Our Favorite Comic Book Covers (A Classic Comics Christmas '08)

[Cei-U!]

At long, long last, here are the final results of this year’s Twelve Days event. I would’ve had this up much sooner but I had a commitment to Roy Thomas that had to take priority. So now that Infinity, Inc is all indexed, what say we delve into some stats:

24 participants cast 288 votes for 272 covers.

As those numbers imply, there was very little duplication. Four books received three votes each: Avengers #57, Love & Rockets #24, Star-Spangled War Stories #138 and Superman #14. 16 covers received two votes: Amazing Spider-Man #28, Animal Comics #17, Avengers #181, Batman #244 and 291, Detective #31, Doom Patrol #94, Fantastic Four #48, Jann of the Jungle #16, Kamandi #1, New Gods #7, Nick Fury #4, Spirit section 10/6/46, Sub-Mariner #57, Super DC Giant #S-21 and Transformers #5,

The most popular artists* were Jack Kirby (18 votes, with Mike Royer and Joe Sinnott the most cited inkers), Neal Adams (16), Steve Ditko (13) and Gil Kane (9).

8 votes: Nick Cardy, Joe Kubert, John Romita, Sr.
7 votes: Jim Aparo, Carmine Infantino, George Perez, Curt Swan
6 votes: John Buscema, Jim Steranko
5 votes Bill Everett, Mike Kaluta
4 votes: Carl Barks, Bob Brown, Russ Heath, Jaime Hernandez, Walt Kelly, Fred Ray, Barry Smith
3 votes: John Byrne, Gene Colan, Jack Davis, Will Eisner, Frank Frazetta, Bob Kane, Steve Rude, Mike Sekowsky, Walt Simonson, Jim Starlin, Berni Wrightson
2 votes: Ross Andru, Armentaro, Dick Ayers, Brian Bolland, Ernie Chan, Howard Chaykin, Johnny Craig, Dave Gibbons, Don Newton, Mac Raboy, Dave Sim, Frank Springer, Joe Staton, Dave Stevens
1 vote: Murphy Anderson, Sergio Aragones, Steve Bisette, Pat Boyette, Rich Buckler, Jack Burnley, Sal Buscema, Joe Chiodo, Dave Cockrum, L. B. Cole, Vince Colletta, Tony DeZuniga, Luis Dominguez, William Ekgren, George Evans, Lou Fine,Creig Flessel, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Keith Giffen, Mike Golden, Chester Gould, Jerry Grandenetti, Mike Grell, Paul Gulacy,Bob Hall, Al Hartley, Hal Hartman, Wayne Howard, Greg Irons, Jeff Jones, Bernard Krigstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Bob Larkin, Bob Layton, Larry Marder, David Mazzuchelli, Scott McCloud, Mike Mignola, Win Mortimer, Bob Oksner, Jerry Ordway, Tom Palmer, Richard Powers, Marshall Rogers, John Romita Jr., Arn Saba, Bernard Sachs, Norman Saunders,Alex Schomburg, Gilbert Shelton, Joe Shuster, Bill Sinkiewicz, Dan Spiegle, Frank Thorne, Herb Trimpe, George Tuska, Charles Vess, Ogden Whitney, George Wilson, S. Clay Wilson, Wally Wood, Mike Zeck

18 painted covers were cited and three with photo covers. Credits are unknown for three of the selected covers.

* For conveniences’ sake, I’m only counting pencillers on covers that feature multiple credits.

The titles most often cited were Batman (15 votes), Avengers (12), Amazing Spider-Man (11) and Superman (7).

6 votes: Fantastic Four, Showcase, Star Spangled War Stories
5 votes: Four Color, Justice League of America, Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD
4 votes: Adventure, Detective, Flash, Love & Rockets, New Gods, The Shadow, Thor, World’s Finest, X-Men
3 votes: Action, Captain America, Green Lantern, House of Mystery, Kamandi, Spirit section, Sub-Mariner, Tomahawk
2 votes: Animal Comics, Aquaman, The Atom, Brave and the Bold, Conan the Barbarian, Creepy, Daredevil, DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular, Doom Patrol, Iron Man, Jann of the Jungle, Mister Miracle, Nexus, Phantom Stranger, Piracy, Secret Hearts, Sgt. Fury, Shade the Changing Man, Silver Surfer, Spider-Woman, Super DC Giant, Superboy, Swamp Thing, Tarzan, Teen Titans, Transformers, Vault of Horror, Watchmen, Weird Science […-Fantasy]
1 vote: Too many to type!

