Covered 365: Day 227

Batman #227, DC Comics, December 1970. Artist: Neal Adams.

Call it a safe pick if you will but Neal Adams gave us a great cover on Batman #227, of course, it’s an homage but I’ve featured those before. Batman #227 has been coveted since I’ve been in the hobby.

OK no yelling but if we can have an homage to Detective #31 then we can have Spawn #227, an homage to Amazing Spider-Man #300. Todd McFarlane sure knows how to get your attention.

Thanks to Chris for pointing out the March of Comics #227 in yesterday’s comments, I missed it because of the way I load my search parameters on comics.org. So easy to fall in love with this cover.

Let’s ride the nostalgia for one more and celebrate Four Color #227, an explosion on random patchwork colours that are nicely reigned in by the dwarfs. I see my buddy Dave Mackay at bottom right, and could that be Chris top left?

A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.

Walter Durajlija
Walter Durajlija

Walter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton Ontario.

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Klaus
Klaus
4 years ago

Just remember the old joke: you know, 6 of the dwarfs weren’t Happy. The Batman cover is beautiful.

Gerald Eddy
Gerald Eddy
4 years ago

Batman homage I can buy… logical choice. McFarland doing an homage to his OWN work… thats is one egotistical stinker… forget it! Letters to Santa… pretty dull and not of much artistic merit… I like the Disney… errr isn’t that the Parrot from Donalds South American adventure?

Chris Meli
4 years ago

Well, I tried. At least I entertained myself, and got ? one last brief moment in the sun.

I would not call it a safe pick but rather the only possible pick.

There are distinctions between homages, swipes, and tracings. I am happy to give McFarlane the nod for his take on the classics for the Marvel Tales covers, but this level of reuse is to be discouraged. Similar to the comment about AF 15 homages, the same goes for ASM 300.

I did look at Four Color but it was a bit too standard for me. You are certainly not the first to correctly identify me in this crowd.

No great covers for #228. If I have to pick something it is a very standard Captain America. There is a lot to like about the Kubert Tarzan as usual, but the giant lizard is a bit goofy. Add Action #1 to the homages ban.

As an unusual occurrence, Conan vies for the JOWA, but can’t beat the master. The JOWA goes to the Justice League – not the book, but to the team, on the cover of Blackhawk. It took the JLA, including members with super powers and one member noted as one of the world’s greatest detectives, about ten years (in cover time) longer than it took our group to come to their realization. At least Rorschach is trying to take care of this problem once and for all.

Gerald Eddy
Gerald Eddy
4 years ago

Is tomorrows JOWA on Blackhawk because it took the other DC hero’s so long to come to the same conclusion as the readers Chris? Plus…a nicer touch would have been one of those little goons nibbling on one of Conan’s toes!

C.K.
C.K.
4 years ago

That Batman is iconic, but the foreground characters are really bad. Who runs like a mummy?! That Santa cover was stolen from a 2nd grader’s backpack, it’s just that simplistic. Hard to believe somebody got paid for that. I agree about the egotistical nature of ‘homage’-ing your own work.
Just a poor show of character.
For tomorrow’s 228 I’m going with Daredevil by Mazzucchelli with his ‘face forward’ Matt Murdock. Following that would be Captain America and
X-Factor for me. Now to wait and see what Walt picks as his winners!

David Mackay
David Mackay
4 years ago

I don’t know Klaus…Snoozy looks pretty damn Happy…….:)
Beware the sleeping Dwarf I say….