Before you say anything, I must remark that I have only chosen two previous hip hop variants in the past few months. Even I admit they are somewhat overused but I am enjoying the homages to my favourite albums of all time. This is another one of those and I am really pleased they chose an all female team and that they are part of one of the most threatening hip hip covers of all time. The anger and malicious intent of the persecuted was a hallmark of NWA and the comparisons with female depictions in comics are not of a dissimilar ilk. This is why I particularly like this cover, let alone the fact that Adam Hughes is wondrous once again. For the representation of beauty in the female form, I do not think there are many better artists out there. All the characters are well drawn with decent perspectives with the exact positions of the original band members replicated. The size and shapes all seem quite natural and not overtly exaggerated. The outfits and hairstyles make for easy identification and I enjoy that there is a very serious expression on everyone except for Dazzler (as there is on the original cover). Better still is the weapon used to replace the gun; Nico’s magical staff. The lack of dark inking lends to a softer tone, an accentuation of colour and the loveliest of light effects on the golden sphere of the staff. This album was seminal in the origins of hip hop and I could not think of a better superhero team to make use of its meaning.
House Of Flying Scalpels 