The vast majority of comics cited were your standard comic book of 32 to 100 pages. 8 magazines got votes, 3 “treasury” format books, 3 newspaper inserts and one trade paperback.

Far and away the most popular publisher at 140 votes was DC, with Marvel a distant second at 84 votes. Dell, at 10 votes, just edged out EC (9) for the bronze.

5 votes: Charlton, Gold Key
4 votes: Fantagraphics, First
3 votes: Aardvark-Vanaheim, Register & Tribune Syndicate
2 votes: Eclipse, Fawcett, Warren
1 vote: ACG, Americomics, Aviation Press, Bazaar, Beanworld Press, Comico, Dynamic, Eagle, Eastern Color, Last Gasp, Pacific, Quality, Revell, Rip-Off Press, Sig Feuctwanger (!), St. John, Ziff-Davis

When it came to genre, it wasn’t even close: Super-Heroes predominated with 193 votes. The four closest contenders were Horror (19 votes), War (15), Sci-Fi (13) and Funny Animal (11).

6 votes: Humor, Romance, Sword and Sorcery, Western
5 votes: Crime and Mystery, Historical Adventure
1 vote: Religion

and 4 votes for whatever Love & Rockets is!

To be continued…

[Lone Ranger]

Kurt

This is awesome! You rock!

I'll have something more intelligent to contribute later.

[Cei-U!]

Here are the ballots cast:

Aaron King

12. Nexus #25 (Rude)
11. Astonishing Tales #21 (G. Kane/Esposito)
10. Mister Miracle Special #1 (Rude)
9. Tarzan #210 (Kubert)
8. Thor #356 (Layton)
7. Kamandi #23 (Kirby/Royer)
6. Sinister House of Secret Love #2 (DeZuniga)
5. Doom Patrol #94 (Brown)
4. Watchmen #2 (Gibbons)
3. Shade the Changing Man #4 (Ditko)
2. Tales of the Beanworld #2 (Marder)
1. Midnight Tales #17 (Howard)

benday-dot

12. Adventure Comics #40 (Flessel)
11. Contact Comics #12 (L. B. Cole)
10. Jann of the Jungle #16 (Everett)
9. Falling in Love #126 (Colletta et al)
8. Strange Adventures #110 (Kane/Adler)
7. Aquaman #39 (Cardy)
6. Star-Spangled War Stories #99 (Grandenetti)
5. Super DC Giant #S-21 (Armentaro)
4. Unusual Tales #10 (Ditko)
3. Flash #186 (Andru/Esposito)
2. Sub-Mariner #57 (Everett)
1. New Gods #1 (Kirby/Heck)

Cei-U!

12. The Cross and the Switchblade #1 (Hartley)
11. Two-Fisted Tales #30 (Davis)
10. Four Color #159 (Barks)
9. Nexus #27 (Rude)
8. Jonny Quest #5 (Stevens)
7. Boy Commandos #2 (Simon & Kirby)
6. Amazing Spider-Man #70 (Romita Sr.)
5. Phantom Stranger #21 (Aparo)
4. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #6 (Steranko)
3. Superman #14 (Ray) and Adventures of Superman #424 (Ordway)
2. Animal Comics #17 (Kelly)
1. Neil the Horse #5 (Saba)

Cherokee Jack

12. Batman Annual #3 (Moldoff, Schwarz, Sprang, et al)
11. Sgt. Fury #60 (Ayers/J. Severin)
10. Secret Hearts #59 (Sachs)
9. Black Diamond #2 (Gulacy)
8. Sea Devils #10 (Heath)
7. Four Color #50 (Kelly)
6. Weird Horrors #7 (Ekgren)
5. Batman #232 (Adams)
4. The Shadow #2 (Kaluta)
3. Challengers of the Unknown #11 (Brown/Adler)
2. Nathaniel Dusk II #1 (Colan)
1. Detective Comics #31 (B. Kane)

