Cover Story: TOP TEN THANOS COVERS

Matt C: Introduced in Iron Man #55 by writer/artist Jim Starlin, Thanos has had a slow climb up the ladder of evil in the Marvel Universe, and perhaps now holds the position of the premier super-villain (or at the very least, he gives Doctor Doom a run for his money). Moving from the cosmic fringes into the mainstream, battling anyone who's anyone over the years, either in pursuit of the Infinity Stones, Mistress Death's affection or just general chaos and destruction, the Mad Titan continues to strike fear across the universe via his unwavering determination to his cause. His cover appearances are often variations of him looking imposing, wielding a certain gauntlet, or flashing that trademark grin of his, and although there were other contenders in the running for this countdown, these are the ten Thanos comic book covers we feel are the best of the murderous bunch.

Cover Story: TOP TEN DOCTOR DOOM COVERS

Matt C: To the wider world, Victor Von Doom is a negligible presence, a character that hasn’t translated into the mainstream thanks to some decidedly ropey, misjudged interpretations in the three officially released Fantastic Four movies. Those with more familiarity of the superhero genre on the printed page know better though: Doctor Doom is, arguably, Marvel’s greatest villain, and perhaps the greatest supervillain in comics. The son of Romani gypsies, Doom discovered his late mother’s arcane secrets during his youth and when enrolled in Empire State University attempted to combine science and magic to free her from Mephisto’s realm (basically Marvel’s version of Hell). Although fellow student Reed Richards tried to bring incorrect calculations to his attention, Victor ignored them, and the resulting accident put him on the path to becoming both the armour-clad dictator of the fictional Eastern European country, Latveria, and the Fantastic Four’s most dangerous and ingenious nemesis. Many of the covers he’s adorned over the last five decades have been limited in the poses displayed – more often than not a choice between arms folded or firing power bolts from his gauntlets – but there are still plenty of images to compile a set of ten covers that show Doom at his finest.

Cover Story: TOP TEN ULTRON COVERS

Kenny J: The Age of Ultron is upon us and very shortly I will be seeing the movie of the same name. As is so often the case with these big bucks movie franchises, the tie-in marketing machine sprung into life over a year ago, but Ultron has been an integral part of the Avengers’ history for much longer. Sure, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have far greater and fiercer foes but there are few that are so entwined with them on a personal level. That’s what makes the silver A.I. such a shoe in for the enemy-du-jour in the Avengers’ latest big screen outing. He is the villain that will most likely push the MCU into its darker third phase with his origin easily adaptable into Tony Stark’s not-so-futuristic experiments. It’s not just his beginnings that remain easily malleable though. As you’ll see from this selection of covers, Ultron likes to keep his appearance pretty fluid, making him one of the Avengers’ most durable and enduring enemies.

Cover Story: TOP TEN WILDSTORM COVERS

Tom P: Wildstorm was an independent comics publisher started by Jim Lee in 1992, which became an imprint of Image the following year, later being purchased by DC before they shut it down in 2010 and incorporated its characters into the New 52. As far as I'm concerned, it highly influenced the direction and modern tone of superhero comics since its inception as well as nurturing a vast amount of talent who would go on to produce some of the best work in the medium over the past two decades. It can even be argued its fingerprints extend as far as the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. After all, without out The Authority you wouldn't have had The Ultimates. So, as way of a tribute to the company that was deeply responsible for hooking me into this fantastic hobby, I proudly present my Top Ten Wildstorm covers.

Cover Story: TOP TEN GREATEST THOR COVERS

Matt C: When Stan and Jack began reinventing the superhero template in the early 1960s, Thor stood out amongst his irradiated and mutated peers due to the fact that he was an actual bona fide Norse God, not a true original but a creation adapted from legends and myths. It was probably his uniqueness and otherworldliness that drew me to him: an immortal standing shoulder to shoulder with mortal men gifted with special abilities. It was also the the rich history that various writers laid down, a mixture of established lore and new, fantastical ideas that expanded the Marvel Universe into new territory. Thor has featured on a large number of covers across the years, not just his own title, but various Avengers books and much more. Unfortunately many of them were reliant on different variations of a small number of poses, meaning you were highly likely to see the Odinson with Mjolnir aloft behind him, ready to be hurled, or he'd be flying towards the reader, Mjolnir carrying him through either the air or the vacuum of space. Effective up to a point but the lack of variety rendered most as formulaic instead of inventive. I attempted to avoid these standard poses for my ten picks where possible (it does prove to be unavoidable when all’s said and done though!) and selected covers that are, I think, the most memorable, ones that helped shape and define the God of Thunder in the public consciousness… 

Cover Story: TOP 10 GREATEST THING COVERS

Matt C: At a young age, following my discovery of superhero comics, it was initially all about Spider-Man and Hulk for me (as, unsurprisingly, they received the most exposure on the shelves of the newsagents) but as soon as I first laid eyes on the rocky orange hide of Fantastic Four member The Thing he instantly became one of my favourite characters, and has remained so ever since. It's that cheerful, playful aura he exudes that makes him so damn likeable, but at the same time it isn't quite potent enough to obscure the deep melancholy within. Benjamin Grimm's a working class brawler with a heart of gold but he generates an enormous amount of pathos because no matter how brave or noble he is, outwardly he'll always look like a monster. Even my young mind latched onto that concept pretty swiftly, and his plight - his struggle with being perceived as a brute - remains as compelling as ever. These are my Top 10 covers featuring the man Franklin Richards refers to as 'Unca Ben' and the hero we know from his resounding battle cry of "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

Cover Story: The Twelve Progs Of Christmas

Cover Story is an occasional feature that looks at comic book covers from over the years that have inspired us, astounded us, made us laugh, made us cry, but mostly reminded us why we love the medium so much.

