I was quite lucky to spot this variant cover on the shelves, because it really does not look like the other BOTA books. It is specifically altered to give a darker tone and focus on the building, especially as the title and book details are compressed at the roof of the page. It is also great how the title of the book is seemingly Battle of the Atom as opposed to All New X-Men, if you compare font sizes. The theme to this book is one of a disturbing unease about the future of the X-Men and this superbly shown by this cover. The building is purposely desolate and derelict and obviously inhabited indicating that something serious has gone wrong. It is a classic apocalyptic trope which has been represented in many a movie, game and literature. However it looks great and the whole page is essentially the building, and this is the reason for the black borders and the title text pushed upwards. There are some subtle details that being about this bleak existence, including the tattered clothes hanging out to dry, the rubble of the building crumbling from above to the ground and the lack of electricity. Before we move onto Beast and Magik appearing centrally at the bottom of the page, it is worth highlighting the brightness emanating from them, implying an expanse of energy upon their arrival. This shines outwards onto the dereliction and in doing so, highlights the darkness of the scene. Our X-Men are very small, giving perspective to the size of the building and are deliberately poised in an disorientated fashion. The most important effect of their size is the isolation it brings because there is actually no-one else around. There is such atmosphere to this cover that it actually makes you believe that the divination of the future X-Men is true. Stuart Immonen has produced just the most wonderful cover.
House Of Flying Scalpels 