Chris Nowlin

12. Avengers #177 (Cockrum/Austin)
11. The One #4 (credit unknown)
10. Warlock #11 (Starlin)
9. Transformers #5
8. Watchmen #11 (Gibbons)
7. Swamp Thing #34 (Bisette/Totleben)
6. Fantastic Four #268 (photo)
5. Silver Surfer #4 (J. Buscema/S. Buscema)
4. Amazing Spider-Man #33 (Ditko)
3. Avengers #181 (Perez/Austin)
2. Avengers #57 (J. Buscema/Klein)
1. Amazing Spider-Man #50 (Romita Sr.)

dan bailey

12. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #11 (Springer/Smith)
11. Action Comics #252 (Swan/Kaye)
10. Avengers #161 (Pérez/Marcos)
9. Sgt. Fury #69 (Ayers/Severin)
8. Batman #188 (Infantino/Giella)
7. Amazing Spider-Man #25 (Ditko)
6. Captain America #11 (Steranko)
5. Teen Titans #14 (Cardy)
4. Incredible Hulk #109 (Trimpe/Severin)
3. G. I. Combat #130 (Heath)
2. Fantastic Four #48 (Kirby/Sinnott)
1. Star Spangled War Stories #138 (Kubert)

foxley

12. Justice League of America #81 (Adams)
11. Batman #291 (Aparo)
10. Airboy #5 (Stevens)
9. Jon Sable, Freelance #3 (Grell)
8. Marvel Feature #4 (Thorne)
7. Weird Science-Fantasy #29 (Frazetta)
6. Superman #14 (Ray)
5. Conan the Barbarian #24 (Smith)
4. Showcase #76 (Cardy)
3. Showcase #61 (Anderson)
2. Batman #244 (Adams)
1. Crisis On Infinite Earths #7 (Perez)

icctrombone

12. World’s Finest Comics #155 (Swan/Klein)
11. Superman #194 (Swan/Klein)
10. Strange Tales #178 (Starlin)
9. Fantastic Four #131 (Steranko/Sinnott)
8. World’s Finest Comics #198 (Swan/Anderson)
7. Green Lantern #85 (Adams)
6. Tales of Suspense #79 (Colan/Abel)
5. All-New Collectors Edition #C-50 (Adams)
4. Kamandi #1 (Kirby/Royer)
3. Thor #126 (Kirby/Colletta)
2. Green Lantern #89 (Adams)
1. Avengers Special #2 (J. Buscema/Giacoia)

InfoBroker

12. Marvel Treasury Edition #4 (Smith)
11. Zot! #32 (McCloud)
10. Groo #17 (Aragones)
9. Avengers #57 (J. Buscema/Klein)
8. House of Mystery #201 (Kaluta)
7. Avengers #97 (G. Kane/Everett)
6. DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #4 (Wrightson)
5. Beware the Creeper #1 (Ditko)
4. Action Comics #425 (Cardy)
3. Amazing Spider-Man #39 (Romita Sr.)
2. New Gods #7 (Kirby/Royer)
1. Fantastic Four #57 (Kirby/Sinnott)

Jessica Drew

12. The New Kroft Supershow #1 (photo)
11. Scooby-Doo Mystery Comics #30 (Spiegle)
10. Weird War Tales #89 (Starlin)
9. Flash #242 (Chan)
8. Avengers #181 (Pérez/Austin)
7. Secrets of Haunted House #5 (Wrightson)
6. Spider-Woman #6 (Infantino/Leialoha)
5. Thor #264 (Simonson/Sinnott)
4. X-Men #137 (Byrne/Austin)
3. Superman Vs the Amazing Spider-Man (Andru/Giordano)
2. Batman #291 (Aparo)
1. Showcase #94 (Aparo)

