Beginning next month, a new line of variant covers will provide us with a breathtaking glimpse into one of the key creative forces behind the design and look of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Adorning various Marvel titles throughout September and later this year, the new "Marvel Studios Variant Covers" showcase stunning artwork by the legend that is Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development Ryan Meinerding.
The pieces come straight from Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding, an upcoming art book arriving October 1 that covers the breadth of Meinerding's work on the MCU with illustrations, sketches, character designs, insights, and much more.
The variant covers pull from Meinerding's long career with Marvel Studios, stretching all the way back to the early days of 2008's Iron Man.
In these pieces, we see some familiar shots from movies like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Homecoming alongside less familiar pieces depicting characters such as The Hulk, Thor, and Vision. More variants will reportedly be revealed in the coming weeks.
For those of you wondering, Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding is available for pre-order now and will be available from Abrams Books on October 1, 2024.
We had the good fortune of speaking to Meinerding in 2019 and asked what he appreciates most about the way Marvel Studios highlights the work of its incredibly talented concept artists.
"You know, it's one of the best parts about working here. Kevin has always loved concept art. He grew up loving Star Wars and Ralph McQuarrie's work and he had the idea of just having a visual development team, which is essentially a concept art team. We're allowed to create as many high quality and most useful pieces that we can that sometimes turn out to be relevant for marketing materials and beyond."
"I'm very fortunate that the 'Art of' books are things that are made and that are out there and highlight the work we're doing and what we're trying to accomplish. It's an amazing place to work and to be able to say that I've worked here for just over thirteen years and led around fifteen movies that have all of that come together in a cinematic event as big as Endgame was...I don't know if I could have written a script for my career that was more gratifying and satisfying or amazing."
"If I'd told my thirteen-year-old self what I'd be doing on one movie let alone upwards of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen movies, I would never have believed it."
Check out these must-have new Marvel Studios variant covers below.
On Sale 9/4
IMMORTAL THOR #15 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
On Sale 9/11
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #57 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #1 Wraparound Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
On Sale 9/18
INCREDIBLE HULK #17 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
AVENGERS #18 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
On Sale 9/25
PHASES OF THE MOON KNIGHT #2 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #58 Wraparound Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding
AVENGERS ANNUAL #1 Marvel Studios Variant Cover By Ryan Meinerding