Best Covers Ever (This Year): Boom Studios 2016 Edition

It’s that blessed time of the year where we all try to take stock of what we’ve done with our lives and what other people have created that we enjoyed. That’s right, it’s time to start putting together our “Best of 2016″ lists, and today we’re going to take a look at the Best Boom Studios Covers of 2016.

The most interesting thing about looking at a year's worth of Boom comics is that it drives home what a wide variety of books the publisher puts out every month. I think most of us primarily associate Boom Studios with licensed kids' comics (Adventure Time, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) and queer-friendly teen fair (Lumberjanes, Backstagers). And while they're great at those books, they also publish a diverse selection of books aimed at adults, but the sci-fi/fantasy of Joyride and Namesake to the horror of Rowans Ruin and Weavers.

In addition to the work that comes out under the Boom Studios banner, the company has three distinct imprints. Kaboom is responsible for kids' comics. Boom Box is where you find that creator-driven teen stuff. Archaia Comics is an art-oriented, fantasy-friendly imprint that was its own company until Boom acquired it in 2013. This gallery mixes them all together in search of the very best covers across the whole company's 2016 output.

And of course the variety of their output is also reflected on their covers, which makes choosing the very best as complicated as it is fun. The visually rich style that Artyom Trakhanov brings to Turncoat, for example, is hard to directly compare to the virtuosic cartooning of Kat Leyh. And then you have the movie poster-esque painted covers that Nick Robles does for Kong of Skull Island, and the graphic design heavy covers Jonathan Brandon Sawyer contributes to Welcome Back. All of these covers (and the others in the gallery) are gorgeous, but within wildly different contexts.

Check Out The Best Marvel Covers of 2016