Each Monday, staff writers Kevin Melrose and Steve Sunu discuss their five favorite covers from the previous Wednesday's new comic releases, selecting from among them CBR's Cover of the Week. Then, at the end of each month, they choose from the weekly winners -- you guessed it! -- a Cover of the Month.

This week, Spider-Man gets a heartbreaking 50th anniversary cover, The Flash gets all yin and yang, Lobster Johnson gets up close and personal, a dolphin gets help and Dashiell Bad Horse gets going.

Keep reading for Kevin and Steve's favorites from the week Aug. 22, and then discuss your choices in the CBR forums.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" #692, by Marcos Martin (Marvel)

It's really difficult to choose just one cover from among Marcos Martin's five stunning Spider-Man Through the Decades variants celebrating the 50th anniversary of the wall-crawler. Although Martin doesn't receive as much attention as some other flashier top-tier artists, he's a superstar, able to communicate so much with relatively few lines. Here the color palette and simple design work together to isolate the figures at the bottom of the image. The body language conveys so much here, with Spider-Man appearing powerless -- crumpled, even -- as he holds the limp body of Gwen Stacy. It's heartbreakingly beautiful. -- Kevin Melrose

"The Flash" #12, by Francis Manapul (DC Comics)

Francis Manapul's cover is beautiful, as always, as the artist changes things up design-wise for the series' twelfth issue. The Flash surrounded by the Speed Force is right-side up with Glider upside-down, resulting in a near-perfect yin and yang image. The design has a great effect, further enhancing Manapul's incredible watercolor art. -- Steve Sunu

"Lobster Johnson: The Prayer of Neferu," by Tonci Zonjic (Dark Horse)

Tonci Zonjic ("Who Is Jake Ellis?") is such a terrific choice to tackle the adventures of Mike Mignola's 1930s pulp hero -- even if, as in this case, he's only drawing the cover. Once again the limited palette serves the image well, with the rich blacks and grays evoking classic movie serials. The orange accents work well, too, with the splash of color on the claw emblem of the hero's coat mimicking a blood splatter from the close-up gunshot. -- Kevin Melrose

"Mind MGMT" #4, by Matt Kindt (Dark Horse)

Matt Kindt's cover for "Mind MGMT" #4 is very simple: It's a dolphin staring innocently at the reader as the words "Help Me" form themselves in the water. From the pitch-perfect expression on the dolphin's face to the incredible shading, this cover excels in its simplicity and deserves a spot in the best covers of the week. -- Steve Sunu

COVER OF THE WEEK: "Scalped" #60, by Jock (DC Comics)

Jock brings to a close the five-year-run of the acclaimed crime series by Jason Aaron and R.M. Guera with a callback to the very first issue, published in March 2007. That debut image featured a defiant Dashiell Bad Horse wearing a traditional headdress, his chin jutted out and nunchaku dangling from around his neck. Fast-forward 59 issues and we have a somewhat-softer Dashiell, with an angry child on his shoulders; it's that child who now grips the protagonist's weapon, signaling perhaps the same rage, the same problems, in a new generation. The secondary images have also changed, most notably a sign for the Gina Bad Horse Community Center replacing the billboard for Red Crow's casino. The covers combine to create the perfect bookends for the series. -- Kevin Melrose