I'd say SPOILER ALERT here, but since the ending of Captain America: Reborn has already been spoiled for months by Marvel itself, there's really no need.
Anyway, the Bryan Hitch cover for #6 is a triptych, fold out extravaganza. Three covers for the price of one. And it goes a little something like this:
Just for the record:
The Thing does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Hulk does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Ms. Marvel does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Spider-Woman does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Wolverine does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Black Panther does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Doctor Strange does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Cyclops does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Spider-Man does not appear anywhere in this comic.*
Quicksilver does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Iron Man doesn't appear anywhere in this comic.
Mr. Fantastic does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Human Torch does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Invisible Woman does not appear anywhere else in this comic.
Storm does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Thor does not appear anywhere in this comic.*
The Beast does not appear anywhere in this comic.
*(OK, parts of unconscious Thor and Spider-Man do appear in a flash-forward to a hypothetical future...but it was only one panel, and they were both unconscious or dead, so I don't count it. Sue me.)
So, despite the fact that (as per usual) Bryan Hitch was running so far behind on this series that he bailed on his much-ballyhooed Fantastic Four run before it finished to work on this series; despite the fact that Hitch was running so far behind Marvel published the next two Brubaker-written chapters of the Captain America story because they just couldn't wait any longer...despite that, Hitch DID have time to draw a triptych cover. And not just a triptych cover...a triptych cover jam-packed with heroes, 75% of whom never appear in the issue (or anywhere in the whole damned series, for most of them).
Yeah, I guess that was worth delaying things for.
PRO-TIP: Maybe if Hitch didn't insist on so many unnecessary splash pages in each issue, they wouldn't have had to extend the series from five issues to six. I'm just sayin'.
Anyway, the Bryan Hitch cover for #6 is a triptych, fold out extravaganza. Three covers for the price of one. And it goes a little something like this:
Just for the record:The Thing does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Hulk does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Ms. Marvel does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Spider-Woman does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Wolverine does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Black Panther does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Doctor Strange does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Cyclops does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Spider-Man does not appear anywhere in this comic.*
Quicksilver does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Iron Man doesn't appear anywhere in this comic.
Mr. Fantastic does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Human Torch does not appear anywhere in this comic.
The Invisible Woman does not appear anywhere else in this comic.
Storm does not appear anywhere in this comic.
Thor does not appear anywhere in this comic.*
The Beast does not appear anywhere in this comic.
*(OK, parts of unconscious Thor and Spider-Man do appear in a flash-forward to a hypothetical future...but it was only one panel, and they were both unconscious or dead, so I don't count it. Sue me.)
So, despite the fact that (as per usual) Bryan Hitch was running so far behind on this series that he bailed on his much-ballyhooed Fantastic Four run before it finished to work on this series; despite the fact that Hitch was running so far behind Marvel published the next two Brubaker-written chapters of the Captain America story because they just couldn't wait any longer...despite that, Hitch DID have time to draw a triptych cover. And not just a triptych cover...a triptych cover jam-packed with heroes, 75% of whom never appear in the issue (or anywhere in the whole damned series, for most of them).
Yeah, I guess that was worth delaying things for.
PRO-TIP: Maybe if Hitch didn't insist on so many unnecessary splash pages in each issue, they wouldn't have had to extend the series from five issues to six. I'm just sayin'.
Ah, yes. Still following the grand ol' tradition of showing stuff on the cover that ISN'T in the book.
ReplyDeleteI still say this is false advertising, goshdarnit!
I see this cover as more of an ongoing project of sorts by Marvel to make Captain America into its Superman figure. While other characters, like Spider-Man or Wolverine, will always sell more comics than Cap, I think they still like the vibe of "paternal gravitas" he seems to share with Superman (who is also less popular...from a sales standpoint...than several of his fellow DC characters).
ReplyDeleteThus, Cap is "leading" the Marvel pantheon of heroes, much like you see Superman leading the charge of countless DC Comics crowd scenes.
Just my little theory.
Oh, fine, Mark, take the edge off my insane rant :-P
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, that is one hideous image of Cap in the middle of the pics. He's a funny old artist, is Hitch.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading a lot of Claremont/Byrne books lately (X-Men, Iron Fist, Marvel Team Up), and have noticed that Byrne seems to do few covers, which I would guess was because he was so busy.
And when did Marvel actually lose the ability to produce a dynamic cover that says something about the interior to help sell a comic? I expect it was the Jemas days, but Quesada seems to like his generic posing covers, and as artist and EiC...
Actually, thinking about it, if I'd have been Hitch, I would have divided the three sides to the main one with Cap and his current and recent supporting cast, one with with all his old sidekicks, partners and close allies, and the third for his greatest foes (including Hitler, of course, and probably Civil War Iron Man).
ReplyDeleteWould at least have been thematic, rather than just a random collection of Marvel Heroes Hitch fancied drawing. And I would've got Zeck or Perez to do it.