14 of Castle Geek-Skull's Favorite Comic Book Covers of 2014

Batman #31: one of many beautiful comic book cover images from 2014.

Ever the rapscallion, Time did everything it could to keep me from enjoying comic books as much as I would have liked to in 2014. I'm far from out of the game entirely however, as I can confidently say that I kept up better than I have in a good while. I even finally got around to showing my face at Free Comic Book Day!

As I kept an eye out for the next must-have issue, tons of preview images fell before my smoldering gaze. The cover art is always front and center, and I often want everything I see based on the quality of the illustrations alone. Choosing a limited number of highlights is a daunting task, but please join me as I go through 14 of my favorite comic book covers of 2014!

Greg Capullo's Batman #31 cover proves yet again that the simplest layouts can be the most effective.

My Mother's Love Of Comic Books Helped Inspire My Own

A handful of my mother's funnybooks.

My mother was always a big kid at heart. As far back as I can remember, she collected toys, watched cartoons, and occasionally played video games. Her biggest hobby was a love of reading however, and she often read comic books between whatever novel might have caught her eye. She was a big fan of the DC Universe in particular, especially Superman. I have fond memories of visiting comic stores (and the comic sections of book shops) with her on weekends. Sometimes we even made trips up to the big city in our state just to see what issues we could find. Comics were at the center of a lot of really good times for us.

I'm not sure if my own interest in the medium started separately or not, but I know my mom's enthusiasm for comics clearly had an effect. They were always around, and I loved looking through them even before I knew what most of the words said. Rather than keeping me away from them, this was actively encouraged. I quickly formed interests in tons of characters that I still hold dear today, and I immediately took to drawing them in whatever rudimentary way possible. That ultimately lead to one of the biggest aspects of my creativity and overall identity.

Greg Capullo's Batman #36 Cover Is Pure Nightmare Fuel

'Sup. I'm about to eat your soul.

I don't know about you, but I find the cover of the upcoming Batman #36 quite disturbing.

Naturally, illustrator Greg Capullo has a wealth of experience in the realm of the hellish and horrific given his many years of work on the Spawn franchise. When your story calls for casting one of the most heroic of all superheros in a creepy light, I can think of no one better to make that happen. Just look at those eyes, man. Yeesh.

"Batman V Superman" Batsuit Reveal Shows More Than I Expected

I'm Batman or whatever.

On May 12th, 2014, Zack Snyder (director of movie films such as 300, Watchmen, Man of Steel, etc) tweeted a picture showing the back end of the new Batmobile from the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. As far as teasers go, it's what you'd expect. You could pretty much only make out some tires and the hint of a spoiler. However, the tweet ended with a promise to show more the next day. Surprisingly, what followed was actually a major reveal: the film's new Batsuit! Ooh. For the two of you who haven't seen it, behold:

Superman Lives Costume Test

Before Superman Returns, there was "Superman Lives," a Kevin Smith written (and later re-written) affair with crazy ass Tim Burton in the director's chair. Burton was set to peer through the monitors at none other than Despite All My Rage I Am Still Just Nicolas Cage in the lead role. The movie was apparently inspired by the death and return Superman story arc from the early 90s comic books. You know, the super popular Doomsday story that got mass media coverage. It never made it into theaters, of course, but ever so slowly, more and more of the pre-production materials have surfaced.

And now...just in time for Halloween - the scariest shit ever unleashed upon human eyes:

Excuse me while I puke.

This is from Tim Burton.JP. You can find other costume designs and concept art from the film there as well. Take a look - if you dare.