Legion

The assignment was to do a cover based directly on this Keith Giffen Legion image from the 1980's. Perks: No layouts required, the basic color scheme is already worked out, and the final goal is much clearer than it usually is. The thing I enjoy about doing homages to other pieces is the fact that, even with all this homework done beforehand, the final piece still requires you to find some solutions to make the image work for you. My ultimate goal became giving my cover a psychadelic feel, something that felt more in tune with what the Legion seemed like to me at that time. Put that tablet on your tongue and to relax....

I can't discuss this cover without talking about Jack Kirby. The Darkseid character is an amazing design and I LOVED the big orange sun in the background and all the Kirby-crackle. I did a number of passes on this in the drawing phase just to get Darkseid's face close to looking like Jack's stuff.... or at least as close as my capabilities would allow. In the end, hopefully my version is still recognizable as a homage to the Giffen cover, but different enough to be somewhat fresh.

Off topic: R.I.P. Frank Frazetta. King of Kings.