Art Attack: October 2013's Coolest Covers

-When I was a little kid, my family went to see "The Little Mermaid" in theaters, and I'll never ever forget my mother--an artist herself--leaning over to me during one of the underwater sequences and noting "An animator had to draw every one of those bubbles every time anything or anybody moved; that's incredible." Paul Pelletier's Aquaman cover reminds me of that story, but I also think his smooth style and use of shadows makes him a perfect match for this character. And who did those colors? Beautiful.

-Avengers #21 by Leinil Yu is my desktop background at work right now. Seriously, how long has Leinil been a top-level guy and yet he's still taking it to another level every month, particularly with these Infinity covers.

-Darwyn Cooke drawing Batwing is the LAST thing I expected to see, but hey, cool!

-Are those teeth coming out of Bloodhound's knuckles? Gross. Also, I never read Bloodhound the first time around, any recommendations for or against?

-If you haven't heard the awesome story behind the cover for Daredevil #32--which I got to hear twice at SDCC, both when Chris Samnee was on a panel with Mark Waid and again when he came on Marvel Live with us--here's the short version: editor Steve Wacker and Waid told Samnee to come up with a Halloween-themed cover planning to base the story around what he drew, Samnee drew DD with the Legion of Monsters, and now Waid has to come up with some sort of story guest-starring Werewolf by Night and the Living Mummy. I love that story, I love the Legion of Monsters, I love Chris Samnee and thus I really love this cover.

-Declan Shalvey's Deadpool cover is an example of how you can use simple shapes to make an impact. Also an example of why it's nice to have Jordie Bellaire coloring you.

-Great covers from Francesco Francavilla on Avengers Arena and Fantomex MAX this month, giving sci fi a pulp feel.

-That Fearless Defenders cover by Mark Brooks has been making me smile for weeks and I've never even seen Step Up.

-I said a couple months back that Indestructible Hulk cover artist Mukesh Singh is one to watch; I stand by that opinion.

-A book of faces, just faces, drawn by Frank Quitely would be gorgeous. Not that I don't mind when he draws other stuff mind you, but wow, look at those faces on Jupiter's Legacy.

-What's happening on that Prophet cover by Emma Rios? Intrigue smells comics.

-It took me a bit to figure out what Jim Lee cover Paulo Siqueira was paying homage to on Superior Foes of Spider-Man #4...and I'm still not sure. Shocker is Cyclops from some X-Men image, right? Gah. Help me.

100 BULLETS: BROTHER LONO #5 by Dave Johnson

ANIMAL MAN #24 by Rafael Albuquerque

AQUAMAN #24 by Paul Pelletier

AVENGERS #21 by Leinil Yu

AVENGERS ARENA #16 by Francesco Francavilla

BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT #24 by Alex Maleev

BATWING #24 by Darwyn Cooke

BATWOMAN #24 by J.H. Williams III

BLOODHOUND: CROWBAR MEDICINE #1 by Cully Hamner

CABLE & X-FORCE #15 by Salvador Larroca

DAMIAN: SON OF BATMAN #1 by Andy Kubert

DAREDEVIL #32 by Chris Samnee

DEADPOOL #18 by Declan Shalvey

FANTOMEX MAX #1 by Francesco Francavilla

FEARLESS DEFENDERS #10 by Mark Brooks

GREEN ARROW #24 by Andrea Sorrentino

INDESTRUCTIBLE HULK #14 by Mukesh Singh

INFINITY #4 by Ryan Stegman

JUPITER'S LEGACY #4 by Frank Quitely

MARVEL NOW WHAT?! #1 by Skottie Young

NEW AVENGERS #11 by Mike Deodato

PROPHET #42 by Emma Rios

S.H.O.O.T. FIRST #1 by Nicolas Daniel Selma

SUPERGIRL #24 by Mahmud Asrar

SUPERIOR FOES OF SPIDER-MAN #4 by Paulo Siqueira

SUPERIOR SPIDER-MAN #19 by Ryan Stegman

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #32 by Gabriel Hardman

VELVET #1 by Steve Epting

X #6 by Eric Nguyen

X-MEN LEGACY #18 by Mike Del Mundo

Art Attack: October 2011's Coolest Covers

Ah, what better way to push past the post Comic-Con hangover than with some sweet covers for Halloween time...

-Travel Foreman's Animal Man covers are super unsettling. That's a good thing because I notice them.

-More "retro" Black Panther covers from Francesco Francavilla please!

-Four months, still not a bad Daredevil cover.

-Ryan Sook's cover for DC Comics Presents #2 captures the essence of what I see Deadman as being about as a character and strip if that makes sense.

-Simon Bisley is such a strange choice for Deathstroke cover artist--I dig it.

-Hot skullhead-on-skullhead action by Adam Kubert on the cover to Ghost Rider #4! HOT!

-I love the way Doug Mahnke draws Sinestro Corps members, especially the double header dude.

-More Juan Doe: Always a good thing.

-By virtue of that Black Panther cover and his Pigs image, I decree Francesco Francavilla my cover artist of the month (David Aja in close second).

-Is Erik Larsen's Bin Laden cover for Savage Dragon controversial? I don't know, but it got my attention.

-Lovely to see Tony Harris drawing The Shade again.

-The cover to Spider-Island: Cloak & Dagger #3 is trippy. The way Emma Rios' mind works fascinates me.

-Perhaps putting the 20th Anniversary Edition of X-Men #1's cover on here is a cheat, but Thomas Mason's re-coloring job is that good.

ANIMAL MAN #2 by Travel Foreman

AQUAMAN #2 by Ivan Reis

BATMAN AND ROBIN #2 by Patrick Gleason

BLACK PANTHER: THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE #524 by Francesco Francavilla

BLUE ESTATE #6 by Viktor Kalvachev

BOMB QUEEN VII: QUEEN'S WORLD #3 by Jimmie Robinson

CHEW #23 by Rob Guillory

DAREDEVIL #5 by Marcos Martin

DC COMICS PRESENTS #2 by Ryan Sook

DEATHSTROKE #2 by Simon Bisley

DETECTIVE COMICS #2 by Tony Daniel

THE FLASH #2 by Francis Manapul

GENERATION HOPE #12 by Rodin Escuejo

GHOST RIDER #4 by Adam Kubert

GREEN LANTERN #2 by Doug Mahnke

JOHN CARTER: WORLD OF MARS #1 by Esad Ribic

JOURNEY OF MYSTERY #629 by Stephanie Hans

LEGION OF MONSTERS #1 by Juan Doe

MISTER TERRIFIC #2 by J.G. Jones

PIGS #2 by Francesco Francavilla

RED SKULL #4 by David Aja

THE RED WING #4 by Nick Pitarra

SAVAGE DRAGON #177 by Erik Larsen

SECRET AVENGERS #18 by David Aja

THE SHADE #1 by Tony Harris

S.H.I.E.L.D. #3 by Gerard Parel

SPIDER-ISLAND: CLOAK & DAGGER #3 by Emma Rios

THUNDERBOLTS #164 by Joe Quinones

ULTIMATE COMICS HAWKEYE #3 by Kaare Andrews

THE UNEXPECTED #1 cover by Rafael Grampa

VENGEANCE #4 cover by Gabrielle Dell'Otto

X-FACTOR #226 by David Yardin

X-MEN 20TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION #1 by Jim Lee & Thomas Mason

X-MEN LEGACY #257 by Mico Suayan

X-MEN: REGENESIS #1 by Morry Hollowell