1980 - Anatomy of a Cover - Star Wars #42 by Al Williamson

1990 - Anatomy of a Cover - Daredevil #282 by Romita Jr. and Williamson

1990 - Anatomy of a Cover - Daredevil #282

By John Romita Jr. and Al Williamson

1985 - Anatomy of a Cover - Incredible Hulk #310

By Bret Blevins and Al Williamson

1982 - Anatomy of a Cover - Blade Runner #1 by Al Williamson

1986 - Anatomy of a Cover - Captain America #313 by John Byrne and Al Williamson

My Favourite Daredevil Covers from the 1980s

 

And here are a few ones that didn't make the cut:

1985 - Doctor Strange by Rick Leonardi and Al Williamson

Inked by Al Williamson in 1989.

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=247066&GSub=17716

The Amazing Spider-Man by Rick Leonardi and Al Williamson

1990 - Anatomy of a cover - Cloak & Dagger #15

http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=970249&GSub=122411

1989 - Lost Magma story

The synopsis for New Mutants #81 from Marvel Age #79, read:

“What if the prince of your dreams turned out to be a nightmare? For Amara, that’s exactly what she faces – for the prince she’s being forced to marry is a vampire! Will the New Mutants be able to rescue her from an undead fate worse than death? Written by Louise Simonson, pencilled by Bret Blevins, and inked by Al Williamson.”

The following month in Marvel Age #80, the synopsis for New Mutants #82 read:

“Is Amara falling in love with the vampire she’s being forced to marry? Her change of heart makes matters worse for everyone! In fact, the New Mutants may not survive the latest challenge to the wedding! Written by Louise Simonson and pencilled by Rob Liefeld.”

That storyline never happened as New Mutants #81 was a fill-in and #82 continued Louise Simonson's telling of the New Mutants' return to Asagard. So there must have been some kind of delay with Rob Liefeld who didn't start on the New Mutants until #86 in 1990.

1988 - Daredevil

Daredevil #250-261
Writer: Ann Nocenti
Artists(s): John Romita Jr./Al Williamson
Ann Nocenti’s run on Daredevil, in my humble opinion, was as memorable as Frank Miller’s Born Again story line. Nocenti was well known at the time since she was the editor of The Uncanny X-Men, Marvel’s most popular title, and she had decent writing credentials having done a few fill-ins and limited series, including Longshot. Her first issue was Daredevil #236, but the title didn’t get a stable art team until issue #250 which is where her memorable run on Daredevil really began.

John Romita Jr. signed on as the regular penciller and was joined by legendary EC Comics artist Al Williamson, who provided the inks. This new creative team would go on to chronicle Daredevil’s adventures for over two years.

While Frank Miller can be viewed as the definitive Daredevil writer, Nocenti had quite a task ahead of her. Nocenti brought her own unique feel to the book with strong, emotional characters and her poetic prose:

“Invisible poisons. They walk among us. Poison lives, all it touches ... dies. Poison doesn’t know it’s poison. It simply does what it has to do to survive. It does what id does best. That’s why they call it poison. The carriers. The poisoned. They walk among us. Typhoid! Touch her. She’s the best.” (Daredevil #254, page 1).

She also used the book as a means to convey social commentaries about pressing issues of the 1980s: the threat of a nuclear holocaust and the abuse of our environment. Her approach was trailblazing in the mid 1980s as opposed to now when it’s in fashion to be environmentally aware. I can’t think of another comic book at that time that made me think this much. At times though, these commentaries could come across a bit too heavy-handed. In one respect, she might want to make sure that the point got across, but on the other I feel that she should have erred on the side of subtly. She boldly ventured into a moral gray area and had Matt and Karen living together without being married which I think was a Marvel first.


She explored Daredevil’s dual role with the law as a lawyer and a vigilante, dancing back in forth along the fine line as a hero and a moral bully. Daredevil’s unrelenting instincts for justice and the accompanying frustration with upholding the law are what defined Matt Murdock. Nocenti proved rather versatile as she allowed Murdock to both flex his muscle as Daredevil and to put his legal talents to use in a court of law.

Her Daredevil symbolized a man just doing his best to rise above, to remain pure. She leveraged Stan Lee’s famous angst formula and put Murdock through some intense internal conflict. In issue #257, Daredevil faced off against the Punisher and Nocenti used this conflict to contrast the two extremes of vigilantism.

Nocenti peeled away the psychological layers of Daredevil’s enemies: Kingpin’s obsessive compulsion to have Murdock destroyed; Typhoid Mary’s conflicted dual personality; and Bushwacker’s amorality as he hunts down his fellow mutants. Nocenti did a wonderful job humanizing her villains. Her own creation, Bullet, doesn’t see himself as a villain, but just a man doing what he needs for his son.

John Romita Jr.’s art was outstanding. I enjoyed his early art on The Amazing Spider-Man and then followed him onto The Uncanny X-Men, but his art here shows a lot of maturity and style. However, let’s not underplay the detailed line work of veteran artist Al Williamson whose inks added texture and coarseness to the finished product.

Nocenti tended to use a human approach to story rather than action oriented and focus on Matt Murdock rather than Daredevil. Her experience as an editor clearly taught her that a good story involves a lot of conflict, and Daredevil had his hands full dealing with all the conflicts she threw at him.

She also succeeded at pulling off unpredictable and original stories that took Daredevil out of his familiar urban milleu. For a while, he became a wandering hero like Kung Fu or the TV version of the Incredible Hulk, traveling from town to town, lending a hand where he could.