Monday, July 18, 2011

I am Captain America

Several months ago, Marvel invited me and fellow Pixarian Bobby Rubio to contribute art to a series of variant covers called I am Captain America. The series depicts Cap as ordinary citizens of all walks of life, reflecting the hero in all of us. My assignment was the "little league Cap", which was just fine by me because it doesn't get much more American than Baseball. The issue is a variant cover of New Mutants #27, which is on shelves now!

The variant's a bit rare (1 in 25 of New Mutants #27 will be the I am Captain America variant), so you may want to call your local comic store ahead of time to make sure they're packing the heat. Here's a look at the progression from sketchbook to final cover:


Below is an alternate concept I pitched to Marvel's talent relations manager, George Beliard (Cap as the coach, rather than a player), and an alternate pose, with a bit more of an aggressive stance.



This being my first professional comics job, I was curious to see how my friends would react. So I decided to film their responses in a series I call Comic Reactions.




My friends Jay and Tim are usually more into games than comics, but I think they really dug my cover!


Sometimes one's art can only be appreciated by fellow artists.


Being a professional comic artist means you're a VIP wherever you go.


I was curious to see the response of my target audience: the chilluns.


I drove up to Sacramento to visit my hometown comic shop, A-1 Comics, with my dad. A bit of a trek just for a comic, but I think you'll agree that my dad's reaction was worth it!


It slowly donned on me that perhaps this was a cover only a mother could love.


Can't wait to see the reactions of other professional comic artists at Comic Con and Trickster! Stay tuned!

13 days...

19 comments:

Andy Latham said...

These are lovely! I love the final cover, but I also think the other versions are great, especially the coach one.

Seeing the progression from initial sketch to the finial design is really interesting to see, thanks for sharing! :)

Aaron Ludwig said...

Great videos.

bobbyrubio said...

Awesome cover work Austin! And the videos are hilarious!

Gary Hsu said...

I laughed out loud at the videos...at work.

Unknown said...

Andy- Yeah, it would have been fun to develop both paintings. If I only had the time!

Aaron- thanks!

Bobby- thanks man. Remember, we need to get your reaction at Comic Con!

Gary- haha, mission accomplished.

Anonymous said...

The cover looks great! Love the perspective you've got going on.

Vi said...

"He's technically a super soldier..." Haha. That cracks me up.

Bobby Pontillas said...

Thanks for the hilarious reactions, and agreed with the gang, the cover looks fantastic! Hopefully they'll tap you for more.

Vela said...

Hi i'm a CSSSA animation student this year and i'm just popping by to say, like many other kids, i'm really looking forward to hearing you talk on Wednesday, your work is a great inspiration for me. :_)

Unknown said...

John- thanks, I always loved how movies dramaticized the batter/pitcher showdown like a wild west duel.

Vi-my mom means well, but she has much to learn.

Bobby- thanks man. Here's hoping!

Vela- congratulations, I'll see you soon!

Adam said...

Ah! Awesome stuff. What an awesome job to be able to do covers like that. Thanks for sharing your process too!

Ryan Green said...

I actually thought the cover was amazing...but after seeing those videos, I realized that I must have bad taste. Better luck on your next cover.

Charles Santoso said...

hahahaha.. awesome videos, man! and of course.. the cover too :D

All the best and look forward to seeing next ones! :)

George Cwirko-Godycki said...

your dads reaction was funny

Unknown said...

Adam- thanks, I hope to do more!

Ryan- no, you're right, Ryan. I'm unappreciated in my time.

Charles- thanks!

George- yeah, he's a natural.

. happisis . said...

the videos are hilarious. laugh alot! hahaha *still laughing

William Jardine said...

Love the videos Austin, but I think it's fairly obvious that with your Mum, you should have done your best Brad Bird impression and said "no cape!" xD

Unknown said...

happisis-thanks! More than a few takes were ruined by chuckling on our parts as well.

william- dang, good call!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the front cover, it looks great! The movie was just released in Aussie, so I can't wait to see it. I can see why you are an animator, you have so much life to share. The videos were hilarious! My favourite one was the V.I.P party one, female security always seem to take there job sooo seriously lol