The Cool Kids Table: July 2013

-Alex Ross has done it all in the comics biz at this point, but I'll always remember him first and foremost for Marvels, a series that had such an impact on me in terms of showing what the medium was capable of at a time when super hero books were pretty cut and dry. One of the things that really made the project pop in huge part because of Ross was the juxtaposition of the larger than life Marvel Universe against mundane ordinary folks, exactly what he's doing on this Astro City cover, a book written by his Marvels collaborator Kurt Busiek and taking a lot of what that book did to the next level.

-Leinil Yu is on fire with his Infinity tie-in covers for Avengers. These are posters waiting to happen. His Hulk this month is intense, but this Captain Marvel is a whole other level. It's great seeing more and more artists take to Jame McKelvie's great costume design and making it work in different ways. There's a Travis Charest vibe here in the texture, but the energy crackle is a bit Kirby; the overall composition is totally Yu. Also not to be overlooked, Sunny Gho's colors, which have been dynamite working with Yu, particularly on these washed Infinity covers, as the red lights up the piece here.

-I did not initially recognize that Avengers A.I. cover as being by David Marquez, as the dude's a master but this is something new for him with the cutting elements dissecting Vision. I wonder how long that took?

-Whenever I have tried in vain to draw, from childhood to present, I've found nothing more difficult than the whole "foreshortening" deal. Drawing a straight line telescoping toward "the camera" is hard enough, but a complex shape like, say, a question mark? You have my respect, Guillem March. Nice textures and facial work too.

-Mike Allred can do equal parts boundary-pushing outside the box techie pinball games and throwback vintage portraits; this kid may have a future.

-If you've been reading this blog and these entries for any stretch of time, you may know I have certain guaranteed tics that make me love covers, stuff like good homages or somebody destroying the logo...so well played, Georges Jeanty and Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9!

-I highlight Massimo Carnevale's Conan the Barbarian covers a lot because I really like not just his art, but his style of painting. It's similar to other pieces I've shown this month from Dustin Nguyen and Rafael Albuquerque where the shading is such that rather than sections being dark and others being light, it seems like the whole thing is divided into slivers, each with a distinct shade. Gorgeous stuff.

-Does that David Aja cover for Hawkeye feel like him going "Your move, Mark Brooks" to anybody but me?

-Alex Maleev's cover for Secret Avengers feels like a hat tip to lots of stuff I dig. You got some Steranko S.H.I.E.L.D. in there, a bit of Bond Girl, a touch of the water color stuff his buddy Michael Oeming does--like on Mice Templar--and more. Distinctive Maleev too.

-I like seeing Paolo Rivera drawing most things, and aliens feels like something new, right? He's good.

-That Thor cover has me so pumped to see what Ron Garney does on interiors. He and Jason Aaron always seem to bring the best out of each other, this particular approach to this character seems tailored for him to really let loose.

-I'll miss you, David Yardin's X-Factor covers.

-X-Men #5 was my desktop wallpaper at work until this week.

-Also, Aaron Kuder.

ACTION COMICS #23.1: CYBORG SUPERMAN by Aaron Kuder