Welcome to Cover Girl! For this feature, we gather a team of WWAC contributors to analyze a new or recent and notable comic book cover featuring one or more women. This month, Kayleigh Hearn, Masha Zhdanova, and Carrie McClain discuss the Chainsaw Man Vol. 12 cover by Tatsuki Fujimoto, featuring new series protagonist Asa Mitaka as possessed by the War Devil, Yoru!
What is your initial reaction to this cover as a piece of comic art?
Masha Zhdanova: Full disclosure, I love Chainsaw Man, so my first reaction was, “wow it’s my best friend Yoru Chainsaw Man,” followed by, “ooh, colors!” I like the sort of secondary-triad color scheme with the green, purple, and pink background and yellowish sleeves combining to create an orange effect. The limited palette is effective, and I love the pose and expression. Fujimoto’s quite good at colors, in my opinion. The cover for Volume 11 is one of my all-time favorites because of how he rendered the green tile wall behind Denji.
Carrie McClain: WHEW. I am sooooooo behind on Chainsaw Man, so even though this is not a character that looks familiar to me–she’s captured my attention for sure! To piggyback on what Masha mentioned about the color scheme: I do like the effect going on with the positioning of the characters on the cover. It is giving me optical illusion vibes — which may be off putting or disturbing in the most wacky way which is on point for what I’ve read of the manga so far.
Kayleigh Hearn: I’ve been reading Chainsaw Man weekly on the official Viz app, so my initial reaction to this cover is, “Yes! Finally!” Think of your favorite 90s anime and the inevitable episode with the brand new transfer student, and then picture me as the anonymous heart-eyed background character who swoons over how cool they are. I love Asa Mitaka, even though she is actually not super cool at all, ha ha. Her introductory chapter, “Bird and War,” is my single favorite Chainsaw Man installment, and I’m excited for everyone to read on and find out what this creepy new girl’s deal is.
What do you think the artist is trying to achieve?
Carrie: DOMINANCE via the body of a Japanese schoolgirl who WILL put you down. Do NOT underestimate her. Leave your ego at the door!
Masha: I agree, but I also think he might be calling back to previous known Chainsaw Man girlboss Makima with Yoru’s expression here? She’s pretty different from Makima in how she operates, but the pink eyes and the way they stare into the viewer’s soul are just like Makima’s.
Kayleigh: The bold colors, the vertigo-inducing background, the bloody, brand-new character front and center – with this cover, Tatsuki Fujimoto is enticing us to read on even as he throws us off-balance and into uncharted territory. Who is Asa? Is she a friend or foe? As Chainsaw Man readers know, Fujimoto doesn’t do what’s easy or predictable. Not to give away too much backstory, but it was an exceptionally bold move for Fujimoto to return to his flagship shonen manga after a two-year hiatus, establish a brand new protagonist in Asa Mitaka, and wait over one hundred pages in the new story arc to re-introduce the title character.
What does this cover tell you about the character?
Carrie: Can I say it? She’s the HBIC. Or at least a major force to be reckoned with on the way to meet the HBIC. I’m lowkey terrified of her, the schoolgirl outfit makes the effect worse. God bless whoever she’s up against.
Masha: The way she’s flicking away blood from her wounds makes it seem as though she’s too tough to feel pain, and her unbothered expression and the vantage point both add to the sense that she has the upper hand over the viewer.
Kayleigh: I love it when I get into a staring contest with a piece of art and lose. Yoru’s unflinching and hypnotic gaze, the spray of blood across her face, the slight, amused quirk of her lips…I adore this cover and hope it inspires readers to check out what is, in my mind, the greatest superhero comic being published today.
And of course… “Just you wait, Chainsaw Man!”
