Image via Complex Original
Comic book artists know that readers don’t listen to their teachers or their parents, so they realize that the warning “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is rarely heeded. They also know that a comic book cover is the most important marketing tool in the industry. At a single glance, a reader can tell exactly what will happen inside of the book and whether or not he/she wants to buy it. That’s why there's a meticulous approach to a cover's composition that goes well beyond just being a cool-looking picture.
Some artists tease their audience with the bare minimum in order to get the reader’s attention, some spell out the issue's plot with a more complicated image and dialogue samples, and others simply draw an iconic image of the main character without worrying about story details. All are acceptable practices, but only a select few comic illustrators know how to truly pull each one off.
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Fantastic Four #1; in order to celebrate the momentous occasion, we’re counting down the Top 15 Fantastic Four Covers Of All Time.
Written by Jason Serafino (@serafinoj1)
15. FANTASTIC FOUR #92 (1969)
This issue of the Fantastic Four takes place towards the back end of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s record-breaking run on the book. The contents of each issue may have been better than most other books on the market, but the strain of Lee and Kirby’s relationship began to show. Stories weren’t as memorable and communication between the two wasn’t as harmonious as before.
Despite the slow demise of the creators' relationship, there's no denying that Kirby was simply killing it with these covers. The image of Ben Grimm’s powerful paw ripping down a fight poster may not give much insight into the issue's plot, but it makes for a damn good tease. Seldomly had readers ever been put inside a character's head like that. Leave it to Kirby to still be innovative with a book that he was 92 issues deep into.
14. FANTASTIC FOUR #61 (1967)
In the Sandman’s first appearance, Spider-Man sucked him up into a giant vacuum cleaner to ensure victory. Since then, his career really hasn’t improved much. But no matter how big of a loser Flint Marko might be, he always makes for some rather impressive visuals. And in this classic cover, designed by Jack Kirby, the Sandman looks as imposing as ever, complete with green gimp mask and a menacing grin.
Kibry’s name gets brought up ad-nauseum when it comes to the greatest comic book artists; when you can make sand look dynamic, though, you're simply better than the rest.
13. FANTASTIC FOUR #5 (1962)
Even before readers really knew who he was, they could tell that Doctor Doom was up to no good. Once again, Jack Kirby provides this cover, but instead of going for subtlety, he goes for full-on exposition. The ironic thing, however, is that the events happening on the cover are actually more entertaining than the wonky story contained in the actual issue.
This introductory image to Doom set the stage for the character that has become the standard for all other comic book villains (sorry, Joker.) Look no further than the fact George Lucas has openly admitted to basing Darth Vader on the Doc.
12. FANTASTIC FOUR #12 (1963)
This cover doesn’t need to be subtle or vague; all it needs to do is set up the fight that every fan had been waiting for: the Hulk against the Thing. These were Marvel's two heaviest hitters at the time, so it was only natural that they would eventually brawl.
The front page of Fantastic Four #12 sets up the premise of the book but also leaves readers wondering what happens next. Jack Kirby always did a great job at creating suspense by perfectly crafting covers that depicted the moments before an epic encounter. By not drawing the fight itself, Kirby kept fans in constant suspense until they plunked down money for the issue.
11. FANTASTIC FOUR #51 (1966)
First of all, this is the single best issue of the Fantastic Four ever. Written by Stan Lee, and with art by Jack Kirby, This Man, This Monster is a startling morality tale about a man who masquerades as The Thing in order to get close to Reed Richards so he can murder him. Instead, though, he quickly learns the nobility and heroism that comes with Ben Grimm's rocky hide.
Without spoiling the story, Kirby perfectly captured the tale's emotional tone through the Thing’s downtrodden expression, also leaving readers wondering why he was standing idly by as Reed floating helplessly through the Negative Zone in the background. A true classic of an issue.
10. FANTASTIC FOUR #268 (1984)
Simple, yet effective. On the cover of Fantastic Four #268, John Byrne shrugs off subtlety and goes for a dominant image. Very few characters could elicit such an emotion with a single image like that, but Doctor Doom isn’t just a run-of-the-mill bank robber or mobster. He's the embodiment of evil.
Byrne added a bit of experimentation into his art, and always introduced new techniques into his covers. Whether it was the use of negative space or minimalism, Byrne challenged every artist to expand their views on the Fantastic Four beyond just trying to copy the legendary Jack Kirby. This illustration is a great example of how Byrne shattered everyone's preconceived notions of what comic covers should feature.
9. FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 3 #56 (2002)
Writer Karl Kesel’s run on Fantastic Four was pretty enjoyable, but his work doesn’t get much recognition nowadays. Despite the stories being average, Gabriele Dell’Otto’s cover for Fantastic Four #56 is worth the book's price alone. Showing off the Thing's sheer brutality and savagery, Dell’Otto found a way to make Ben Grimm's rocky façade look beautiful amongst the abject destruction that he has caused.
The story inside is the first time that it’s revealed that the Thing is actually Jewish, which is a character development that's still strictly enforced. It’s a nice tale and features some great art by Stuart Immonen, but the star of this issue is easily the cover. Dell’Otto’s painting shows off the diversity in modern comic art.
8. FANTASTIC FOUR #292 (1986)
This cover isn’t iconic, nor did it change the industry. However, Fantastic Four #292 sports one of the most ludicrous images to ever be put onto a comic and, thus, has to be remembered for as long as comics are being printed. Apparently Hitler is dead everywhere else except the world of Marvel, and John Byrne found history’s greatest monster too tempting to ignore.
