Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 109 Ace of Cowards

So much to like here. There's no escape for the Ace of Cowards. He's been caught out. He's even hemmed in by two broad borders of white space. Also the lighting is perfect, could the source be flames or should they be flames?! There's no mistaking the fear in his eyes. Also the detail in his sleeve with its folds and fabric seam are outstanding. Very easy to award this 10/10, so I will. 

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 240 Havoc Over Russia

Struggle. Life is bad enough without having some creep shoot at you while you're trying to save your own life. Also given that should you make it through the hail of bullets and avoid the rotating propeller blades realising that where you might land isn't exactly going to be all that fun either. Good old number 57 hey? Well Air Ace 240 Havoc Over Russia could have very well been called Havoc Into Russia is besides the point. There's a lot to like in this cover. This is one of these covers where everything is so simple but it all comes together. Even the heading has a delightful if not sinister and tragic double meaning. For me this is an easy 10/10. The eastern front is pretty obscure in most people's minds let alone pocket war comics. 

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 412 Murder Charge

It's all happening in there I tell you! Murder I say! Murder! But this is war! Where is the murder? There I tell you! There!

What does this officer know? What does he really know? The intense gaze and accusationational gesture raise tension in an already tense situation. Also he is clearly a warrior, and an officer, as he has a desert hardened tan, a pistol and a wristwatch.The sense that something is happening "in there" is nicely and simply created by the viewing window of the action contained within the red wall or boundary. This is further emphasised by the shadow behind the officer that naturally doesn't fall through the window. Also in the window itself there's a scene of a gritty battle pitting raw flesh against hardend steel as the sun beats down from a cloudless sky over a sandy desert.

As covers go, War Picture Library 412 Murder Charge is an absolute winner 10/10!

Cover of the Week Air Ace Picture Library 527 Out of Control.

If you saw this sitting at the newsagent would you want to pick it up? I would! I bet you would as well!! Just look at it!!! This is one excellent piece of cover artwork. The only thing odd about it is the customary exclamation mark is missing from the title.

Besides that quirky anomaly when has a cover that shows so little shown so much? And it does it all in shades of grey, apart from that ghastly torn masthead.

I like how we don't even get to see the gunner's face - yet we know how tense this all is. We know how dangerous this all is. The title also tells us that something is out of control. I want to know exactly what it is.

Damn it! I'll pick this up. I want to know! As you should have guessed by now Air Ace Picture Library 527 Out of Control is a solid 10/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 430 Sixth Sense

Story telling is not necessarily about revealing every detail or using the obvious to bludgeon an audience.

Sixth Sense presents an almost bare cover.

Many pocket war comic covers like to focus on individuals either as soldiers or pilots in individual aircraft usually in a moment of crisis or at a dramatic height. War Picture Library 430 Sixth Sense depicts a rescue action by a group that is, unusually, not under fire. The individual determinism is still there of course, present in beautifully completed insert illustration that takes up about a quarter of the page. The usual cut out flashes or sub-heads are simply not needed. The two co-joined illustrations and the title work very well together create the reason to pick up and read Sixth Sense. Who or what did he see? How is he tied in with the rescue? Also why do the men in the boats appear to be so anxious.

Not a traditional cover, if there really is such a thing, but well worth 10/10. Nice artwork particulalry in capturing the feeling attitude of the crews in the boats.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 109 Claws of the Tiger

You can feel the angst. Old mate's not getting up from this one. Rare to see blood as well.

That tank behind them is in a bit of strife as well.

War Picture Library 109 Claws of the Tiger says so much and it does it with a minimum of fuss. Even though to my eyes the two figures in the forefront may have been created either by a different artist or in a different medium (can anybody help me out here?) It really doesn't matter. This is a sterling effort.

I like the way that the artist wasn't compelled or directed to keep the image going to the edges of the original canvas. It doesn't need to. Everything the cover needs to say is right there.

Again, even though simple, the bold red of the title really works with the image. Thank goodness there's no annoying flash tag line spelling out what you should already know from the images. Right on the money. Only a 10/10 will do.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 207 Be Tough, Be Cunning

Take that Nazi! How gratifying it is to see a jack-booted bad guy bite the big one at the hands of a determined, tough and cunning automatic wielding good guy.  You can tell by the shine of his boots that Hun boy was clearly up to no good and the hero has arrived to reduce the number of options opened to the Luger dropping fiend.

I'm very enthusiastic about this cover. It's all about the red and the render even though the door appears to be only pencilled in. There's good depth and animation in the composition of this picture. It all comes together perfectly with the title and the bared white teeth.

I'm keen to read War Picture Library 207 Be Tough, Be Cunning. In that respect the cover has already sold me on the story. And isn't that what it's supposed to do?

I know I'm a soft marker when it comes to these things, but when you've got quality like this to work with what else can you do? 10/10 

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 71 Zero Hour

No doubt what's going on here! A race to the wire is in progress in War Picture Library 71 Zero Hour.

