2000 AD Cover of the Year 2020!

[Pete Wells]

Hooray! 2020 has been an absolute shitshow... but we have seen some WONDERFUL covers!!! So now it's time for the annual cover of the year vote! You can see all the covers here, and of course, click 'em to enlarge 'em:

https://shop.2000ad.com/catalogue/2000-ad/2020

I'd like you to CLEARLY list your THREE favourites, in order. THREE points will be awarded to your fave, TWO points for second and ONE point for third. Please try and be explicit with this and maybe give a little comment to say why you chose each cover as it makes it a bit more interesting for the rest of us!

The closing date is midnight on Saturday 2nd January 2021...

A Meg thread will be along shortly...

[Colin YNWA]

Oh lovely to see you Mr Wells - I'm glad you did this as I was going to start one Boxing Day in case you didn't have time BUT happy to have the true add of our cover votes back in town.

WAYHEYYYYY!!!

Now to some damned hard decision making...

[TordelBack]

I offer unto you a heartfelt YAY! 

[Jim_Campbell]

Ey, up, Pete, you old [spoiler]REDACTED[/spoiler]!

A fair few covers this year that could have made the cut, but on a fairly arbitrary snap selection:

Third: 2178
(The colours! The colours!)

Second: 2206
(Classic style logo and a T-Rex — nostalgiatastic!)

First: 2208
(So much going on here — a cover that would make you buy the issue to find out what was going on...)

Hon mensh: 2168
(Love the design)

[TordelBack]

3. (1pt) 2201 Transylvanian Triptych by Tiernen Trevallion. It had to be one of the two Fiends covers for me, and this one just pipped it with all the promise of what was to come. So good, all of it.
2. (2 pts)  2206 Cadet Tyrannosaur by Alex Ronald. Clean, intriguing dino-action. I'd buy that.
1. (3 pts) 2178, Simian Stylites by PJ. An easy win for me, summing up this whole year in a single perfectly-judged image, drenched in exquisite colours. And not just because it's apetastic,  I promise.

HMs: too many to mention, but... Booda's wraparound MC1 hellscape on 2179, Robinson's Zaphod Beeblebrox in flames on 2180, Lynch's super-slick Dredd portrait on 2181, Coleby's toothsome Hookjaw on 2202 and Tim Napper's utterly 2000AD bag of frogs on 2200.

I'd love to throw Simon Fraser's exquisite Hershey cover a vote,  but I don't want to encourage this sort of thing

[Barrington Boots]

As a longtime lurker I'm excited to finally cast a vote on this!


In third place I'm going for 2209. Of the two fiends covers I like this one a little more. Just beautiful art, full of menace and tiny details. I especially like the eyes on this cover.

Second 2163. The first cover of the year but it's stuck with me all year because it's such a great image. The characters are just exploding off the page at you, and it encapsulates their personalities with their facial expressions.

In first place for me it's 2211. I think this is a really effective cover: it's a simple image, bold and bright, references the story but it's also very evocative with a clever social callback. I don't like the font, but that doesn't detract for me.

My fourth choice was 2182 - it summarises the end of the strip by calling back to every tale in the series (I think).

Honourable mentions to 2192 with the awesome bear, 2202 with an awesome shark and 2205 with awesome spiders (even though it's not the spiders that makes this one but the perspective and it's pulpy nature)

[Barrington Boots]

I also ran this one past my wife, who is a casual prog reader and not on this forum, so not expecting her vote to count. She chose:
3rd: 2163
2nd: 2211
1st: 2198
Tow of those were on my list but 2198's Sindex cover wins it for her with it's slick 80s stylings and colours. It could be a film poster.

[DrJomster]

It's cover of the year time! Thanks Pete!

*puts thinking cap on*

[rogue69]

2210 - 1st
2178 - 2nd
2190 - 3rd

[Funt Solo]

First place is prog 2176 by Simon Fraser - a wonderful composition that gives Hershey character and place:


Second place is prog 2170 by Mark Sexton - an eye-catching simplicity and an interesting angle on an old school Lawmaster:



Third place is prog 2198 by Luke Preece - bringing a strong design aesthetic back to these well-known characters:

[broodblik]

1. prog 2209 - fiends cover by Tiernen was just awesome
2. prog 2191 - feels like the classic novel sci-fi covers we had in the 60s to the 80s
3. prog 2169 - who does not like a good old Cliff cover with colours by Dylan

[abelardsnazz]

1. Prog 2210 - Dave Kendall's work on Deadworld is consistently brilliant.
2. Prog 2206 - brilliant and deceptively simple old-school stuff from Alex Ronald.
3. Prog 2202 - Hookjaw returns in style, great and striking image from Simon Coleby.

[WhizzBang]

1. 2196
2. 2207
3. 2206

[SmallBlueThing(Reborn)]

In third... 2205, because it radiated undiluted thrillpower- a spider pit!- of a kind that has been lacking for too long.

In second... 2178, because it's already an iconic image of a new character- Chimpsky- that I can see being referenced knowingly again in the future. And the colours were wonderful.

In first... 2187. Bright, bold and utterly new- a bit like The Out itself. Not only a great cover in and of itself, but hopefully in years to come one to look back on and be reminded of when this brilliant, long-lasting and much-loved strip began.

Bubbling under: 2169- classic Robinson daystick, 2184- not a bad one, but which gained unexpected notoriety through world events, and 2192- Shako! Let down by the lack of "the only bear on the judge's death list!" as a strap line.

SBT

[DrRocka]

Third - 2164 - Classic Will Simpson Dredd!

Second - 2169 - Iconic Dredd from Cliff Robinson, reminds me of classic eighties covers.

First - 2211 - Wanted to frame it and put it up on the pub wall above my prog zone, the second it landed. Just lovely.