Glossy. Epicurean 36.

Epicurean was a bold editorial adventure published in the mid 1960s through to the late 1970s. With a changing masthead, sometimes surreal covers and a bold use of typography and colour, Epicurean was one of Australia's first magazines devoted to food and wine. In 2010 Dominic Hofstede curated an exhibition of all 77 covers designed by American graphic artist Les Mason at Melbourne's The Narrows. I wish I'd been able to go, but for now I'm happy looking at this amusing cover putting rubber gloves to inventive use.

Glossy. Cool Cats.

Family Circle once gave good face with this example coming from 1978. You'd be hard pressed to find a masthead so low on a cover today, but here it works. With Christmas almost over, the 'hundreds of exciting Christmas ideas' will have to wait until next year. Nice to see adorable kittens in place of dull people.

Glossy. Nelson Mandela.

Magazines across the globe sent to print their covers featuring Nelson Mandela last week. With so many to choose from it was difficult to select just one for here, but something about Vrij Nederland's captured, at least for me, the spirit of the man.

Glossy. Epicurean 44.

Another intriguing cover from Epicurean. It really was adventurous, and just a little kooky. Now there's a combination that can never go wrong.

Glossy. Lobster Surprise.

Dating from May 2012, this clever cover of The Rotarian has won awards with simplicity and playfulness combining in this striking design. I can't help but think of Salvador Dali when I look at this red crustacean.

Glossy. LSD Life.

Life Magazine as we knew it started out in 1936. In its time it produced groundbreaking, and at times controversial, covers that would influence future publications. For me, Life has become linked to Alfredo Jaar's insightful work Searching For Africa where the covers of Life are all lined up in an effort to find Africa on one.

Glossy. Real Time.

I'm late to report, but I wanted to congratulate my former student Shan Turner-Carroll on his recent success, which not only includes the cover of Realtime above, but also the Doctor Harold Schenberg Prize as part of Hatched at PICA earlier in the year worth a cool $35,000. He's not long back from his first trip to Myanmar, the fruits of which we'll no doubt see in a new body of work soon. One to watch.

Glossy. Monocle.

Monocle's latest cover. Every issue is brimming with compelling stories from places far different from where I am. And there are many things to covet.

Glossy. Making The News.

Another brilliant issue from Colors, this time focusing on news-making around the world. Insightful, amusing, jaw-dropping and scary. Brilliant.

Glossy. 20 Years Of Wired.

Twenty years is a long time in the fickle world of magazine publishing. Celebrating its twentieth anniversary in May, Wired went with this bold cover to enclose an intriguing A to Z of the past twenty years in the tech sphere. It's a ripping read from cover to cover, which can also be seen on-line in the 1993-2013 feature. Another twenty years please.

Glossy. Going Up, Going Down.

If I were a businessman I'd probably buy Bloomberg Businessweek more often. Their covers never miss a beat. On topic, smart, clever and often funny. Sharp stuff. They deserve cover of the year for this one.

Glossy. Max Joseph.

German magazine Max Joseph pushes boundaries with their covers, this one being no expception.

Glossy. Woman Has Baby.

Cover of the month goes to Private Eye for this one about the birth of a royal baby. Hilarious.

Glossy. Boy George Blitz.

Along with counterparts i-D and The Face, London's Blitz magazine's heyday was in the early 1980s. Of the three i-D is the only to have lasted the distance with Blitz having the shortest lifespan. Regardless, Blitz has left behind an engaging time capsule charting 1980s cool.

Glossy. Good Face.

With Tyler Brûlé at the Helm, Wallpaper* gave good face.

Glossy. Special Request.

Special Request is a new magazine out of London. Their first issue focuses on food and features pretty in pink Miss Piggy on the cover. I'm intrigued and almost willing to part with $30 to see it.

Glossy. In Profile.

Another inventive cover from Volkskrant magazine. This one's a joint effort by photographer Luka Gobel with post production by Jan Hibma. Brilliant, if slightly disturbing.

Glossy. Life.

Flavorwire published their take on Life Magazine's greatest ten covers a little while back. It was an interesting selection, and we'd all have our own choices. Life's general archive is impressive and well worth whiling away some time on. For now here's the December 6, 1954 cover.

Glossy. Look.

I love this cover, the second Look from New York Magazine. Red eyes never looked so good.

Glossy. Agnetha.

Eurovision is only days away, so no wonder Abba fever is hotting up again. Not only has a state-of-the-art Abba museum opened in Stockholm, but Agnetha has released her new album, A. Unlike her last album My Colouring Book (highly recommended), A features new songs. The Big Issue's interview with Agnetha in this week's London issue is bound to be intriguing. Smashing cover.