DC Comics Cover Art: 350 of the Greatest Covers in DC's History

by Nick Jones

"Story hook, tragic moment, poster, or outrageous character, the covers lured us in." - Paul Levitz, president of DC Comics 2002-2009From the trailblazing works of Bob Kane, to the photorealistic stylings of Adam Hughes and quirky humour of Amanda Conner, DC Comics Cover Art is a collection of the most iconic covers in DC's history. Stunning artwork is accompanied by expert commentary exploring the significance of each cover, while artist profiles shed light on their creators.Discover the most striking covers from more than 85 years of DC Comics.All DC characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s20)

Genres: Comics, Nonfiction, Art

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2020

About the author

Nick Jones is an author, editor and writer based in Lewes, East Sussex. In 2000, he moved into sci-fi and genre publishing, editing TV and movie tie-in titles (including Star Trek Magazine) and comics/toys collecting magazine Memorabilia, before taking charge of the graphic novels Dept. at Titan Books, where he edited Dan Dare, James Bond, Modesty Blaise, Wallace & Gromit, and DC Comics graphic novels. He is the author of DC Comics Cover Art and Guardians of the Galaxy: The Ultimate Guide; co-author of Marvel Universe: Map by Map, DC Comics Encyclopedia, and The Mysterious World of Doctor Strange. Currently, he is the editor of the DC Heroes & Villains Collection and Star Trek Explorer magazine.

He blogs at Existential Ennui.

Reviews

[Travis Duke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice collection of DC comic covers and the artists who created them. At first glance I didn't know what to make of the book but a quick look inside revealed a nice amount of knowledge.

Not only do you get artist BIO's and backstories but you get explanations on why they choose the covers and styles, its really cool insight into the mind of the artist. It also gives you some background on the stories themselves in the comics. A really cool way to learn more about DC and their artists over the years.

Totally worth checking out

[Alex A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of DC covers with interesting blurbs.
It suffers in the Modern Age - some of the chosen covers aren't what I'd consider visually stunning or iconic (Reeder's Supergirl #61? Bendis' Legion: Millenium?) and I think they could've found better examples of some artist's work.

[Stephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A subject like cover art is subjective.... but I will argue that the team who assembled this book got it as close to perfect as they could! While some covers missing (Batman #423), it can be overlooked by how right they got the list. How it is assembled through the different comic book periods and the write-up on the artists makes this a comic collectors MUST OWN!

The greatest covers from the following Comic Book Eras:
Golden Age: 1938-1956
Silver Age: 1956-1970
Bronze Age: 1970-1986
Steel Age: 1986-2010
Modern Age: 2010- Present

I believe you will cherish the era in which you were a child collecting more than the others, but you will appreciate and enjoy them all if you are a die-hard DC fan. I have found myself collecting a number of these books even before I read this, and the covers resonated with me and further gives testimony of how impactful they can be. Believe it or not the era I have the most sadness by omission of covers is the Steel Age. I felt there were a number of iconic covers that were overlooked and some included that just aren't as weighty. That said...the list is so impressive, and we all know you cannot please everyone. I felt that the write-ups make this not just a great book to read once, but all couple years go back to and reread from cover to cover. I know this may also be an unpopular opinion but I felt the chose the wrong Jim Lee and Greg Capullo covers in the modern era. They also missed some impactful J.G. Jones covers which have been homaged and even mis associated with Alex Ross. Still...while I sound like I am complaining, these things are small compared to what they so got RIGHT! Beautiful, beautiful book!

[Paul Sutter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Often you can judge a book by its cover. The same holds true for comics. Some sell on their own merit, but add some flashy graphics and they sell even better.
In DC COMICS COVER ART, 350 of the greatest covers of all time, are presented here in their precise detail. This is what makes the book a must read. The greatest covers from the Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, Steel Age, and Modern Age are (pardon the pun) covered here.
A baby boomer such as myself, finds the Golden and Silver ages to hold the most personal appeal. These are the comics I grew up with, plunking down allowance money to buy the latest issues. There are some very notable covers here such as Detective Comics #27 from May 1939. It saw the debut of Batman, or Bat-Man as he was first known.
One of the most iconic covers would be Action Comics#1 June 1938, when Super-man premiered, changing the world of comics forever. Other key comics are Flash Comics#1 January 1940. That was when The Flash first sped into our homes. Sensation Comics#1 January 1942, brought Wonder Woman into the world as well.
Great covers abound from such DC classics as World’s Finest, The Atom, Green Lantern, Sandman, Hellblazer, Sgt. Rock, and hundreds more. Comic lovers will truly be in their glory, following the progression of classic covers from the 1930’s to modern times. It is an absolute pleasure to take a stroll down comic memory lane.

[Arun · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of some iconic covers for dc over the years, featuring the best artists and their work with brief descriptions on their style and motive behind a particular cover design. With brief descriptions on the artist and possible callbacks and connections, also we get to know more about all the major talents that were involved from the very inception of dc comics to the latest. This book is for the casual reader who wants to know more about his favorite covers to the serious collectors who want it as an extra reading material to add to the knowledge of dc comics and its history.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great selection of DC Comics covers from 1935 until the present, but it's sometimes marred by awkward writing and bad editing of said writing. Also ... why no credits for colorists on the Modern Age books, since they add so much to the art? I realize that the older books probably don't have available colorist credits, but the ones from at least 2000 on do.

[Alek Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork and intriguing history of DC and its artists. I was a little disappointed when I got to the Modern Age section (2011-Present) and saw that they just gloss over the New 52 and skip to Rebirth.