Byrne’s idea of what Hitler actually does nowadays is a little odd because the cover implies that he just spends his time constantly saluting himself and looking evil. The story features all sorts of time travel and alternate dimensions, but nothing is more head-scratching than the cover. This issue is also further evidence that left to their own devices, most writers would simply write about Hitler all day if they could.
7. FANTASTIC FOUR #524 (2005)
The late, great Mike Wieringo teamed up with writer Mark Waid to create one of the best runs on the Fantastic Four, only trailing Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s collaborative work, in terms of quality. Together, Wieringo and Waid put humor, action, sci-fi, and heart into the four-sided world of comics. And in Fantastic Four #524, the duo's last issue, Wieringo illustrated one of the simplest covers on this list. It's simply the Four’s hands locked in unison, referencing a memorable moment from their first-ever appearance.
Being simple doesn’t make this cover any less iconic, though. Wieringo always put storytelling ahead of flash, and the above image is a perfect example of that. He could have drawn a highly detailed cover that showed off his skills but took away from the tone and direction of Waid’s script; more thoughtful than that, Wieringo stripped the team down to its essence and created a classy cover that kept the spirit of Waid’s script and tone intact.
6. FANTASTIC FOUR #236 (1981)
For the Fantastic Four's 20th anniversary in 1981, artist John Byrne packed a huge cover with almost every major hero at the company at the time, and, of course, Stan Lee. While the story inside is serviceable (it does feature Dr. Doom, after all) this issue is much more noteworthy for its front image.
John Byrne came onto the book like a hurricane in the ‘80s and transformed the team from a vapid Lee/Kirby parody into an incredibly nuanced foursome backed with real emotion and grounded stories. But every once in a while, Byrne allowed the team to have a little fun, and issue #236 is a prime example of the diversity that he brought to the book, which later became the norm for the title.
5. FANTASTIC FOUR #528 (2005)
This cover is simply hilarious. It doesn’t depend on elaborate action or a tasteless tease that doesn’t even pay off in the end. The front of Fantastic Four #528 blends humor and character, all while showing audiences what to expect from the story inside. Mike McKone is a criminally underrated artist, and he shows off just why he should be considered for more high profile work with his work on Fantastic Four.
Fans of the Thing know better than to believe that his temporary financial luck would last longer than a couple of issues. Despite that, writer Joe Michael Straczynski and McKone teamed up to deliver one of the more entertaining issues in the title’s long history.
4. FANTASTIC FOUR #3 (1961)
This image basically typifies the Fantastic Four. It’s an action shot that also nicely shows the conflicting personalities of the Human Torch and the Thing; at the same time, it also flaunts the team’s new duds and debuts the Fantasti-Car. The cover of issue #3 even sports a giant title card that reads “The Greatest Comics Magazine In The World!” Stan Lee is nothing if not humble.
Most of the times those claims are purely for show, but for the first eight years of the book’s run, The Fantastic Four was the best title in the world of comics. And covers like this one drove readers to the store every month just to see what Jack Kirby’s mind would project onto the page next.
3. FANTASTIC FOUR #258 (1983)
Much like the cover of Fantastic Four #92 that featured a POV shot of the Thing ripping apart a fight poster, the cover of Fantastic Four #258 features an ominous shot of Dr. Doom’s hand actually ripping through the book's cover itself. Doom's twisted reflection in also shown in nightmarish fashion, courtesy of artist John Byrne.
The Fantastic Four has always been a very self-referential book with a ton of inside jokes and fourth-wall-breaking; here, Byrne adds to that mystique with the image of Doom literally tearing the comic apart. That one ambiguous image of Doom’s hand is more enticing than an entire cover's worth of super-powered fights.
2. FANTASTIC FOUR #1 (1961)
No red-blooded fantasy fan could ever forget the first time they laid eyes on the cover of Fantastic Four #1. It didn’t compose the super team like heroic gods, nor did the characters even sport fancy costumes. Jack Kirby simply illustrated the cover with the intention of showing the Fantastic Four off as regular people with strange abilities, rather than a seasoned superhero team.
This cover has been copied, or “homaged," dozens of times by some of the best artists in the industry, but no matter who tries their hand at this classic image, no one will ever touch Kirby’s masterful strokes. The story read a little naively now, especially with Reed Richards’ odd monologue about his hatred for “commies"; still, Fantastic Four #1 is the first true installment in what eventually became the Marvel Universe. If the cover wasn't as dynamic as it was, there is no telling if FF would have still been a hit.
1. FANTASTIC FOUR #48 (1966)
This isn’t just the best Fantastic Four cover ever—it’s also one of the all-time greatest comic book covers. Issue #48 is the first part of the Galactus Trilogy, and it's considered to be the creative highpoint of the book's Lee/Kirby run. When you write a story featuring a nude alien surfer and a galactic god with a giant “G” on his chest running around fighting rock monsters and flaming teenagers, you should really have the Carbon Monoxide levels checked in your office. But, somehow, Lee and Kirby made these offbeat stories work effortlessly.
Kirby knew exactly what fans needed, though it wasn't always what they thought they wanted. He never spoiled the story, nor did he show too little. Kirby took the opportunity to make this cover as startling and frightening as possible while showing just enough to get people interested. No one knew who Galactus was at this time, but, after taking a glimpse at this cover, they knew that he was bad news.