Cover Review: Micronauts #32

The cover to issue 32 of Marvel’s original Micronauts series had just about all the right elements in it to snag my attention.  First, I loved the Micronauts toys as a kid, and the comic was pretty darn good science fiction, too.  Then there is that white “snowbear.”  (I imagine in some cultures it would be a polar bear, but here the weird eyes, aura and rune-like chest symbol denote that it is something far stranger.)  And finally there is the snow against a black sky.  I am a sucker for black and white cover schemes.  They catch my eye every time.

The more observant among you may have noticed a woman’s ass jutting out at an odd angle.  Go ahead and try that pose.  It’s lovely to look at, but not so hot to hold.  That woman is known as Marionette, and she always looked damn cool in the comics.  Here the pose is strictly for eye candy, and does not speak well of her character.  Those who read the comic know what I mean.

There are certain comic book covers that I’d love to own the original artwork to so that I could hang it on my wall.  This is one of those covers.  Later in life I would swear this influenced the cover of issue 19 of the New Mutants, which was part of the demon bear saga.  Look at the covers and compare.  While not exactly the same, you can’t help but think its artist, Bill Sienkiewicz, had this Micronauts issue in mind when he painted it.  I’m not saying he ripped it off, but I believe a strong case can be made for inspiration.

Marvel put out some great covers in the early-to-mid 1980s (the Micronauts cover is from 1981) that were often the perfect marriage of art and storytelling.  You could look at the issue and know what was going on between the covers.  This issue’s cover artist, Pat Broderick, knew how to capture a potential reader’s attention and hold it, as he proves here.  I actually don’t think anyone can look at this cover and say it looks boring.  It is pure action with a good sense of style and color.  Granted, not every issue’s cover was up to this one’s high standards, but most of them in both of Marvels’ Micronauts series were appealing in one way or another.  Of course, there is the exception of that Beyonder one … but then again all of those covers associated with that crossover sucked, as did most of the issues, too.

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