Art

You could probably be forgiven for thinking that Sideshow's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "Premium Art Print" wasn't that big a deal. I mean, given that Sideshow is mostly known for their high-end action figures and collectibles, I spent the first few minutes after I saw this thing wondering why they were charging a hundred bucks for a photograph of a bunch of statues. But then I realized that it's not a photo at all, and is actually a brand new piece of art by the truly amazing Paolo Rivera, printed from an original oil painting. Check it out below!

Today saw the release of DC Universe Rebirth #1, DC Comics' big attempt to right some perceived wrongs the company may have taken over the past five years, and set the stage for a new DC Universe and a new slate of comics due out next month. Towards the back of the issue there is a two-page spread by Ivan Reis featuring the heroes of this new universe totaling over sixty characters, and we've combed through the entire spread and put a name to every face.

Ever since Valiant returned to comics in 2012, X-O Manowar has been the company's flagship title --- and for good reason. The idea of putting a visigoth from barbarian times into a suit of high-tech space armor and letting him just basically destroy everything that makes him angry with a sword made of lightning is pretty great. Now, though, the relaunched X-O is closing in on its 50th issue, and to celebrate the occasion, Valiant has hinted at a jam cover that will involve 50 artists doing 50 different takes on Aric of Dacia and his radical space armor. Today, we've got a close look at five of the artists participating: Colleen Coover, Dave Bullock, Ramon Villalobos, Michael Walsh, and Pere Perez.

Born on May 25, 1949, Barry Windsor-Smith brought a delicate beauty to even the most violent comics, and visually defined Conan the Barbarian for a generation. A Londoner by birth, Windsor-Smith got his start drawing pin-ups for British reprints of Marvel Comics. In 1968, at the age of 19, he flew to New York to meet with Stan Lee about getting real work for Marvel. At the time, he was drawing in a faux-Jack Kirby style, which was exactly what Marvel was looking for in a fill-in artist. This led to issues here and there of Avengers, Daredevil, and X-Men, among other books.

Despite having an extensive catalog of acclaimed works to his credit, from the manga adaptation of famous novel-turned-Tom Cruise movie All You Need Is Kill with Ryosuke Takeuchi (adapted as Edge of Tomorrow), to the manga about making manga, Bakuman, Takeshi Obata will perhaps always be best known for his hit manga series Death Note, with writer Tsugumi Ohba. The operatic supernatural detective story about teen would-be god Light Yagami and his reclusive nemesis L is the kind of breakout hit that most comic creators can only dream of. The art book Blanc et Noir: The Art of Takeshi Obata makes great use of Obata's work on Death Note --- but it also showcases the artist's considerable range and skill beyond his best known work.

Demon, the webcomic about a nihilistic body-jumping killer from the twisted, brilliant mind of Jason Shiga, recently wrapped up its 720-page, five-days-a-week schedule with an announcement: First Second will publishing the complete work in four voumes rolling out this year. To accompany the reveal of the cover to volume two, ComicsAlliance sat down with Shiga to talk about panel layouts, morality, and planning ahead.

What a week! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to sit back and read some comics. The weekend is finally here, and the world can relax and rest once more — but the comics industry has been busy too, you know, and the last seven days have seen a flurry of comics-based news and announcements fly past at high speed. ComicsAlliance has got your back, though: when it comes to comics, we never slow down, so here’s a look back and just what’s been going on. New comics, new stories, new podcasts, new art being made — it’s all part of the ComicsAlliance Weekender!

Though the story that brought it about was among the most controversial Spider-Man stories ever published, the soft reboot that came with 2008's "Brand New Day" branding infused the Spidey titles with a massive influx of energy and talent. In addition to the rotating Spider-Man "Brain Trust" concocting some of the most exciting stories in years, the books were gorgeous, with art from the likes of Steve McNiven, Chris Bachalo, Paolo Rivera, Phil Jimenez, and Salvador Larroca, among others. Yet one artist really stood out among that incredible pool of talent: Marcos Martin, who penciled and inked five arcs of Amazing Spider-Man between 2008 and 2011. Though all the artists who worked on the series during that period turned in gorgeous work, Martin truly put his stamp on the character.

While not quite as dramatic as the stolen plans to the original Death Star, a 10-page preview of the upcoming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Official Visual Story Guide was uncovered this week. After dropping the first teaser trailer on us last month, it's been all quiet on the Outer Rim front for Rogue One. That's not all that surprising given that Star Wars Celebration 2016 is just a hair under two months away, and Lucasfilm and Disney are likely loading up all the big reveals for the self-titled convention. As the internet has shown over the past few years however, you can't keep Star Wars secrets locked up for long. The Rogue One story guide preview was just a small sampling in the Macmillan Winter 2016 preview catalog, uncovered by Slash Film. Though the film isn't due out for months, this preview gives us the bit of an idea of what to expect from Gareth Edwards' anthology film, which is the first of many planned spin-offs set in the Star Wars universe. This is your warning to avoid reading any further should you not want even the slightest details about Rogue One spoiled.

In a blog post on Friday, Darwyn Cooke’s wife Marsha announced that her husband had been undergoing palliative care following treatment for an aggressive form of cancer. It was confirmed the next day that Darwyn Cooke passed away in the early hours of Saturday, May 14, surrounded by friends and family at his home in Florida. Cooke’s loss is felt throughout the comic book industry, not just as a creator and cartoonist, but as a friend, colleague and idol. Darwyn Cooke’s iconic and unmistakable style represented the very best the industry could offer, and the world is a much poorer place without him.