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09.16.2009

Article by Brian Kronner

What is the Best UNCANNY X-MEN Cover?

WELCOME TO THE FIRST BAM KAPOW COVER TOURNEY!!!

So the idea here is to, based upon your votes, determine what the best
‘Uncanny X-Men’ cover is. I’m going ask you to all comment below with
your votes for the first round of matchups. When you look at the
matchups, base your vote solely off the cover. So assuming you know
nothing about the book, would you want to buy it based off the cover
art alone?

THE FIELD – The field was a joint effort here. It started with me.
I picked out my TOP 50 (which was actually 51) and then, in the first
real collaboration between BK staffers, I sent said list to some of my
fellow writers. Zombiezeus, Skott Skottland, Toni Smith, Christopher
Brown, and Zipp all took my list and ranked them from best to worse.
The results were surprisingly scattered. Then, to balance the field a
little I gave the list to my girlfriend. She knows nothing about comic
books so she truly went of the art alone. I then averaged out the
ranking for each issue and ranked them based upon those results.

What you see below is the Top 32 scores, seeded into Bracket
format. This articles lead-in picture was Uncanny X-Men 202, which
finished 33rd by a fraction of a point.

The Matchups are as follows…

1. vs 32.

251 – 176

2. vs. 31.

136 - 370

3. vs 30.

141-165

4. vs 29.

50 - 467

5. vs 28.

394 - 167

6. vs 27.

304 - 111

7. vs 26.

142 - 137

8. vs 25.

12 - 473

9. vs 24.

487 - 511

10. vs 23.

398 - 61

11. vs 22.

100 - 145

12. vs 21.

1 - 412

13. vs 20.

122 - 210

14. vs 19.

98 - 211

15. vs 18.

223 - 234

16. vs 17.

268 - 280

Ok, so there you have it. You now have to power to vote for your favorites.

After the votes are tallied, they will be re-seeded for the 2nd round.

Just leave your choice for the winner of each matchup in the comment section below.

38 Comments

		2009-09-16 14:09:58 henryhyde 1, 2, 3, 29, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, 18, 17

		2009-09-16 14:09:06 Fisticufflinks 1, 2, 3, 4, 28, 27, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 With Number SEVEN (7), being best of the whole bunch.

		2009-09-16 14:09:09 Zombiezeus I would just like to give Mr. Kronner huge props for getting his non-comic-reading girlfriend to not only look at, but comment on a shitload of comics covers. Seriously, guys. That's impressive.

		2009-09-16 14:09:14 Fisticufflinks Why didn't Number 202 make the cut? Cuz that cover, my friends, is as the kids are sayin' ... "THE WHIP!"

		2009-09-16 15:09:15 Dr. Kronner FIST - 202 is one of my favorites. 202 and 176 actually tied with a 28.5 average, but 176 had the highest overall vote as someone ranked it 2/51. 202's highest vote was 13/51.

		2009-09-16 15:09:37 Fisticufflinks Also, #254 and my personal favourite "Uncanny X-Men" cover of all time! #194 Nimrod holding up Juggernaut while blasing Rogue! Come ON! Best X-Men Cover EVER! http://media.photobucket.com/image/Uncanny%20xmen%20%252523202%20cover/Rich_Henn/X-MEN/xmen194.jpg

		2009-09-16 15:09:27 HaircutBabe hmmm, based on my unjustified biases... 1,31,3,29,5,6,7,8,24,10,11,21,20,19,18,17 The new gf doesn't read comics? I'm saddedned by your lack of persuasion ;)

		2009-09-16 15:09:06 jedifyll 1, 31, 3, 29, 28, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18, 16 With my favorite being issue 210. There was also a cover like issue 210 that had more realistic art ala Alex Ross with them that issue 210 reminds me of. Wow, my first post! I LVOE IT! ;-)

		2009-09-16 15:09:35 Zombiezeus Fist and Doc--I'm giving my ups for #176, because I'm pretty sure I voted it high--because to me, it's what superhero comics are all about: excitement, action, powers, weird scenarios, adventure--and the cover is so fucking enticing. What's got a hold of Cyclops? Why is he underwater? How's he going to get out of that? What good is an optic blast against a tentacle? Who dropped a stone monument of the title of the comic on top of him? THE MIND BOGGLES!

		2009-09-16 15:09:09 cZaRomero 1,2,3,4,28,27,26,25,9,23,11,21,20,19,18,16 dope list, thanks for all the work. honorable mentions: 97(havok vs cyclops), 101(enter:thephoenix), 112(magneto triumphant) 135(dark phoenix), 169 (this angel fallen), 172(wolvie/mariko wedding) 213(wolvie/sabretooth) 249 (havok/polaris) 257 (psylocke/wolvie) 260 (dazzler) 270(xtinction) 274(savage rogue/mag/nick fury) 290 (storm)

		2009-09-16 15:09:32 Toni Smith My vote is for 4, X-men 50 is one of the best covers of all time; and I want to make an honorable mention for X-Men 58, Neal Adams' Havoc cover, perhaps one of the greatest comic covers of all time.

		2009-09-16 15:09:59 Fisticufflinks Toni Smith ... indeed that Havoc cover is sweet! I'm still going to have to say that #194 is a superior cover.

		2009-09-16 15:09:11 Dr. Kronner cZaRomero - Sweet Profile Pic bro. I will say that 135 and 257 were both on that initial Top 50 list...

		2009-09-16 15:09:14 yaguara So, I went from the point of "If I knew nothing about the comic which book would I buy based off of the cover alone. 1,2,3,29,5,6,7,25,9 and 24 - I would buy both books so this is a tie, 10, 11 - If I had to buy one, personally I wouldn't buy either cover so this is sort of a negative tie, 21, 20, 19, 18, 17.

