Best Cover artist - Who gets you to pick up the book?

[Scott Harris]

Although a fair few of my favourite cover artists have been listed in this thread already (Bolland, Ross, Steranko etc), I don't think I usually buy a comic just for the cover. I mean, yes, the cover is an important factor in making me want to pick up a book (especially back in the day, when I only had limited pocket money to spend on comics), but even the best cover in the world wouldn't have made me pick up a Thor comic (I had no interest in Thor as a kid and, truth be told, still don't really). So, yeah...I'm not really all that swayed by covers I suppose.

C'mon, you really don't want to read this?!

[MDG]

I'll pick up a book if the cover is intriguing (i.e., it looks like the insides might hold a good story), but I think the only time I bought a book so I could own the cover is this one (Bolland):

I tend to dislike covers where it looks like the characters are posing for a photographer. Some Gold and Silver Age covers like that are fun, but it happens too much. (Even things like COIE 7 seem "posed" instead of a natural illustration of an event.

Actually, I did pick up another book for the cover (again, Bolland and, like the other, in a 50-cent or dollar bin):

[hondobrode]

Get Lost !

I've never seen it, but yes, I'd buy that just for that cover. I love it !

I think Glenn Fabry with Vertigo has done tons of good covers.

[hondobrode]

Ernie Chua (Chan) did loads of covers that burned in my childhood mind, hypnotizing me.

A few of my favorites :

[hondobrode]

Another artist whose covers have sorely tempted me to buy the book is Jose Ladronn. His work is so awesome I'll probably hunt these issues down later mostly for these covers.

Gotta agree, that with the Internet it's really nice being able to see all these images.

The only issues of Cable I ever bought were because of Ladronn's awesome work. Casey's crazy stories were pretty good too, but without those two, I'm out again.

[JKCarrier]

Michael Golden got me to buy a lot of crappy comics back in the day...

[dupersuper]

I'm with him.

Thanks: what's the 1st pic? I can't see it.

[berk]

I'd have to say Steranko is probably the number one cover artist for me, although in fairness to other favourites like Kirby and Perez, they were so prolific there was a higher chance of average covers appearing now and then or even a few outright duds. For example, I don't think either the Avengers or the JLA covers immediately above are among Perez's better work.

Curiously, Steranko's painted covers for the paperback market were generally of a lower standard than his comics work: mostly pretty good and never less than competent, but nowhere near the proportion of exceptionally good work as in his comics covers, where even his lesser efforts were usually better than almost everyone else's best.

Another consistently outstanding cover artist is Frank Brunner.

[benday-dot]

Joe Kubert is the number one guy for me. A lot of the other top classic guys here have already been mentioned, especially Cardy, Kane, Steranko and Kirby.

Let me further add to the list of worthies... the incomparable Mike Kaluta.

Guys in the biz today that are of note... Darwyn Cooke, Marcos Martin, Dave Johnson, David Aja, Paolo Riviera and the superb Francesco Francavilla..

[berk]

other favourites:

Kaluta
Cardy
Murphy Anderson
Kirby
Perez
Gulacy
70s Starlin
Wrightson
Windsor-Smith
Marie Severin
...
if we're counting the b&w mags with their painted covers:
Frazetta
70s Vallejo
Sanjulian
Ken Kelly
... I think I might be forgetting a couple more of the Warren regulars ...


BTW, all these artists would get me to pick up a comic or magazine as in pickit up and look at it, but none of them would get me to buy the thing if the interior contents weren't up to snuff. I'd never buy a comic for the cover alone, no matter how great it was.

[hondobrode]

Michael Golden got me to buy a lot of crappy comics back in the day...

Love me some Defenders !

Yeah, gotta say I'm currently hunting any Golden I can find. His stuff is so excellent.

[hondobrode]

Paul Pope's stuff is so incredible, it's guaranteed every time.

His stuff is so Alex Toth-ish in a raw kind of manga-ish way.

[verslibre]

Joe Kubert is the number one guy for me.

Speaking of Joe, did you see the cover for tomorrow's Joe Kubert Presents #2? This kicked my ass today!

[pakehafulla]

Michael Golden got me to buy a lot of crappy comics back in the day...

Amen to that brother...

[zryson]

As a child I remember liking George Perez and Neal Adams etc but back then just having my fave superheroes on the cover was enough to make me buy them though some images seemed more iconic than others.