The cover art is the major selling point for a comic. It can make or break an issue, which is why so many artists go all out for that cover image. It can be hit or miss with an audience. Some covers resonate with their beauty or define a character. Then there are those that defy all logic and reasoning and burn an image into our brains. Today, let’s pay tribute to the strange, the odd, the way off the norm with these covers that demand your attention.
ACTION COMICS #454
You’ll notice that I went light on DC’s Golden and Silver Ages minus this issue. My logic behind that is they’re all so weird that it demands a list unto itself.
Oftentimes, the cover art had little to do with the story and was meant to reel in curious buyers. It was clickbait decades before the internet, and DC was the master of the weird and at times unsettling.
In all honesty, it’s hard not to want to crack open Action Comics #454 when you see Superman devouring hundreds (and maybe thousands) of burgers on the front cover.
It’s like watching those dermatologist “reality” shows; you know it’s going to be bad, but you can’t look away. The same can be said for basically all reality shows, I guess.
BILLY RAY CYRUS #1
Seriously, what is happening here? First of all, it’s a Billy Ray Cyrus comic book, and that’s an accomplishment not even Miley can boast.
Gen-Xers will remember Billy Ray from his fashionable mullet and Elvis impersonating with his only hit song, “Achy Breaky Heart.” The depths of his soul he reached to compose such lyrics as, “Or you can tell my lips/To tell my fingertips/They won’t be reaching out to you no more. But don’t tell my heart/My achy, breaky heart.”
I picture him sitting at a window, feather quill in hand, gazing at the setting sun for inspiration. According to the cover art for his comic, he fought knights in his spare time. What can’t he do?
ALF #48
There was no way I could put this list together without acknowledging one of the most infamous covers of modern collecting.
While the story itself is innocent, the action on the cover is questionable. Comic artists have a history of injecting a little inappropriate humor into otherwise unassuming titles.
The most notable of these is the bondage slipped into Golden Age Wonder Woman. Dave Manak upped the ante with Alf and whatever he is doing with that seal.
ICE CREAM MAN #20
Weird and odd comic covers don’t just mean comedy gold. In the case of Ice Cream Man, virtually every cover, standard or otherwise, is unnerving, which fits the mood of the title.
For anyone following the Ice Cream Man series, this comic has made a name for itself simply through its covers. The anthology horror title is one of the best on the market, and you owe it to yourself to read it. At the same time, these covers are so interesting and fun that it’s as addictive as ice cream itself.
In the four years of its current run, Ice Cream Man at times utilizes a mature children’s book appeal that is contradictory to its horror themes. Told in Dr. Seuss fashion, Maxwell Prince’s take on “Green Eggs and Ham” in Ice Cream Man #20 is all too perfect.
SO MUCH WEIRDNESS
There are so many weird, funny, or just unsettling comic covers to choose from. Did I miss your favorite? Drop an image in the comments.