By Ian U

“So this is Xmas and what have you done.
Another year over and a new one just begun” - John Lennon

Well, as the song says its Christmas again and what have I done? Not enough articles for this blog for one thing! So here is my last ditch effort to get back into Matt C’s good books before 2010 rolls around. As a follow up to last year’s Top Ten Christmas comics what follows below is 12 top Christmas covers from my all time favourite comic – the mighty 2000AD! Over the years The Mighty Tharg has published a number of cracking covers by some of Britain’s top comics talent so what follows can’t fail to get you in the mood for mince pies, tinsel and mistletoe (Drokk it!)


1. 2000AD Prog 815 (Colin Macneil)

The first of several appearances on this list for art droid extraordinaire Colin MacNeil and one of my favourite Christmas covers, a seasonal Judge Dredd complete with Santa hat and lawgiver.


2. 2000AD Prog 398 (Kevin O’Neill)

A superb bit of festive alien weirdness by Kevin O’Neill and just the kind of thing that 2000AD excels at. By this point in his career O’Neill had already begun working in the States and this was one of the last pieces he did for 2000AD. My only regret is that this is a wraparound cover and I’ve been unable to find a scan of the back bit.


3. 2000AD Prog 296 (Mike McMahon)

Another 2000AD great and another fantastic cover. Mike McMahon depicting a very festive looking Dredd. In actual fact this isn’t really Dredd but we’ll not let that spoil a great cover! Snow, snowballs and festive greetings - what else do you need?


4. Judge Dredd Megazine Vol 3 Issue 6 (Kevin Walker)

More festive Dredd – this time taking down a seasonally-attired creep. The Meg hasn’t done nearly as many Christmas covers as its sister title so it’s always nice to see a good one.


5. 2000AD Prog 450 (Alan Davies)

Another lovely wraparound cover that I’ve been unable to locate the back of! By this point in 2000AD’s history Alan Moore was also on his way to America with his future collaborator Kevin O’Neill so artist Alan Davies was just starting to experiment with DR & Quinch on his own. Sadly his efforts never really rivalled those of the Great Bearded One himself! Still, his fantastic pencil work shines through on this cover.


6. 2000AD Prog 763 (Richard Dolan)

Another nice seasonal Dredd piece which works all the better for not dressing Dredd himself up and instead focussing on Mega City One. The addition of snow to the traditional Megacityscape is a great idea. Doesn’t explain where someone got a massive 50ft Santa hat from though!


7. 2000AD Prog 710 (Colin MacNeil)

Our second outing for the MacNeil droid with a lovely cover depicting many of the stars of 2000AD past and present lining up to give Tharg their Christmas lists, if they can just get Santa out of the way first!


8. 2000AD Prog 44 (Kevin O’Neill)

And now a second outing for O’Neill with this fantastic cover from the glorious early years of the title. A fairly standard 2000AD cover (Dredd smashing through a window on his bike, gun drawn) as depicted many times over the years but with added snow, Christmas tree and Santa outfit. Perfect! Love the X-Wing fighter swooping over the logo as well.


9.2000AD Prog 920 (Jason Brashill)

Aww, how cute! Those stalwarts of 2000AD, Tharg, Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Slaine and Hammerstein, turned into baubles and hung from the tree. Not just a great cover but also a great idea – if someone made these I’d buy a set tomorrow!


10. Judge Dredd Megazine Vol 4 Issue 279 (Greg Staples)

The second of the two Megazine covers in this list brings us right up to date with last year’s festive cover. Last time he was busting a snowman, this time it’s Santa himself. Twenty years for housebreaking – classic!


11. 2000AD Prog 867 (Colin MacNeil)

Here’s the third and final MacNeil cover and this time it’s Tharg’s turn to don the red coat. Apparently this was originally designed to emulate a Victorian period Christmas card design and I think it pays off really well. The gift-wrapped logo is a nice little touch as well.


12. 2000AD Prog 658 (Richard Dolan)

And there we go, number 12. Another festive Dredd, this time doing his bit for charity with the kids (because after all, Christmas is all about the kids!)


Hope you’ve all enjoyed this festive rundown. Maybe it’s inspired a few of you to grab a few old progs out of the attic for a re-read. After all, nothing says Christmas quite like mutants, genetically engineered future soldiers and fascist coppers! Merry Christmas!