BOOK: DC COMICS COVER ART: 350 of the Greatest Covers in DC’s History
WRITTEN BY: Nick Jones
INTRODUCTION BY: Steve Korte
PUBLISHED BY: DK/Penguin Random House
I have owned books on comic book cover art but now we have “DC COMICS COVER ART” featuring 350 of the greatest covers in DC’s history from DK/Penguin Random House.
As a fan of DC Comic Books, there have been many titles with amazing artwork. Memorable artwork for decades and as a collector, many titles which I have enjoyed and are still prized titles in my collection.
But as a long time DC fan, I was quite pleased to see how much the artwork has evolved from the the Golden Age (1936-1956), Silver Age (1956-1970), Bronze Age (1970-1986), the Steel Age (1986-2010) and the Modern Age (2011- Present).
The book is broken up into those chapters featuring the various ages and key artists from that era.
It’s one thing to see the covers of Bob Kane, Joe Shuster, Fred Ray, Steve Ditko,Carmen Infantino and seeing how styles evolved with the artwork of Neal Adams, Dick Giordano, Joe Kubert, Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, George Perez and then to Alex Ross, Matt Wagner, John Byrne, Dan Jurgens,Jim Lee and Adam Hughes.
And then of course, leading to the amazing work of today and seeing how artwork as evolved, especially when international artists were brought in and seeing Asian influences in the artwork. And the level of color shading and how much artwork looks painted and magnificent.
For me, it’s the cover art that makes you gravitate to a comic book but it’s the storyline that wins you over. Back then, a cover represented a story that you were about to read. Nowadays, there are like half a dozen to a dozen covers that may or not pertain to the story and it’s attracting those who are art collectors or those who find value with variant covers.
But nevertheless, I feel that the cover selections are on point. There are many comic book covers that come to mind that are featured in this book and some that aren’t which is understandable, which makes me hope there would be a volume 2 and a volume 3 because I would be interested in it.
Aside from the classics from the Golden Age titles, those that are in it such as the following titles that I grew up reading such as “Green Lantern” #85, “Superman” #300, “Superman vs. Muhammad Ali”, “Batman and the Outsiders” issue #1, “Tales of the Teen Titans” issue #44, “Crisis on Infinite Earths” #7, “Batman” #428, “Batman” #497, “Superman” #75, “Wonder Woman #1” to name a few.
But overall, for those who love the comic book cover art from DC Comics from past to present, definitely give “DC COMICS COVER ART: 350 of the Greatest Covers in DC’s History”!