As far as concept for month-long cover themes go, I have to say that April’s IRON MAN BY DESIGN has to be the most “high concept.” I remember DC did a month of FACES OF THE DCU covers back in the 90s and that was simple. Every cover was a headshot of one of a character. If I grasp this concept correctly, these are supposed to be depictions of alternate reality version of Shellhead with the time and setting tangentially determined by that of the title. Did I get that right? Take at look at these covers for DARK WOLVERINE #85, X-MEN LEGACY #235 and WOLVERINE ORIGINS #47, which are by Skottie Young, Dave Johnson and Humberto Ramos, respectively. For good measure, I've also thrown in the movie tie-in covers for INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #25 and BLACK WIDOW #1.
So my guess is that DARK WOLVERINE’s Iron Man is a samurai because Daken’s from Japan and WOLVERINE ORIGINS’ Iron Man is a Mesoamerican mural because the title takes place largely in the past, but I’m a little stumped about the MARS ATTACKS look of the X-MEN LEGACY cover. Does it have something to do with the Shi’Ar?
The theme IRON MAN BY DESIGN immediately draws my mind to all the HGTV shows that my Mom’s so addicted to. I suppose it WOULD be intriguing to see how Tony Stark could redecorate his home on camera for under $500. Considering that the guy forged a high-tech death machine in a cave with only rocks and scrap metal, I suppose there really IS no limit on what he can design on a dime. I remember that oddly-conceived crossover Marvel did with Guiding Light, a while back. Would it be too far out of the question… would it be too CRAZY…. to suggest a similar crossover with HGTV?
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia. Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.