For fans of Marvels Merry Mutants, this issue is one of the most important of all time, as it introduced a whole host of new X-Men who went on to become fan favorites, including Storm, Colossus and Nightcrawler. The new team make a huge impact on this cover, bursting out through the page towards the reader as the old team look on in shock and horror. From a marketing perspective, this was a clever way to wipe the slate clean and bring in new readers as the X-Men series was surprisingly unpopular at the time. Clearly, that is no longer the case though and numerous X-Men cover artists have paid homage to this image since.
39. Marvels #2 (Alex Ross)
Alex Ross appears in this list for the second time with another piece of art from the Marvels limited series. This artwork is a rare solo cover for Angel decked out in his original costume as he lifts a young mutant girl away from the violence of an anti-mutant demonstration. In one beautifully painted image, Ross sums up the entire philosophy of the X-Men with a message that has implications for our own lives as well as that of the fictional mutants of the Marvel Universe.
38. Amazing Spider-Man #300 (Todd McFarlane)
While some may consider it slightly overkill to use the number 300 that many times on one cover, nonetheless, this Spider-Man cover is a classic.for a number of reasons. First off, Spidey just looks kick ass in the his black symbiote costume and the detail in that central image is stunning, particularly in the webbing. Most importantly of all though, this cover is one of the first that Todd McFarlane drew for Marvel, which led to him becoming an industry giant by the early 1990's. Furthermore, how often does an artist pay homage to their own cover just one issue later? Google Amazing Spider-Man #301 if you don't believe me!
37. Daredevil #179 (Frank Miller)
Although Elektra was originally written to only appear in one issue of Daredevil, Frank Millers creation proved so popular that she became a recurring antagonist throughout his run on the series. The ominous image on this cover ranks up there with some of Millers best artwork. The ragged mask hanging off Elektra's sai says everything that you need to know and her stone cold expression is the perfect finishing touch. Of course, the artwork is slightly misleading as Daredevil does not die in this issue, but isn't that always the way with the most shocking comic book covers?
36. Avengers #223 (Ed Hannigan)
I could discuss the story line of this particular comic, but all you need to know is that Hawkeye and Ant-Mans team up provided Ed Hannigan with the opportunity to draw a kick ass cover. Seeing Ant-Man clinging on to the end of Hawkeye's arrow is one of those ideas that seems obvious now you've seen it, but is still just genius to look at. This cover may not be as famous as some other pieces of artwork on this list, but it deserves recognition nonetheless just for the central idea.
David is a primary school teacher who tries his best to turn every math lesson into a discussion on the latest Pixar film. Passions include superheroes, zombies and Studio Ghibli. In between going to the cinema, moving to South Korea and eating his body weight in KFC, David writes for a number of movie sites, http://becarefulyourhand.blogspot.co.uk/
