Comic Cover of the Week (1-23-13)

Browsing this week's releases left me without an eye-catching cover image. Now the good news. The show must go on, so I'm switching it up for this week. Instead of presenting you with one cover image, I'm giving you five. But of course I have to give it a twist. So here are five covers showcasing awesome female characters.

Astonishing X-Men #58 by Phil Noto

The Shi'ar warrior featured here is Warbird. Here's a relatively new character who's been receiving a lot of attention not only in this book, but also in Wolverine and the X-Men. Warbird is no stranger to Comic Cover of the Week and she's certainly welcomed back.

Cobra #21 by Antonio Fuso

Yo Joe! Though the book is named after the criminal organization, the overall focus is on a small team of Joes. One of whom is Ronin. Who doesn't love a lady with a sword?

Batwoman #16 by J.H. Williams III

If there's anything you should know about this book it's the amazing visuals that Williams has provided. Here, we see what Batwoman and Wonder Woman have been up to during their team-up.

Winter Soldier #14 by Daniel Acuna

Black Widow. She's one of the deadliest WITHOUT powers. Cool character drawn by an amazing artist. Natasha's stock has risen exponentially thanks to mainstream media focus from her appearances in the films Iron Man 2 and Marvel's Avengers. Sidenote: this is Ed Brubaker's final issue on the title and it's a memorable one. I highly recommend it.

Uncanny X-Force #1 by Olivier Coipel

This final piece drawn by Coipel, who I would certainly love to be doing more ongoing work, features two of not only my favorite X-women, but also favorite characters in general, Storm and Psylocke. Joining them are the six times as deadly Spiral and newcomer Cluster. Spiral has not been seen in a while, so it'll be interesting to catch up with her. If you caught the solicit not too long ago, you were probably wondering who the female Fantomex was. That question was answered at the end of the previous Uncanny X-Force series.

This part may or may not seem confusing but if it does, don't worry, it happens. Fantomex had three brains: one being the Fantomex we've come to know and love, a second being this version known as Cluster and the last one who is a not-so-nice fella. Fantomex died during the "Final Execution" arc. He was brought back at the end of that storyline which was also the end of that book. During his resurrection, his brains were separated and placed into their own bodies. You still with me? Okay, well that's where Cluster comes in and here we are. The final page of this book caught me, and I'm sure many other readers, by surprise. I'm definitely looking forward to the second issue.