Comicon’s 5 Best Cover Artists Of 2022
by Erik Amaya
Welcome to Comicon.com’s Best of the Year Awards, gathering the best comics and comics talent of the strange year that was 2021. This year we will be awarding in the following categories: Best Original Graphic Novels, Best Comic Series, Best Single Comic Issues, Best Writers, Best Artists, Best Cover Artists, Best Colorists, Best Letterers, Best Digital/Webcomics, and Most Progressive Comics.
Contributors to Comicon’s Best of the Year Awards this year include: Oliver MacNamee, Rachel Bellwoar, Richard Bruton, Scott Redmond, Tito James, Tom Smithyman, and Tony Thornley.
The following are Comicon’s 5 Best Cover Artists of 2022.
5. Jessica Fong
Poison Ivy is a truly gorgeous series with a lot of powerful eco-horror roots, and it needs covers to match. Fong’s style is just spectacularly gorgeous, fitting perfectly between the realm of smoothness but with a “rough edge” quality to it. Every cover really hits home what one will find, tone-wise, within the issue, creating an unforgettable bit of imagery. If one were to take away the trade dress materials from the covers, they would be able to stand fully alone as an overall image of the character. Perfect for popping up on the wall and admiring daily.
— Scott Redmond
4. Jenny Frison
With the distinctive soft-focus portraits she has become synonymous with, Frison’s covers seem likes something from a bygone age of American art. The roaring twenties, art deco, the Golden Age of cinema; her artwork evokes all of these qualities, but with a contemporary eye too. Timeless, classic art that’s so distinct, so unique.
— Olly MacNamee
3. Tradd Moore
Tradd Moore’s work on Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise alone would put him on this list. The funky approach to the sorcerer supreme fits the character and the story to a tee. Fortunately, Moore also gave us a terrifying Hulk #3 variant cover as well as a San Diego Comic Con exclusive cover – in color and black & white – for BRZRKR #1. You could spend hours analyzing his amazing linework.
— Tom Smithyman
2. Dan Mora
For everything Mora is as a sequential artist, he’s that and more as a cover artist. Whether it’s his incredibly distinct covers for Once & Future, or his iconic World’s Finest covers, he is able to tell a story in each piece. Expanding that into his variants, he is able to capture the spirit of the characters and concepts of each book. My personal favorite is the Death of Superman 30th Anniversary special, in which Superman Jon Kent sits on the shoulder of his father’s statue, both wistful and sad as he clearly reflects on his family’s legacy. It’s gorgeous and simple, but tells an entire story in just one image; a true mark of one of the greats.
— Tony Thornley
1. Peach Momoko
A single glance at any of her covers will showcase why Peach Momoko’s work is in such high demand. Most comic books on the shelves have at one point or another had a Momoko cover as the main or a variant. There is a powerful energy to her work, that feels very light but also heavy and dark at the same time. Almost like the characters are floating upon the page, but anchored in a way that speaks to their overall impact. Characters that are well-known and beloved take on a different illuminating energy when they are brought to life under the pen of Momoko.
— Scott Redmond
