This January, iconic artist Jim Cheung draws the heroes and villains of Marvel Comics in a special series of variant covers.
Like past cover variant themes, these headshot sketches will be available across various different titles throughout the month, celebrating the artistry of Cheung. As per Marvel's press release, "These HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVERS perfectly showcase the raw talent of one of industry’s most renowned talent, known for his exemplary work on some of Marvel’s greatest stories and events."
On Sale 1/12
ETERNALS #9 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
HAWKEYE: KATE BISHOP #3 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
THOR #21 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
On Sale 1/19
HULK #3 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
SILVER SURFER: REBIRTH #1 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
X-MEN #7 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
On Sale 1/26
DEVIL’S REIGN #3 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
SHANG-CHI #8 HEADSHOT SKETCH VARIANT COVER by JIM CHEUNG
Cheung's legacy at Marvel began in the mid-'90s when he was drawing both Force Works and Iron Man. He then drew the short-lived Maverick series before joining X-Force as the featured artist. He enjoyed a lengthy run on the title and ushered in the landmark 100th issue before leaving the House of Ideas in 2000 to pursue work outside of the company. A few years later, Cheung returned to Marvel as a cover artist for books like What If and Avengers. Arguably his greatest success came in 2005 when he resumed interior art duties and co-created the Young Avengers. Since then, Cheung has continued to cement his legacy as one of Marvel's top artists on projects like New Avengers, Clone Conspiracy and the recent Marvel's Voices: Identity, while also working diligently as a cover artist for other marquee titles.
In total, eight heroes and villains will be featured as part of Cheung's headshot sketch variants throughout the month of January. These include Thanos on the cover to Eternals, Kate Bishop on the cover to her new Hawkeye series, Lady Loki on Thor, the Hulk on his self-titled book, Silver Surfer on the debut issue of Silver Surfer: Rebirth, Daredevil on the cover of Devil's Reign and Shang-Chi on the cover of his own series. An eighth headshot sketch, featuring Rogue on the cover of X-Men, has yet to be revealed.
Source: Marvel