This cover has everything going for it.

It has focus and no ambiguity.

Only one thing can happen at zero hour and the artist who painted this cover has put us right in the middle of it all.

There's so much to like. I don't believe I have ever seen a helmet so lovingly rendered as the one the main subject is wearing. The detail of the netting over the helmet and the way it fits under the helmet is just superb. The helmet strap is also just so well done.

I also like the way the advancing troops appear to be shouted out by the main subjects' intensity. Those silhouetted bayonets are both a menacing and poignant  indicator of the carnage that is about to unfold.

The best part about this cover is - there's no stupid flash cut out breaking up the flow of the image.

There's no doubt the score for Zero Hour. 10/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 222 Road to Berlin

Same story as the Battle Picture Library version - but does the cover make it any more exciting? Published 6 years apart the War Picture Library cover is possibly more exciting but not as stylised as its younger brother. However this cover is definitely more comic book style in appearance.
I guess because it is brighter it might be more likely to be picked up and purchased. Also the dual action renders, mixing of graphic styles and direct type font makes this cover very exciting. There's no doubt that there's plenty of things that go 'bang' in the following enclosed pages.
Bouncing around in a tank would not have been fun and the three exposed crewman in that Churchill do appear very determined to get on with it. Likewise the three Germans manning that gun also appear to be very determined to stop that tank.
War Picture Library 222 Road to Berlin is bright and exciting and worth picking up. It says all the right things so it gets 10/10.
Just how many perfect 10s are out there?

Cover of the Week Battle Picture Library 304 Road to Berlin

Store wear, tape, staples and tears be damned! This cover is brilliant. The cover for Battle Picture Library 304 Road to Berlin is wonderfully dark, moody and desperate. Will that Churchill make it through to Berlin or will it be stopped?
This terrific cover just goes to show the variety and skill that Fleetway could call upon for artwork. This cover is the stuff of real 'graphic drama' and in my opinion too good to be used for the cover of a comic book.
For those who need to be informed, I know I was because I had to look it up on the world wide web, that hindmost is a proverbial phrase indicating that those who lag behind will receive no aid.
Look beyond the ratty cover and hard life this Battle Picture Library had to endure before coming into my possesssion. Road to Berlin deserves 10/10 and that's what'll get! 10/10.

  

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 271 No Holds Barred

There's a lot to like here. Straight away I get the feeling that there are two closely intertwined stories behind the cover that are about to be told.
There's that line of commandos finding their way and getting ready to strike. Also there are those waiting Germans - and best of all is the one holding that grenade. I can't quite figure out if he's spotted the commandos sneaking up on him and his comrades and if he's about to ambush them or be ambushed himself.
The title  of War Picture Library 271 No Holds Barred with it's reference to an open fight adds to the significance of this issue.
Also the mixture of techniques used here show that this was done by a real master. Just look at how the white space, the deep etching, the colour and monochrome as well as the animation and posture of the figures all come together.
The drama just pours out of this cover.
10/10

 

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 220 The Atlantic Wall

Here they come! Or whatever it is in German. Well according to babelfish.yahoo.com it should be Hier kommen sie!

Another great cover that is claustrophobic, desperate and dangerous. Having that desperate German shouting and looking right out of the picture and straight at the reader is just magic.

Another excellent use of title font matching the name of the comic and the situation it portrays Also the limited range of colours squeezed into the middle of the cover creates a deserved sense of excitement.

The cover of War Picture Library 220 The Atlantic Wall is promising a lot of frantic action. This is another one I've been wanting to read for a long time on the strength of the cover - I just love how expectations are made.

Easy to say. Easy to issue. 10/10.

Cover of the Week War Picture Library 221 H-Hour

This is the moment! This is the hour we've been waiting for! This is H-Hour! This cover is just so wonderfully dramatic and full of purpose.

These Brits are well on their way to victory and it looks like their going to make it theirs.

There's a nice sense of urgency and perspective in the cover for War Picture Library 221 H-Hour.

However I can't help wondering why the 2 guys with the automatic weapons are holding back. Do they know something the guys in front of them don't? Or am I reading too much into a simple picture? I can't wait to read it to find out!

I find the title font irresistible and it matches the action in the image below it perfectly.

Even though there's space for a subheading I think not having one adds to the feeling of the whole thing.

Very easily a 10/10.

Cover of the Week. Air Ace Picture Library 235 Bomber's Vengeance

This deserves 10/10!

Why does this cover just scream 1960s? Combination of colour palette and type face?
The sub head does lifts the story and adds the necessary narrative - without it would look like just another lucky shot from British bomber over the skys of Germany. The very title itself if giving away the idea that the bombers must have suffered in the past and now they're getting their own back - oh sweet vengeance!
Everything in this cover just works perfectly.
Straight up 10/10.