What makes the best comic book covers? It is a great topic for debate. For us, as individuals, there is no wrong answer, of course; it is purely subjective. But, with a little thought it’s possible to explain what it is about a particular image that grabs you. The best images are the ones that make you stop and check out something you weren’t previously planning to purchase – and in some cases, you even end up picking up a title you’ve never even heard of before.

Some ideas for comic books are so wonderful, so remarkable, so darn catchy you just can’t believe it wasn’t thought of earlier by others in times past. Dark Horse’s The Foot Soldiers is such a project. 

Jim Krueger’s magnum opus, beginning in The Foot Soldiers #1, chronicles the adventures of three special boys living in a futuristic police state that are chosen by a mysterious old man to exhume a forgotten legacy. Donning the weapons once wielded by gods and heroes, each of the boys obtain power – but must decide if they can handle the responsibility of defending a world gone mad.

The series’ mythic tagline, “When all the heroes are gone who will fill their shoes,” seems just epic enough to be illustrated by acclaimed cover artist (and sometime creative partner) Alex Ross (Marvels, Kingdom Come). Cover-dated for release in January 1996, this first chapter in a fun comic run proves itself a step above the rest every time you read it!

-Scott Braden