JKCarrier

12. American Flagg! #5 (Chaykin)
11. Batman #224 (Adams)
10. Captain America #106 (Kirby/Giacoia)
9. Judge Dredd #7 (Bolland)
8. Love & Rockets #24 (J. Hernandez)
7. Amazing Spider-Man #28 (Ditko)
6. Thor #337 (Simonson)
5. Cerebus #101 (Sim/Gerhard)
4. Spirit Section 10/6/46 (Eisner)
3. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #4 (Steranko)
2. Aquaman #52 (Cardy)
1. Superman #14 (Ray)

Lone Ranger

12. Mr. District Attorney #3 (Mortimer)
11. Atom #17 (Kane/Anderson)
10. Confessions of the Lovelorn #52 (Whitney)
9. Amazing Spider-Man #29 (Ditko)
8. Crime Clinic #11 (Saunders)
7. Daredevil #43 (Kirby/Sinnott)
6. Jann of the Jungle #16 (Everett)
5. Justice League of America #142 (Buckler/Abel)
4. Lone Ranger #106 (Hartman)
3. House of Mystery #277 (Ditko)
2. Piracy #6 (Krigstein)
1. Spotlight Comics #1 (Tuska)

To be continued…

[Cei-U!]

MDG

12. 2 (Wilson)
11. Justice League of America #47 (Sekowsky/Giella)
10. Ghost Stories #17 (Springer)
9. Love & Rockets #24 (J. Hernandez)
8. Vault of Horror #30 (Craig)
7. Skull #6 (Irons)
6. Showcase #75 (Ditko)
5. Creepy #3 (Frazetta)
4. Brave and the Bold #72 (Infantino/Anderson)
3. Spirit section 3/24/46 (Eisner)
2. Creepy #1 (Davis)
1. Panic #12 (Davis)

MWGallagher

12. Superboy #178 (Adams)
11. Flash #139 (Cardy)
10. Marvel Mystery Comics #36 (Schomburg)
9. Planet of the Apes #1 (Larkin)
8. Shadows From Beyond #50 (Ditko)
7. Atom & Hawkman #44 (Kubert)
6. Adventure Comics #440 (Aparo)
5. Sub-Mariner #55 (Everett)
4. Swamp Thing #1 (Wrightson)
3. Mister Miracle #1 (Kirby/Colletta)
2. Shadow #1 (Kaluta)
1. Phantom Stranger #22 (Aparo)

Polar Bear

12. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #7 (Steranko)
11. World’s Finest Comics #142 (Swan/Klein)
10. Four Color #223 (Barks)
9. Micronauts #7 (Golden)
8. Spider-Woiman #50 (photo)
7. X-Men #141 (Byrne/Austin)
6. Shade the Changing Man #2 (Ditko)
5. Avengers #221 (Hall/Breeding)
4. The Shadow #4 (Sinkiewicz)
3. Justice League of America #10 (Sekowsky/Anderson)
2. Web of Spider-Man #1 (Vess)
1. Superman #298 (Oksner)

prince hal

12. Adventure Comics #312 (Swan/Klein)
11. Amazing Spider-Man #28 (Ditko)
10. Bat Lash #2 (Cardy)
9. Batman #175 (Infantino/Giella)
8. Fantastic Four Annual #3 (Kirby/Esposito)
7. Mystery in Space #86 (Infantino/Anderson)
6. Atom #36 (G. Kane)
5. Showcase #72 (Heath)
4. Justice League of America #31 (Sekowsky/Anderson)
3. Superman #183 [80-Page Giant #G-18] (Swan/Klein)
2. All-American Men of War #94 (Heath)
1. Blackhawk #242 (Boyette)

