My Favorite Covers of the Week...  

Here are my favorite 5 covers from this week. I have picked them based upon a few factors. Each factor is worth 5 points and the points are totaled to give the cover a rating Some of those factors are:

Style - Is it unique and something new or just classic and clean.
Pop - How much does it pop out to the readers eyes when it's sitting on the shelf.

So without further ado here are the top 5:

5. Green Lantern Corps #34 (Cover By Patrick Gleason)

• Style - It's gritty as all hell that is for sure. Love seeing Arkillo is still missing his finger. Very brutal very well done. Nothing to unique though. 3/5
• Pop - It definitely jumps out to you and says hey look at me some shit is going on here that you really should see. It is an action cover that draws the eye. 4/5
• Relevance - The cover features a great fight from the issue. It portrays the viciousness of that battle and does not lead the reader astray from what to expect inside. 5/5
• Iconic Value - While it is a great cover it does not have the lasting ability to be remembered as one of the greats. In the end it is just another fight cover despite its great quality. 0/5
• SPRI Total 12/20

4. Ghost Rider #33 (Cover By Arthur Suydam)

• Style - Nice dark style for the cover. The Caretaker appears very haunting and focused. Classic Suydam work. 4/5
• Pop - It definitely stands out to the reader but it isn't bright and flashy so it wont draw all the eyes. It will be appreciated by those who like Suydam's art though as it is one of his recent best. 3/5
• Relevance - Great static pose with the main character of the issue. Does not tell us a lot of what happens inside but it lets us know that the main character is Caretaker. 3/5
• Iconic Value - It all depends on how the character of the Caretaker evolves and whether or not she becomes a larger part of the Marvel tapestry. As it stands now though it is the most iconic of her. 3/5
• SPRI Total 13/20

3. Astonishing Tales #2 (Cover By Kenneth Rocafort)

• Style - This is a unique style that I really enjoy. It takes the sketchiness of Lenil Yu and makes it a tad cleaner but keeps the grit. The way the characters are posed really makes for a great layout. 4/5
• Pop - It doesn't really pop out all that much. It has the Punisher and Wolverine though which will surely draw readers eyes to it. Interestingly and too its credit instead of having Wolverine (Marvel's cash cow) front and center they use the Punisher. 3/5
• Relevance - This is a hard one to rate based on the fact that it is an anthology. It really is only relevant to one story in the whole thing. This sadly hurts it's overall rating. 3/5
• Iconic Value - It has some iconic value for sure. It is a great static image. It has two great Marvel characters that everyone loves to see together. Will be people remember this always? Probably not. Will people remember it when they see it? Most certainly. 3/5
• SPRI Total 13/20 Despite the tie with Ghost Rider I gave this the nod for the 3rd spot because I prefer it over the other just barely.
  

2. Batman: Battle For The Cowl #1 (Cover By Tony Daniels)

• Style - I really like the cover it is Daniels style but definitely feels as though it is playing off Jim Lee's Hush covers a bit. This time though Nightwing is at the forefront of the Bat troops. Nothing to unique here though very mainstream. 3/5
• Pop - It stands out in that it has a lot of Bat characters that we all love. Nightwing standing in the foreground with everyone behind him really stands out and makes him look like A-List character he is and should be treated as. 5/5
• Relevance - It really isn't a moment from the comic but it sets the tone for what we are bound to see which is a lot of characters from the Batman titles as we get a new status quo. So in that regard it has relevance but nothing that can be literally taken from the interior. 4/5
• Iconic Value - High iconic value here. This is Nightwing as he presumably gets ready to take up the mantle of Batman. This is the beginning of what many assume is Nightwing running the show and these supporting characters falling in behind him. Add the riff on Lee's Hush cover and this is a great iconic Dick Grayson. 5/5
• SPRI Total 17/20

1. Action Comics #875 (Cover By Andrew Robinson)

• Style - This one has some great painted style. Love the colors and the figure placement. Overall this one comes across as very unique compared to the others that I got this week. 5/5
• Pop - I think the blue and red colors used in this cover really give everything a great sense of pop. It grabs you and makes you look it all over. It is another one that grabs you and makes you want to thumb through it. 5/5
• Relevance - It is the beginning of an arc that puts Flamebird and Nightwing as the new protagonists of the title so it does a good job of placing them in the front with the evils they face in the back. Not a literal scene from the title but still quite relevant. 4/5
• Iconic Value - It has a very iconic feel but really doesn't accomplish much but looking very cool. It will be remembered as a cool cover but not one of the coolest of all time I think. 3/5
• SPRI Total 17/20 Again despite a tie with Battle for the Cowl I gave this one the edge because it seemed more unique and different. Something about it I really enjoy and stayed with me as I read my books this week.

So there you have it my favorite covers this week. Stay tuned next week as we do it all over again. Then at the end of the month I will take the top covers from each week and crown a best cover of the month. Then again at the end of the year as we do cover of the year.