One of the most redeeming things about spending your life starring at comic books is having a constant cache of community references to quietly enjoy (with or without giggling). There are many catalysts for popping open the old memory banks and indulging in a geeky reference, but few stimuli enrich readers' lives the way homage comic book covers seem to.

My favorite image to see artists pay tribute to? The cover to "The Amazing Spider-Man" #50 by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. It's such an iconic shot, with a moody Peter turning his back on his greatest source of pain - and only real source of redemption. With its sunset-invoking color palate and an abundance of speed lines, the weight of the situation comes at you like an extremely pleasant punch in the chest.

That's why when I saw one of the variant covers to next week's "Absolution" #5 by Christos Gage, Roberto Viacava and Juan Jose Ryp, I felt compelled to explore the wide world of homage covers and humbly share my Googled findings.


I'm also an enormous fan of the cover's corresponding interior image, which shows Peter discarding his costume in an alleyway garbage can, hunched over in the pouring rain. It, too, went on to inspire comic book covers despite its decidedly interior location. Romita Sr.'s arresting images have an enviable upward mobility that way.

Check out a smattering of other ASM #50 homages (and in a few cases just fun lookalikes) from around the cyberspaces after the jump...

Original interior:


Covers inspired by ASM #50 cover and interior art:

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