This March, as part of its Stormbreaker Initiative, Marvel Comics will release a series of variant covers, each one a homage to a particular art movement. Marvel’s Stormbreaker program spotlights some of the best artists currently working, and this new series of variant covers will allow them to show off their talent uniquely. There will be eight covers in total, stretching across some of Marvel’s biggest titles.
In a new press release, Marvel has unveiled the eight different covers, shared below. Each cover will represent a particular school of art or art movement. The variants cover a diverse array of art styles, ranging from Mexican Muralism to Dadaism to German Renaissance; styles from Russian Fairy tales are represented, as is Pop Art and Surrealism. Each cover will be done by a different member of the Stormbreakers Class of 2023. Artists include: CF Villa, Elena Casagrande, Martin Coccolo, Lucas Werneck, Jan Bazaluda, Chris Allen, Federico Vicentini and Nic Klein. Marvel stated these variants are the "perfect spotlight" for the talent and artistry embodied in the Stormbreakers Initiative. Among the characters who will be featured include Doctor Strange, the Avengers and Spider-Gwen.
Marvel’s Stormbreaker Initiative, started in 2020, is designed to recognize new and exciting artists. It is the spiritual successor to the Young Guns program, which ran for nearly 15 years and helped some of the industry’s top talent, such as Steve McNiven and Sara Pichelli, break through. The Stormbreaker Initiative keeps this tradition alive, bringing exciting new talent to the forefront and letting them show what they are made of. Every month, the Stormbreakers illustrate a new, themed variant cover and for March 2023, they will pay homage to some of the world's foremost schools of art!
Marvel Artists Pay Tribute to the Great Art Movements
Some of the schools of art spotlighted, such as Pop Art, go hand in hand with comics, while other, like Pinturas Negras, will allow the Stormbreakers to go to new and exciting places. One of the unique merits of Marvel's comic universe is how different artists can continually bring startlingly new perspectives to established characters. That's perfectly embodied in Gambit and Rogue's romance being depicted in Art Nouveau style, or German Renaissance art bringing a surprisingly macabre style to Spider-Man.
The covers above will appear respectively on Avengers #66, Hallows' Eve #1, Rogue & Gambit #1, Spider-Gwen: Shadow Clones #1, & Spider-Man: Unforgiven #1 on March 1, Amazing Spider-Man #21 and X-23: Deadly Regenesis #1 on March 8, and Doctor Strange #1 on March 22. Look out for these amazing Stormbreaker variant covers throughout March, wherever Marvel Comics are sold.
Source: Marvel