Red Oak Kid

12. Haunted #12 (Staton)
11. Captain Marvel Jr. #4 (Raboy)
10. Tarzan #160 (George Wilson)
9. Conan the Barbarian #19 (Smith)
8. Adventure Comics #425 (Kaluta)
7. Pogo Possum #3 (Kelly)
6. Mighty Marvel Western #44 (G. Kane)
5. Batman #194 (Infantino/Anderson)
4. Superman #243 (Adams)
3. Batman #244 (Adams)
2. New Gods #7 (Kirby/Royer)
1. Famous Funnies #214 (Frazetta)

shaxper

12. Superboy #163 (Adams)
11. Magnus, Robot Fighter #1 (credit unknown)
10. Silver Surfer #1 (J. Buscema/Sinnott)
9. Showcase #22 (G. Kane/Giella)
8. Cerebus: High Society TPB (Sim/Gerhard)
7. House of Mystery #181 (Adams)
6. Teen Titans #41 (Cardy)
5. Four Color #189 (Barks)
4. New Totans #60 (Pérez)
3. Fantastic Four #48 (Kirby/Sinnott)
2. Batman #9 (Burnley) and Batman #47 (B. Kane/Paris)
1. Batman #426-49 (Mignola)

Slam Bradley

12. Weird Science #12 (Wood)
11. Shadow #12 (Kaluta)
10. Amazing Spider-Man #77 (Romita Sr.)
9. Detective Comics #471 (Rogers/Austin)
8. Metal Men #48 (Simonson)
7. Animal Comics #17 (Kelly)
6. World’s Finest Comics #235 (Chan/Calnan)
5. Brave and the Bold #197 (Aparo)
4. Star Spangled War Stories #138 (Kubert)
3. Batman #237 (Adams)
2. Detective Comics #31 (B. Kane)
1. Phantom #71 (Newton)

spoon jenkins

12. Tales of the New Teen Titans #45 (Pérez)
11. Doom Patrol #94 (Brown)
10. Batman #374 (Newton/Giordano)
9. X-Men #139 (Byrne/Austin)
8. Cinder and Ashe #1 (Garcia-Lopez)
7. Captain America #286 (Zeck/Beatty)
6. Legion of Super-Heroes #4 (Giffen/Mahlstedt)
5. Green Lantern #196 (Chaykin)
4. Transformers #5 (credit unknown)
3. Marvel Team-Up #150 (Smith)
2. Green Lantern Corps #213 (Staton/Patterson)
1. Uncanny X-Men #181 (Romita Jr.)

T Guy

12. Master Comics #32 (Raboy)
11. Secret Hearts #112 (Colan)
10. New Gods #9 (Kirby/Royer)
9. Avengers #116 (Romita Sr.)
8. Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1 (Jones)
7. Amazing Adventure #18 (Romita Sr.)
6. Our Army at War #220 (Kubert)
5. Doctor Solar #2 (Powers)
4. Super DC Giant #S-21 (Armentaro)
3. Star Spangled War Stories #158 (Kubert)
2. Star Spangled War Stories #138 (Kubert)
1. Star Spangled War Stories #139 (Kubert)

TheConfessor

12. Piracy #7 (Evans)
11. Dick Tracy Popped Wheat Giveaway (Gould)
10. Detective Comics #405 (Adams)
9. Vault of Horror #19 (Craig)
8. Spectacular Spider-Man #2 (Romita Sr.)
7. Daredevil #216 (Mazzuchelli)
6. Three-Dimensional Alien Worlds #1 (Chiodo)
5. Star Wars #81 (Palmer)
4. Weird Western Tales #20 (Dominguez)
3. Action Comics #1 (Shuster)
2. Marvel Tales #58 (Romita Sr.)
1. Amazing Spider-Man #144 (G. Kane/Romita Sr.)

Tony Bang

12. Freak Brothers #1 (Shelton)
11. Animal Man #5 (Bolland)
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey #1 (Kirby/Giacoia)
9. Frontline Combat #5 (Kurtzman)
8. Love & Rockets #2 (J. Hernandez)
7. Flash #163 (Infantino/Giella)
6. Four Color #408 (Barks)
5. Spirit Section 10/6/46 (Eisner)
4. Amazing Spider-Man #24 (Ditko)
3. OMAC #5 (Kirby/Berry?)
2. Love & Rockets #24 (J. Hernandez)
1. Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #4 (Steranko)

zilch

12. Iron Man #1 (Colan/Esposito)
11. Iron Man #46 (G. Kane/Reese)
10. Sub-Mariner #57 (Everett)
9. Kamandi #1 (Kirby/Royer)
8. Hit Comics #1 (Fine)
7. Tomahawk #116 (Adams)
6. Avengers #71 (S. Buscema/Grainger)
5. Avengers #57 (J. Buscema/Klein)
4. Tomahawk #115 (Brown)
3. Tomahawk #30 (Ray)
2. Who’s Who #1 (Perez)
1. DC 100-Page Super-Spectacular #6 (Adams)

To be continued…

[Cei-U!]

