It's rare to see a Shakespeare quote on a comic book cover, but here, the excerpt from Hamlet feels completely justified as Matt Murdock grieves the death of Elektra. As this is a comic book, her death is of course retracted at a later date, but at the time of this issues release, the assassins demise was extremely powerful and Miller's cover does the content justice. The snow that has piled up on Daredevils shoulders is a subtle touch that conveys more than a thousand words of dialogue could ever say.
29. Amazing Spider-Man #129 (Gil Kane)
It's strange to think that the Punisher first appeared alongside the more light-hearted Spider-Man and the stark contrast between the two vigilantes is clear to see on this classic cover. The use of gun sights enables Kane to pack more action into one page and this concept has been used time and time again on the covers of Marvel comics ever since. Also, regardless of what you think of the Punisher as a character, the skull emblazoned across his chest has become an iconic symbol for the anti-hero and here it looks seriously bad ass.
28. Fantastic Four #49 (Jack Kirby)
The arrival of Galactus and his herald the Silver Surfer is one of the key Fantastic Four story lines and both characters have become integral parts of the Marvel universe since, but it's this first encounter which remains the definitive plot for them both. It's worth bearing in mind though that if not handled properly, Galactus and the Silver Surfer could have failed miserably as characters. Both are ridiculous when you actually think about it, so kudos to Kirby for making them both appear genuinely menacing on this cover. The red mist makes Galactus seem more enigmatic and the giant hands just look freaking cool.
27. Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #6 (Jim Steranko)
It's easy to see how Jim Steranko became involved in designing movie posters later in his career. This classic Nick Fury cover looks like it could be advertising the best science fiction film that was never made. The image of the earth exploding behind Fury is a perfect example of how gifted Steranko really is as an artist. By placing the moon larger in the foreground, a dynamic sense of depth is created and what makes this even more interesting visually is how Fury is not even facing our dying planet. Clearly, he has more pressing concerns than the fate of the human race!
26. Fantastic Four #1 (Jack Kirby)
Aspects of the cover to this landmark issue are actually somewhat clumsy; Although the speech bubbles are clearly designed to introduce the Fantastic Four, their size makes them quite intrusive and the white background is just too empty. Even some minor detail would have enhanced this cover further, but saying all that, this was the beginning of Marvels Silver Age and it's hard to deny that the image itself isn't still striking even today. This is one of the most influential pieces of artwork on this list, but ultimately, it didn't place higher due to these minor issues.
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/
