

34. UNCANNY. Co-sign FC.

35. ROMANTIC SECRETS. ADWJ has a pretty good gag AND a random ottoman. RS has an intriguing scenario (even if it's not exactly a new concept) and I like the lanterns.

36. LOVELORN. Guy on Nexus kicking back poolside? Great, but where is the visual focus?

37. FAMOUS FUNNIES vs. RICHIE RICH AND JACKIE JOKERS




38. THE WILD STORM vs. WARP




39. CLEAN ROOM vs. AZRAEL




40. ALL-FLASH vs. BARBIE

37. Famous Funnies. Old school family trips to A&E.

38. Wildstorm. Not bothered about the flying guy. More interesting than the acme ships on warp.

39. Clean Room. Wine with Jonni Thunder: Thunderbolt. A bit of a push to fit Azrael's shoulder pads into the candle image.

40. All-Flash. The 4 in 1 criminal across various time periods has got to be Doctor Mayavale! Barbie gets points for highlighting social awkwardness though.

37. RR&JJ Lack of "wacky" violence.

38. THE WILD STORM. But the next issue better be different.

39. CLEAN ROOM. While I tend to like b/w with a touch of accent color, CR's slightly unusual palette more interesting to me.

40. ALL-FLASH. Jay fights Robert Pattinson, Robert Pattinson, Robert Pattinson, and Robert Pattinson.

41. DRIFTER vs. TALES OF THE BEANWORLD




42. DANGER vs. THE CRUSADERS




43. GENERATION X vs. CLASSIC X-MEN




44. AMAZING X-MEN vs. ASTONISHING X-MEN

37. Famous Funnies - I don't know, it just looks better. Simpler, maybe even more realistic. Richie Rich strikes me as disjointed.

38. Wildstorm - the stormcloud dominates, can the puny figure do anything as the building is crushed? Warp has the right sort of magical hand movmements, bu the giant ghostly figure amid the invasion isn't as appealing as nasty old mother nature.

39. Clean Room - looks like a pact with the Devil. I like her hard-to-read expression. Too much stuff going on in the flame on Azrael, although the smug expression is good.

40. All Flash - I like the villain variety. Barbie seems dull by comparison.

41. Drifter - colours appealing, although I have no idea what the giant white sphere is. The moon? Guy in gasmask digging a grave says pandemic plague, apocalypse or maybe just a simple murder. Never took to Beanworld.

42. Crusades - fine detail, lovely, and the medieval fantasy-style amour with the skyscrapers reflected mades me want to learn more. Plucky girl detective Dolly O'Dare isn't too quick on the uptake there. Good name, though.

43. Generation X - don't like either much, but Gen. X does have a good monster parade. Wolverine, please put some clothes on and stop drooling.

44. Astonishing X-Men - the incongruity of character and expression are striking, along with bold blank whiteness. Amazing X-Men, just another helmeted thug gritting his teeth. His perfectly aligned, bright and shiny teeth.

41. DRIFTER. Texture & color. The mystery pod font has to go!

42. THE CRUSADES. SHE IS NO IW REPRINT! Also great art, focused eye, interesting color accents. (And yes, I considered matching these with A Date With Judy...but which would have been better?)

43. CLASSIC X-MEN!

44. ASTONISHING X-MEN. Co-sign FC.

41. Beanworld: Not the Mystery Pods! They're my favourites... hang on... I've never read this. It's a cover that makes me want to know why this is happening. Drifter gives me nothing. Cyclops digging a ditch as a comet obliterates everything?

42. Danger. Crusades has lovely detail, but by the time I've noticed the reflection on the helmet I've noticed a guy suitably called Baron Blue about to fondle someone.

43. Classic X-Men. Had Uncanny bothered to combine the posters with the cast, it would have won by a landslide. Classic shows them with their costumes, but does give them sideshow names. Even if the art isn't as good, it's a win.

44. Astonishing X-Men. A timid central character peering out from the border would be a win here. That it's Psycho-Claws and that this story can be shown to fans for the character to deflate their ego is a bonus. On the other X-Cover, villains are never as effective once they've crossed over. So there.

I think you made the right choice when it came to the armour. Which reminds me, do you have any to spare? Say for the lower leg region.. around the shin area...just asking... for a friend... with a limp...

Ha, anyone who properly votes on a matchup is welcome to question or criticize that matchup. Scratch welcome, make that encouraged -- that kind of stuff makes it more fun for me.

