Why Can’t DC Make Their Immature Covers Look This Good?
These five beautifully illustrated covers are from DC Comics, and the one thing that they all have in common is that they’re aimed at mature audiences. In the past mature signified sex and violence, but I feel that with these covers that it also implies grown up art tastes. I bring this up because so many of the superhero covers I see from DC look like clichéd coloring book covers — it’s almost as if DC was looking down at their younger readers who I think are much more hip than they give them credit for. Shown above is the cover for The Unwritten Vol. 2: Inside Man by Yuko Shimizu and below is Unknown Soldier #22 illustrated by Dave Johnson:
Here’s another cover for Unwritten by Yuko Shimizu — I’ll grant you that the subject matter isn’t superhero driven, but Shimizu’s use of color and his articulated drawing style are eye candy that would appeal to any reader:
This is the cover for Greek Street #13 by Davide Furno — I’ll grant you that it’s a bit violent, but even then it’s bloody fun:
Sean Murphy is a bit more conventional than the rest of my picks, but this cover for Joe the Barbarian #7 does a nice job with those samurai running across the bottom of the illustration:
