J. Scott Campbell Master of Form!
Good Evening Everybody!
A few days back now I did a post showcasing some of Mr. Adam Hughes fantastic artwork and tonight we will be taking a look at some of Mr. J. Scott Campbell's stuff! I really like both of these guys a whole lot and they are both responsible for turning me more into a cover guy than a story guy. Masterful at their portrayal of the subject, the beauty stands alone!
I have been busier the last week or so with life and haven't been on here as much with these articles. I'll probably get another one in sometime this weekend of some sort. Don't know what yet though. Let's get started........
It's My Girl!
All-New Wolverine issue 1
So this was inevitable. Can't seem to go more than one or two of these without some Wolverine action and especially, in an article featuring the girls, X-23! This was a store variant and I picked it up online right when I had started collecting again. I believe this series at the time was 3 or 4 issues in. Good thing I picked up issue 2 with Gabby's first before it became more expensive......This works for me as I am a huge fan of the character and this is an awesome depiction. What doesn't work for me is the scratchy background. The standard cover is pretty awesome as well, so give it a look if you can.
Hope
X-Men Vol. 2 issue 205
When I picked this up a couple of years ago it was maybe a 20-25 dollar book. It was a Campbell variant, a good one, so rightfully so. Since that time, the price on this has shot up quite a bit. I didn't know it at the time but this is the first appearance of Hope Summers. She caught some heat this past Spring when the Deadpool 2 Cable rumors were flying as her story is deeply entwined with his. Glad I picked it up when I did. Also, X-23! Honestly, this cover kind of has a throwback Gen-13 feel to it and that's not a bad thing.
Spider Gwen, Spider Gwen!
Spider-Gwen issue 1
There are just a ton of covers for this Spider-Gwen phenom. I bought these because....J. Scott Campbell. I haven't read any of the Spider-Gwen material. If there is one thing I can say that I get a little tired of with Campbell covers it is the reuse of the same image on different backgrounds. This is one of those....like the third use of this figure. I don't mind the black and white sketches and colors sharing the same figure. That makes sense to me. But changing up the color scheme or background some and pushing it out as new product.....
Spider-Gwen! Again!
Spider-Gwen issue 1
Same issue as seen above. Different cover. I must say, I actually like this one much, much more than the other. I especially like the colored version and am generally a sucker for sketch variants so.....that's saying something.
Closing With My Second Favorite!
Red Sonja Vol. 4 issue 1 & issue 2
Okay, now this is about as cool as it comes. I like the half sketched, dash of color unfinished feel. And what color, the red is really perfect used this way for this character. Love me some Red Sonja! I really wish I had the virgin variants of these......
I guess that wraps up today's version of "What's In My Long Boxes?!" Shout out and honorable mention to the Gen-13 and Danger Girl books that I couldn't find.....maybe I'll do an early work Hughes/Campbell combo one day........
Okay, So I'm Not 100% Finished. Can Ben Caldwell Get Some Love For What He Has Been Doing With His Red Sonja Covers!
Red Sonja Vol. 4 issue 5
This is the first issue Ben did a variant for and my gosh its amazing. He has actually done some really solid work across all of the covers he has done for this volume of Sonja. Even some pretty good and affordable virgins! They all have Ben's distinct look and feel but I think when he is at his best, like displayed above he is as good as anyone in the biz. I'd even say that in the above he has managed to combine what makes both Hughes and Campbell so great!
How dare you not mention MY Campbell Variants?!?! 😜
Well I definitely don’t have those! The only Blackcat I have from him is that late issue Ultimate Spider-Man standard cover.
Is that a negative on the far right?! Don’t know if I’ve seen one of those before.
Yeah, Those were my stores exclusives from 2015. It’s also the first appearance of Silk. Pretty hot books. They did very well for us and have increased in value a bunch since initially coming out.
Yeah the negative came out super cool.