45. UNKNOWN SOLDIER vs. SWEET TOOTH




46. GREEN ARROW vs. CATWOMAN




47. FORBIDDEN WORLDS vs. CRYPT OF TERROR




48. RACKET SQUAD IN ACTION vs. REAL FACT COMICS

49. EAST OF WEST vs. AMERICAN CENTURY




50. WOLVERINE vs. WONDER BOY




51. SWING WITH SCOOTER vs. MAZIE




52. THE FUNNIES vs. FEATURE FUNNIES

45. Unknown Soldier. Almost by default. I guess it's some sort of drug fuelled delirium. On Sweettooth, the blood is unaccountable and the central paper doll would make sense to regular readers only. If only Logan form that X-Men story was shown with his paper dolls on the cover.

46. Green Arrow. The other person on Catwoman isn't known to me, so it's two people looking at each other with no real sense of their relationship. While Arrow is pretty basic, at least Roy seems unhappy about something and it may be due to Shade's manipulations. There's a story in there.

47. Now we're cooking with covers! So tough for the same reason. Do we go for the one where the werewolf has been revealed behind the shoulder of unsuspecting hubby? Or do we go for the one where it looks as though we know who the werewolf is? I think the story reveals it's actually the woman, luring low-lives to attack her. One is sci fi, the other is Gritty City. One has good use of a newspaper, the other hard to read cover blurb. But at least it's small cover blurb unlike SuspensStories.

48. Real Fact. Racket Squad is telling me to avoid it. So I will, and it didn't improve my badminton. Is Black Canary going to burst out of the cover? No! It's a guy in a van! Wins for matter of factly telling what I can loirn inside. Remember. It's not just a fact. It's a real fact!

49. American Century. I don't seem to like the East of West covers much. I don't really get a sense of story from them. I've no doubt it's fine inside the cover. American Century is giving us a social observation regarding the identi-kit housing.

50. Wonder Boy. How dare foreigners disrupt our plans for world domination! Wonder Boy: Dupe of Authority with the really mean look of a killer on the cover. Much chillier than Psycho Claws. He's only upset because someone mocked the dance move he was doing in the caption box on the top left of his comic.

51. Mazie. They're both fun, but Mazie gets in more gags. Three in the tunnel of love boat suggests unusual relationships to be revealed inside. Scooter keeps his girl from Bizarre Bazaar practices!

52. The Funnies. He's just been stopped safely by that big caption. I don't think I get Feature Funnies. There's no blast behind him. He's inflated enough to have a serious wind issue so perhaps he's defelcting attention away form his farting problem.

So what's your vote, Hotski?

45. UNKNOWN SOLDIER. I don't think I really like it, but the planted syringes, sloped ground, and orange (which I know I don't like, but is less obvious thus more interesting than red) make for a strong image.

46. CATWOMAN! A quiet but not undramatic moment. Nice color too. GA a little cheesy.

47. CRYPT OF TERROR. FE looks more dog than werewolf, and the hairdo just DOES NOT GO. I remember the story like Thoth does, which sealed the matchup. BTW I noticed Thoth failed to mention the CAT.

48. RACKET SQUAD. But don't worry, I won't be taken in by this four-color racket. I'll just steal it.

49. EAST OF WEST. Mood!

50. WOLVERINE. Not interesting at all, but no speeches = bueno.

51. SCOOTER. Yet another tortured setup from Mazie. The setting is unrelated. Scooter's gag is not original, but makes sense.

Fun fact: It may have been a Tunnel of Love cover that set me on the path to cover madness about a dozen years ago. (Before that it was just anagrams, puns, and yelling at Ester.) Stay tuned for another ToL cover -- but it will be quite different.

52. THE FUNNIES is pretty good but needs to ditch the thought bubble! I can't quite figure out what the other one is getting at.

45. Unknown Soldier - I prefer the bad dream image of a field of giant needles to bleeding paper dolls.

46. Cat Woman - Darwyn Cooke cover, that's enough. And I believe that's Slam Bradley facing her.

47. Crypt of Terror - better lighting, cleaner image, cat eating garbage will probably attack werewolf and find new home with woman for happy ending.

48. Racket Squad - clearly shady character, granny hat beats incongruity of "Real Fact" comics showing truck driving out of giant moneybag. I think not.

49. East of West - maybe influenced because I'm reading the series, but that guy looks the conniving manipulator. American Century if pretty good, guy leaving dull tacky town?

50. Wolverine, by default. It's a dynamic image, but nothing exceptional. Nevertheless, Wonder Boy's American exceptionalism is just not striking the right mood this morning. Maybe it's the yellow background.

51. Mazie - for the odd impression which that large text gives, like shouting or today's all-caps. Were there really kissing booths at fairs?

52. Feature Funnies - better gag, good expression on the guy's face. I think he's supposed to be inflated from the gas, which we see emerging from the green (?) oven. His wife doesn't get it either, but why is she pointing at herself? And there's The Clock - wasn't he the oldest and greatest comic book hero a few match-ups ago? Looks like his star isn't shining so brightly.