		2009-09-16 15:09:35 yaguara Did you notice that the cover for issue 12 is in there twice? The first time is masquerading as issue 167 (#28 spot) and the second time as itself in the #8 spot.

		2009-09-16 15:09:30 yaguara 176 is a good cover but in the battle between 176 and 251 I went with 251. Again, I am coming from the idea that I know nothing about the book or its characters. 176 is a classic, pulp-era cover. It tells me pretty much what's going on. There's a guy, he shoots lasers out of his eyes, and he's fighting a giant octopus or squid. Sure, okay. Nice.

		2009-09-16 15:09:18 Dr. Kronner Well, it used to be 167 on there...

		2009-09-16 15:09:37 cZaRomero Thanks Doc. Yaguara, yeah I saw that too. Either way, I take 28 over 5. That one was seeded way too high. I get it; an image looks stronger on a simple or monochrome background. C'mon though, a lens flare?

		2009-09-16 15:09:57 yaguara But look at 251 as if you have never heard of X-men or the characters before. Who is the shadowed figure crucified on the "X" and why does he appear to have horns? Who put him there? Is he a devil or what? Is he being punished for his sins or sacrificed to dark powers? The rain and the skulls on the ground - this is a much darker and much more intriguing cover in my opinion.

		2009-09-16 16:09:25 Fisticufflinks Yeah, but Issue 142 has a huge Robot crushing a woman in one hand and shooting some type of laser beam out of the palm of his other hand with the type "This Issue: EVERYBODY DIES!" and the EVERYBODY DIES is in some cool bloody adventury font. Beats all the rest.

		2009-09-16 16:09:13 Flarkin 254 and 281 have always been my favorites. But for the list: 1,2,30,29,5,6,7,25,24,23,22,12,20,19,15,16

		2009-09-16 16:09:13 yaguara Fist - I was only comparing the matched pairs. If I had to choose my favorite over all - well I don't know that I could. I chose 142 over 137 because it is just a more powerful cover. It is more dynamic and more dramatic. 137 reminds me of the old Star Wars posters.

		2009-09-16 16:09:52 yaguara cZaRomero - Actually, I chose 5 over 28 because I like the art style of the figures better. I am not a member of the "Cult of Kirby." I know, I know, and before you ask - Yes, I am the anti-christ. Don't like Tolkien either. Get over it already. Besides, if I have to chose between sex and violence. What can I say? Sex wins every time.

		2009-09-16 17:09:30 cZaRomero I couldn't possibly agree more Yaguara. I hear you on the art style being important. I did similar in in 142 vs 137. As classic as the "Everybody Dies" cover (& issue) is, I never got over how badly Storm is drawn. It takes me out of the vibe of the cover when she looks like a mannequin.

		2009-09-16 18:09:31 Norman 32,31,3,29,28,6,26,25,24,23,22,21,13,14,18,17. The 4v29, I took 29, but I give props to 4(Issue 50) cause Iceman looks sweet. Also

		2009-09-16 18:09:11 Norman Nevermind, no 'Also'

		2009-09-16 20:09:24 brianzor 32,2,3,29,5,6,7,25,24,23,22,12,20,14,18,16

		2009-09-16 20:09:38 kunstgriff 1,2,3,29,28,6,7,25,24,10,11,21,20,19,18,17 Partly went for artwork quality, but mostly based it on what I felt conveyed something special rather than just random fighting. And by something special, I don't mean milestone issues, I mean where the cover suggests something serious is happening to someone within the team. Of course, in some cases, there was no such case in either option, so I'd go for the one I found more attractive

		2009-09-17 03:09:36 theHeadCase 1,2,3,29,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,19,18,17

		2009-09-17 09:09:10 Fisticufflinks cZaRomero ..."Bad Art" is a very subjective set of words. To you she looks like a mannequin. To me it looks as though her torso has been crushed and do to muscle reflex her limbs have straightened and stiffened do to the massive shock of the severe trauma.

		2009-09-17 11:09:24 DeadLogan 1 and 20, int that order, are the only covers that would make me buy it if I knew nothing about it. It never happened to me with regular, traditional books, only short series and graphic novels. But #1 still the best to me in a "knowing the book" list as well.

		2009-09-17 11:09:28 Dr. Kronner For me, what makes 20 (Issue 210) so good is Nightcrawler. It is his battered face that really gets me.

		2009-09-17 12:09:44 DeadLogan @ Dr. K -> Me too. Beyond that, there are three guys, three girls... being one dude made of metal, other who is smoking and have metal claws, a blue demon and the girls... are hot and bad-ass. And the subtitle is a plus. I would pay to see it.

		2009-09-18 12:09:30 The Legendary Hitman 1 2 3 29 5 6 7 8 9 22 21 20 14 18 16 Great job, Dr. Kronner... and my favorites are #s 20, 5, and 1...but from the standpoint of never having read an X-Men comic, I'll go with #20. Anyone can look at that cover and tell you've got a group of badass misfits just aching to kick someone's ass.

		2009-09-18 19:09:03 Dr. Kronner ALRIGHT GANG, ROUND 1 VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. I'LL GET RD. 2 UP ASAP. THANKS FOR VOTING.

		2009-09-19 00:09:29 sillysully7 How did X-men #1 Jim Lee 4 part cover not get picked?

		2009-09-19 00:09:16 Dr. Kronner That was X-MEN, not UNCANNY X-MEN. Different book.

		2009-09-19 20:09:51 LEAD-BASE Studios Based off of pure "first response" and the want to read further these are my answeres. 1, 31, 3, 4, 28, 6, 7, 25, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17. THE SINGLE GREATEST Uncanny X-men cover EVER! Issue 114 http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/uncanny-x-men/114-20.jpg