12 Days of Best Covers of 2013: Day #2

For this new seasonal end of year list, the second book cover that I pick is Ben Counter’s first Warhammer Fantasy novel Van Horstmann, published by Black Library and a part of the Warhammer Heroes brand that focuses on some of the biggest characters of the Warhammer Fantasy Battles setting. Ben’s written a number of novels for Warhammer 40,000 previously and this one marked a big shift for him, one that worked out very well for this reader who is also a fan of most of Ben’s work.

And the second comics cover that I pick is the first issue of Geoff Johns’ rebooted Justice League of America from DC Comics. The series was relaunched as part of the new wave of titles in the New 52 earlier this year in February and its a series that was quite consistent in terms of quality for its entire 7-issue first arc.

So without further ado, hit the break to see both the covers in all their glory! The full list of all these covers is available here.

*****

Van Horstmann by Ben Counter

Cover by Cheol Joo Lee

Why: Well, the dragon would be a good place to start. And not just any dragon mind you, but a Chaos dragon, one with two heads. And it has a Chaos sorcerer riding atop it. Hands down, this is one of the most atmospheric and visually brilliant covers to have come out of Black Library in a long while.

Helpful links:

• Publisher’s Link
• Review: Van Horstmann
• Author Interview: Ben Counter

Justice League of America #1 by Geoff Johns and David Finch

Cover by David Finch

Why: I mentioned in my review of it that the reason why I consider this to be one of the best covers that DC’s done to date is because of what it represents. Its all right there in the details. The Green Lantern on the cover is an Arab-American character introduced in the pages of Green Lantern (also by Geoff Johns at the time of #0), Simon Baz. And he’s holding up the American flag. And he’s joined by a Hispanic/Latino character named Cisco Ramon, who goes by Vibe. Or the fact that there are three female characters on the cover (albeit the fact that only one of them is in the foreground).

Helpful links:

• Review: #1
• Review: #2-4
• Review: #6-7
• Review: #7.4
• Review: #8