Covers Album: Tyler Chin-Tanner – Spotlighting Three Favourite Comics Covers from Stan Sakai, Joe Kubert and Trevor Von Eeden & Lynn Varley

In ‘Covers Album’ each Wednesday we ask comics creators, publishers and commentators to pick three of their favourite comic covers …but with a small twist. One must be chosen for aesthetic reasons, one for inspirational reasons and one for pure nostalgia!

This week BF Staff Writer and creator Tyler Chin-Tanner (Adrenaline, American Terrorist, Broken Frontier Anthology) of publisher A Wave Blue World gives his three picks!

 Though in some ways it appears to be a kids comic, Usagi Yojimbo is one of the most technically proficient and truly enjoyable comics for all ages. Stan Sakai has been at it for over 30 years and I’d like to think I’ve learned a lot from him about storytelling and the craft of making comics.

This particular cover always resonated with me because of its composition. I love the use of diagonal lines following the grassy bank down to Usagi’s eyes. We then get a bit of misdirection before crossing back across the bridge and ultimately landing on the hidden threat lurking in the water below.

 I don’t know if there’s anyone in comics who’s been more of an inspiration to me than Joe Kubert, not just as an artist but as a teacher and mentor to me when I attended the Kubert Art School.

Joe’s influence spans across the entire comic industry, but he’s most widely known for his work on DC’s war heroes. With Enemy Ace, he broke the rules on how to depict air combat and then rewrote them with every issue. And for me, this cover says it all. Hans von Hammer, the “Hammer of Hell” soaring into action at high altitudes where only the best would live to fly another day.

I don’t remember the first comic I bought because I was pulling them off the news rack before I could even read, but I do remember the first comic that really stood out to me. The distinctive style of Trevor Von Eeden (with colors by Lynn Varley) grabbed my attention like nothing before and made me realize that there were real artists behind this work with their own unique approach and vision.

When I met Trevor many years later, he told me that he knew he’d taken a risk with this issue and was so nervous about his editor’s reaction that he snuck into his office while he was out just so he could drop the pages off without giving him a chance to reject them. Clearly, the plan worked and I’ve been a comic fan ever since.