Freakin’ Out! – Ethan Van Sciver Spotlight

Satisfies the Spec Hunger

Freakin' Out!
Artist Spotlight – Ethan Van Sciver

After a brief hiatus, I'm back ladies and gents. Life calls sometimes, and overrides writing comic articles. I'm good to go though and sincerely appreciate you for stopping by to check out my article.

I had a chance to speak with Ethan Van Sciver at Indiana Comic Con and let me just say that this is one stand up gentleman. Not only did he do a quick Q&A session for this article, but he also refused to take any money for himself for signing three books. He asked to give the money to his teenage son, who was sitting next to him and also had some great prints to choose from (the money for those went to his son as well). Below is the quick Q&A session . . .

Jeff Nebo: Who was your favorite superhero growing up?
Ethan Van Sciver: Superman

Jeff Nebo: Who is your favorite character to draw?
Ethan Van Sciver: Batman

Jeff Nebo: What character would you like to draw that you haven't drawn yet?
Ethan Van Sciver: Plastic Man

Jeff Nebo: Which superhero do you think has breakout potential?
Ethan Van Sciver: Composite Superman

Jeff Nebo: What are you reading now?
Ethan Van Sciver: The Walking Dead

Very underrated in my opinion, the more work I look at of Van Sciver's, the more I appreciate his detail. His background work is amazing and honestly, I wish there was more work of Van Sciver's out there. Special shout out to Trey for the artist recommendation!

Cyber Frog #1 (Hall of Heroes)	Cyber Frog #1 (Hall of Heroes) is the 1st Appearance of Cyber Frog, who was the first character created and published by Van Sciver. The origin of Cyber Frog can be found in Cyber Frog #0 (Harris).	Cyber Frog #0 (Harris)
New X Men #128	New X-Men #128 is the 1st Appearance of Fantomex and is my favorite Van Sciver cover. Quentin Quire AKA Kid Omega 1st appears in New X-Men #135. Quire left the X-Men and joined the Hellfire Club as the White King.	New X Men #135
Batman Vol 2 #1b 1:25 Variant	In a close second for my favorite Van Sciver cover is Batman Vol 2 #1b, which is a 1:25 variant. This is an iconic Batman cover that is becoming very hard to find. Superman / Batman #27 features a great Power Girl and Huntress cover and is also becoming hard to find in the wild.	Superman / Batman #27
Blackest Night #4b 1:25 Variant	I just came across this Blackest Night #4b 1:25 variant and I can't stop admiring the artwork. It's dark, but not too dark. Cyber Frog #1 (Harris) is the first issue of the second series of Cyber Frog.	Cyber Frog #1 (Harris)

Here is a small gallery of great Van Sciver covers, some of which can be found relatively cheap.

Two trade paper backs worth checking out for some vivacious Van Sciver artwork are listed below. The Flash Rebirth TPB and Green Lantern Rebirth TPB are both great DC stories. Grab the second print of the Green Lantern Rebrith TPB as it has a much better cover!

BONUS!
Van Sciver drew the Chicago Comic Con 2013 Walking Dead #1 Variant. I really enjoy this cover and it may be my favorite Walking Dead #1 cover. The scene that is portrayed on this variant is the scene that really gave me the chills when I first watched the first episode of The Walking Dead. Find the sketch cover as well and get it signed by Kirkman and Van Sciver and then get it graded. You will have a nice book on your hands! Also, here are the two items I got signed by Van Sciver. A sweet Cyber Frog print and a copy of New X-Men #128.

 

As always, thanks for reading, and yes, I do still believe in heroes!