Screen Rant is revealing an exclusive look at two never-before-seen variant covers for the first issue of Primordial, a miniseries that's part sci-fi, part Cold War thriller. Spanning six issues, the comic book brings writer Jeff Lemire and artist Andrea Sorrentino back together after their work on the Eisner-winning series Gideon Falls. Publisher Image Comics described the series as a cross between 2001: A Space Odyssey and We3.
Lemire is well-known for his recently-adapted-to-Netflix comic book series Sweet Tooth and other essential reading, including Descender, Black Hammer, and All-New Hawkeye. Sorrentino's artistic talents have featured in several series such as Secret Empire, Suicide Squad, and God of War. The two previously worked together on the series Green Arrow, Gideon Falls, Old Man Logan, and Joker: Killer Smile. Primordial also features the beautiful colors of multiple Eisner Award-winning colorist Dave Stewart, whose colors appeared on numerous Walking Dead covers as well as in the series Conan and Abe Sapien. Now, another talented member has been added to the creative team with the addition of a new variant cover.
Screen Rant was sent the exclusive cover art for two of Primordial #1's variants. The first cover below is Cover D, and it features Able the monkey as illustrated by Yuko Shimizu. In their official comments about Shimizu's cover, Lemire and Sorrentino gushed about the cover. Lemire said: "Yuko is an incredible talent and she was the very first artist I thought of for variant covers for Primordial. Her sense of design is so unique and distinctive and she puts so much energy and humanity into the characters." Sorrentino added: “Yuko has such a special and wonderful style. It's amazing to see Able channeled through her vision in what is already one of my favorite variants for this book.” Shimizu was the artist for DC's now sadly defunct Vertigo Comics series The Unwritten and The Sandman: The Dream Hunters.
The second variant above is a Moon Footprint 1:75 incentive copy reminiscent of old-school Vertigo. There will also be two more variant covers available, which have already been revealed on Previewsworld. Cover B is by Christian Ward (DCeased: Hope at World's End, ODY-C) and Cover C is by Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Streets of Gotham, Descender); both prominently feature a monkey being shot into space.
Primordial tells an alternate history that begins in 1957 when the USSR sends a dog, Laika, into outer space. Despite Laika never returning, only two years later, the US sends two monkeys, Able and Baker, out into orbit, who also never come back. No one realizes that all three of them, the first animals ever sent into space, are on their way back. The mystery unravels from there. Readers will be able to start piecing together more when the first issue of Primordial releases in comic book stores on September 15, 2021.