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Collecting Comics for Covers

Collecting Comics for Covers

Posted on 29 Jun 2019


In a conversation with Regie at Destination Venus in Harrogate recently, we agreed that this seemed to be something of a golden age in comic art. Stories will always be controversial but great art is always something to be admired.

Lately, I've been expanding my comic collection with some rather stunning new issues, driven purely by the quality of the covers. While some issues may have standard covers that are lovely (a few are noted below) generally we look to the world of Variant covers to find the real treasure.

In this latest blog post, I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite recent purchases, and why of all the comics on the shelves, these particular covers caught my eye.

Supergirl #23

Supergirl #23 - Artgerm Foil Cover (£3)

Stanley "Artgerm" Lau is an artist from Hong Kong, and has worked for Marvel, DC, Capcom and others to create beautiful portrait style artwork. He's getting a lot of work in comics at the moment, and I could fill this entire article with just his artwork. For the sake of brevity, I'm focusing on his Supergirl #23 cover that has the added benefit of foil to create a truly beautiful lustre to an already fantastic piece of artwork. The logo, eyes, and blue/silver outfit are all embossed in foil, leaving the cape to provide an inky black contrast. It's hard to find one of these in good condition in the UK, but Darren Conway on the Comic Books For Sale group on facebook hooked me up with a whole slew of Artgerm pieces, and this is my favourite of the bunch. Perfect proportions in a pose that can make perspective somewhat tricky, but is deftly handled in a manner that showcases Artgerm's artistic mastery. He's created many gorgeous pieces for Supergirl, but none of them top this one for me.

 

Astonishing X-Men #1 Mark Brooks Cover

Astonishing X-Men #1 - Mark Brooks Variant Cover (£22)

Maybe it's the Japanophile in me, but the Sakura on this cover, as well as the colours, really sold this. I'm not terribly familiar with Mark Brooks, but I've spotted a few other covers of his lately and they're terrific. None of them compare to this though - Psylocke is an idealised character in the Marvel universe, but I remember her before the shift to an Asian body, and the first time I saw her in action was pitted against Sabretooth back in an X-Men annual from the 80's. Betsy's ingenuity allows her to survive and marked her out as a strong female lead long before the Katanas and sexy ninja outfit. That's not to say the update wasn't appreciated, and it's wonderfully represented here, resplendent with detail in the fabric of her costume as it folds around her.

 

Lost Light #1 Sara Pitre-Durocher cover

Transformers Lost Light #1 - Sarah Pitre-Durocher Cover (£5)

The oldest buy in this list, I found the elusive C cover at TF Nation last year, at the same time the Sara Pitre-Durocher was a guest, so I have a lovely rare signed copy ready for framing. I like the graffiti style employed here, with the brick texture giving the piece a suitably gritty feel that's elevated by the sombre nature of the characters depicted. Nautica is a terrific original IDW character, the sort of ditzy and excitable science nerd that everyone finds endearing. Rodimus and Megatron were also handled very well by James Roberts' run, so seeing them here is also a bonus. Getting a comic signed by the artist directly is always a lovely, fuzzy feeling and that doesn't happen often, so this one is going on display.

 

Red Sonja Geral Parel cover

Red Sonja: Birth of the She-Devil - Gerald Parel Subacomic Virgin Variant (Limited to 500 - £22)

I only really remember Red Sonja from the 80's, and didn't realise she was still popular until earlier this month when I saw this on Red Hot Comics. I instantly fell in love with Gerald Parel's style, not to mention that stunning face depicted on this issue. I've since looked up the artist's work and I can see I'll be following him going forward. Something about the fiery background and pillars reminds me of the mines from Lord of the Rings, while the outfit (impractical as it may be) is represented with far more subtlety and charm than most of the covers I've seen depicting the character. The chains show a low point for the character, but the clenched fists reveal that bloody retribution will be visited in due course. This is a stunning piece of art and I'm delighted to have the book in my collection.

 

Clack Cat #1 - JSC Cover

Black Cat #1 - J Scott Campbell Variant Cover B (Felicia's Loft - £55)

This was not a cheap comic. Having missed the issue on J Scott Campbell's own website (where his variants sell out in minutes) I had to resort to a US seller charging less than $100 for the issue. The problem with buying US is that postage is an absolute killer, so I'm slightly annoyed that I didn't know about Stackry before I ordered it (many thanks to Filip Schwarz on Facebook for the tip!) - the service allows you to post things to a managed postbox in the US and consolidate shipping, and it's how I get my comics now when I can't find them in the UK.

All that said (and tip imparted!) this issue is a perfect counterpoint to the classic Amazing Spider-Man #601 depicting Mary Jane in her loft looking out of the window. I managed to track that down for an amazing £30 courtesy of Cosmic Toys in Dewsbury, and this will compliment it perfectly. I'm a huge JSC fan, owning three of his Spider-Man statues and a good number of comics and artbooks adorned with his signature. I do hope he'll visit the UK one day. Our kitchen features the #601 cover as a massive poster, the one concession by my lovely redhead fiance to geekdom in the kitchen! I may not be a massive fan of Black Cat (and to be fair the art inside this new series isn't to my taste) but I am a fan of this cover, and I'll be framing this next to Mary Jane's loft in the new office. Can't wait!

 

Amazing Spider-Man #25 - Tyler Kirkham

Amazing Spider-Man #25 - Tyler Kirkham Variant (£25)

Tyler Kirkham is another artist I discovered from chasing covers, and when I saw this variant (which also comes in a virgin flavour I have nestled in a box) I was blown away. There's a slight Romita Jr vibe to Peter, and the slight thickness of the ankles on MJ makes her somewhat more believable than the stylised and waif-like depictions J Scott Campbell favours. It's a nice contrast, but what I really enjoyed on this cover was the Spider-Buggy (want one!) and Venom lurking below the idyllic scene no doubt planning some naughtiness. Love the webbing on MJ's top too, it's a lovely touch!

 

Harley and Ivy Meet Betty and Verionica #6 - Lee

Harley and Ivy meet Betty and Veronica #6 - Lee Sketch Variant (£3)

Something simple to round things off I think. As much as the bombastic and colourful covers are a huge treat, sometimes the scaled back simplicity of such an odd arrangement as this can be just as eye-catching. It's such a daft scene with the characters flying on a batwing-wearing Harley with Ivy at the reigns that it tickles me in a happy way. While I might flatter myself that I could knock out a similar sketch, I'd never come up with something so delightfully bonkers!

More to come

I'm currently working my way through a lot of anime and manga, so it's nice to take some time out to divert slightly. Its been a real treat to delve back into western comics with a bit of vigour, and I look forward to sharing some more highlights as the collection continues to grow!

I'd also like to say a big "thank you" to all the fantastic comic-collecting folks on facebook. Search for Comic Books for Sale UK and Comic Books for Sale UK 2.0 to get you started!

Also, for UK collecting, these stores have been incredibly helpful to me personally:

Sad Lemon Comics
Ltd Edition Comix
Red Hot Comics 

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