One of the most intriguing Marvel NOW! series' is Jonathan Hickman's New Avengers. It was revealed earlier this week that it will focus on the Illuminati; Captain America, Iron Man, Black Bolt, Black Panther, Namor and Doctor Strange. In an interesting chat with our friends over at Newsarama, critically acclaimed artist Jock has shared some new details on his approach to designing the eye catching covers for the series and even lets slip which member of the team is the leader! Be sure to click on the link at the bottom of the page in order to read the interview in full and to check out more unused covers.
On Why He Decided To Cast The Team In Shadow On The Covers:
Honestly? I just like drawing heavily shadowed figures - there's no conspiracy... I wanted the first shot to be dark, brooding and slightly enigmatic, hence the silhouetted design. Black Panther is leading the team, so it was a natural choice for him to be at the forefront of the image. I had an earlier version where Iron Man was front-and-center, but it was rightly pointed out that might be confusing. So it's essentially a story-led decision, making it clear what the dynamics of our new team are.
On Putting Black Panther At The Forefront Of The New Avengers Line-Up: Design wise, I wanted to show Black Panther as the leader, so having him stand 'against the flow' was one way of doing this. I love using subtle design ideas like that, things that you might not take in directly, but you'll sense in the design. I always enjoy line up images... the challenge here was to make it interesting - so I tried to push the atmosphere of the piece rather than the details. I guess I do take influences from movie posters and the like, and there is some of that here. But, this is a Marvel comic, so there'll be plenty of big, bold action-led covers coming up too!
On Why The Logo Plays Such A Prominent Role On Each Of The Covers: When Tom first approached me about doing the covers, he mentioned he'd like to incorporate the logo in the art if it helps the design, and this is something I’ve loved doing ever since The Losers back in the day at Vertigo. The idea of strong, design-led imagery but also retaining the bold sense of our heroes really appealed to me. Also, it's a great logo! it's a shame to just slap it at the top... much more interesting to play around with it.
On Why Captain America Isn't Featured On The Covers: That was an editorial note to not feature him prominently, and I ended up not using him at all. I’d love to get him in there though - the cover I’m currently sketching has him featured, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to utilize him.
ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.