Simply the Best: Wonder Woman #72

I became an instant fan of illustrator Brian Bolland when I saw the cover of (and immediately purchased) Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1 back in 1981.  As I found out many years later, this was the British illustrator's first professional work for an American comic book company, having broken into comics drawing Nigerian hero Powerman and later the British cult-favorite Judge Dredd.

Bolland went on to illustrate many high profile projects for DC Comics, such as Camelot 3000 (comics' first "maxi-series") and Batman: The Killing Joke with Alan Moore.  As great as those stories were, Bolland has made an even greater contribution through his outstanding cover illustrations.  In fact, Bolland's gift for subtle facial expressions, imaginative layouts and clean linework makes him one of the premiere cover artists of his (or any) generation.

Nearly every cover he's created for DC's Animal Man, The Flash, Wonder Woman, and assorted others became a bonafide "Instant Classic".   Within that huge body of work, a few covers stand out as something extra special...such as Wonder Woman #72 (1993).

The Wonder Woman character has always walked a narrow line between enlightenment and exploitation, most often leaning toward the latter.  Countless covers portray the title character in silly or downright demeaning positions and situations, which is why this cover stands out as something different.  Bolland retains the beauty and, yes, sexiness of Wonder Woman, but at the same time imbues her with an undeniable power, grace, determination and dignity.

In other words, all of the best qualities of womanhood.

Update: To see more of Bolland's work, click here for a modest cover gallery.