Comments on: The Top 75 Most Iconic Covers in DC History – Day 7

By: JoeMac

JoeMac — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:04:08 +0000

Are TPBs, like the Killing Joke, fair game? Do they have to be original stories, or can they be collections? Could the cover of The Death of Superman TPB be a contender, for example?

By: Matt D

Matt D — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:22:50 +0000

I’m not sure about that Sandman cover. 95% of the people who have read that comic read it in trades and never even saw that cover except for maybe as a blur between turning pages.

By: Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 01:58:50 +0000

As others have said: great series, great McKean covers, but “iconic” doesn’t really capture it.

JLA #9 is famous and memorable, but again, not at the Starro level, and really memorable just because it’s a milestone story.

The other two are top 50 for sure, and maybe top 20.

By: DanLarkin

DanLarkin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:39:48 +0000

I love 2 and 3, reluctantly concede the iconic status of 4, and not so sure about 1. McKean’s Sandman covers have never done much for me. Great series, but I the covers don’t resonnate with me. I suppose it would be odd for Sandman not to be represented on this list, and that cover’s okay enough, I guess. I hope we get to see one of Bolland’s Invisibles covers make the cut. Volume 2, #1, maybe?

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:01:42 +0000

No Action #1 yet!

By: Rob Schmidt

Rob Schmidt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:47 +0000

P.S. ACTION #1 appeared in Day 1 of this project, dhole.

By: Rob Schmidt

Rob Schmidt — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:58:59 +0000

I agree with Dan K. and the others: 2 and 4 definitely. 1 and 3 not so much.

By: dhole

dhole — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:46:21 +0000

I agree with Omar in that Sandman (and maybe Dave Mckean in general) has some beautiful covers, but not really iconic. They all have a vague, indefinable quality that makes them nearly impossible to describe, as opposed to a stark image like Superman hefting a car (we haven’t seen that yet, have we?).

Having said that, I guess the Death cover is probably the best Sandman candidate in that you can actually identify who is on the cover, but I still doubt this will rank very high.

2 and 4, on the other hand, are perfect.

By: Mason King

Mason King — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 18:32:30 +0000

Hands down, Flash #174. When all is said and done, I bet we’ll see more Infantino covers than any other artist. (Well, we haven’t seen the barrage of Adams covers yet, but still.) His stuff just leapt off the page, and his use of the title logo in the cover concept broke ground in a big way (okay, in mainstream newsstand work, at least; Eisner was all over it in the 40s). His covers scream “iconic.” I’m sure well see that Batman/Blockbuster cover soon. All of these are great, though. Bolland may be the best cover artist of the last 25 years.

By: stealthwise

stealthwise — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:42:31 +0000

Killing Joke, yes, I can’t help but think that the others will get left in the dust.

By: sgt rawk

sgt rawk — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:54:02 +0000

Killing Joke, yes.

By: NInjazilla

NInjazilla — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:28:01 +0000

4 is a top ten cover

By: chad

chad — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:09:56 +0000

hard choice even though ever time i see the killing joke it reminds me how evil the joker truely is . so had to go with sandman for the cover is so dark like ink was spilled. or maybe the artist used a real photo for it.

By: Mike Blake

Mike Blake — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 04:34:30 +0000

That’s not the Starro cover (that story was in The Brave and the Bold#28), but the Appellax meteors story, the JLA origin that didn’t appear until issue 9 of their own title.

There’s something to be said for most of these, but I’ve got to go with The Killing Joke

By: Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy!

Omar Karindu, with the power of SUPER-hypocrisy! — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:22:23 +0000

Sandman to me doesn’t really have iconic covers, just an iconic sense of cover design with no particular ones standing out. (It drives me nuts buying back issues, in fact, because all the covers share the same look and the numbering is often nearly-illegible due to the color combinations.)

By: Namor

Namor — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:11:28 +0000

Number 4, definitely.

By: Greg Geren

Greg Geren — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:56:28 +0000

Gotta pick the Flash or Justice League. The Killing Joke cover is a great cover, but not what I see as iconic. Don’t get Sandman. Never have seen the appeal. That cover does nothing to change my opinion.

By: Eric

Eric — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:45:14 +0000

I don’t think that Sandman cover is even the most iconic cover of DC’s Death.

By: Tom Fitzpatrick

Tom Fitzpatrick — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:17:10 +0000

I’d go with covers 1 and 4.

Absolutely gorgeous cover of Death on the Sandman by Dave McKean.

You can’t almost beat a “Bolland” cover of the Joker.

By: Dave

Dave — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:43:37 +0000

I actually have 2. I’m going with #4, though