What makes this all so much fun is, of course, the anecdotes and coversation that accompany our votes. Here are links to each day's thread:

Advance Warning
The First Day
The Second Day
The Third Day
The Fourth Day
The Fifth Day
The Sixth Day
The Seventh Day
The Eighth Day
The Ninth Day
The Tenth Day
The Eleventh Day
The Twelfth Day

Finally, I just wanna say that this has been, from my vantage point anyway, the most successful Twelve Days yet. The sheer diversity of taste on display is a wonderful testament to this great medium we all love and the class acts that each and every one of you are. The very best wishes for a happy, healthy 2009 to all my friends here at the Classic Comics.

Cei-U!
I'm taking a nap now!

[benday-dot]

Superb job Kurt.

The artistic "elite" we have collectively chosen here for these covers is kind of comforting and satisfying.

Kirby at number 1 (amen) and rounded out by Adams, Ditko, Kane, Kubert, Cardy and Romita Sr.

Kind of what we would expect, and further demonstrates the enduring hold these masters have had upon our enthusiasm and imagination for going on decades now.

The pseudo-surprise (though maybe not for others) and most pleasant thing to see in these results is that it appears Aparo, at least in our minds (and let's face it we are a pretty knowledgeable and committed group of fans around here), has firmly found himself placed as an exalted star in the Kirby/Ditko/Adams/Cardy/Kane etc.constellation.

PS. That DC outstripped Marvel does not surprise me at all. My collection is about 60% Marvel/ 30% DC and 10% Other.

And yet 8 of my 12 were from DC.
2 were Marvel
2 were Others.

Just shows that DC really did master the art fine art of cover composition to a degree that the competition for the most part couldn't quite manage.

[The Confessor]

Nice one Cei-U!

Some really interesting stats there, so thanks for taking the time to work them out for us. Thank you also for hosting/concocting another Classic Comics Christmas. This was only my second but just like last year, it was a hugely enjoyable exercise and something that provided a lot of enjoyment for me personally.

Roll on Classic Comics Christmas 2009!

[foxley]

Thanks Cei-U for another interesting 12 twelves Day of Christmas. It helped me to relax over what was a fairly stressful time due to family illness.

I'm still not convinced my list was entirely right. I keep coming across other covers now and thinking "Damn! Maybe that should have had a spot on my list."

Out of curiosity, into what genre did you place Jon sable, Freelance when compiling your stats?

[Cei-U!]

Out of curiosity, into what genre did you place Jon sable, Freelance when compiling your stats?

Crime and Mystery. Despite the "mask," Sable doesn't feel like a super-hero.

Cei-U!
I summon the best work of Iron Mike's career!

[foxley]

Crime and Mystery. Despite the "mask," Sable doesn't feel like a super-hero.

Cei-U!
I summon the best work of Iron Mike's career!

He definitely isn't. I wasn't sure if you'd gone Crime and Mystery or War. Crime and Mystery is probably the best fit.

[zilch]

On my Ninth day, Tomahawk #115 is by Bob Brown, not Adams. Hope this doesnt screw up your tallies any.

Great Work Kurt!!!

[Cei-U!]

On my Ninth day, Tomahawk #115 is by Bob Brown, not Adams. Hope this doesnt screw up your tallies any.

Not so much that I can't fix it... and it's fixed!

Cei-U!
We aims to please!

[Chris N]

Thanks again Cei-U!

This was wonderful as always and I look forward to next year.

However, you should be aware that you're just feeding my obsessive compulsive tendencies that drive me toward ranking/listmaking and feel guilty about being an enabler.

Meanwhile, I think I'll go rank my favourite rivalries...

[asanka000]

thanks a lot. it's really awsome but a long list