One of the fun things about having your own little stable of characters is that you can “play” with them. By that, I mean that you can interpret them in any darned way you want.
I’ve used the Heroes Now anthology series to do just that.
- The series has had impressive pinup art that allow different artists to present the same characters through their own distinct artistic lenses.
- The “homage” cover series by David Baf Gallart has reinterpreted the heroes as if they were drawn by the likes of Rob Liefeld (issue 1, homaging Youngblood 1 on its 30th anniversary), Kevin Maguire (issue 2, homaging Justice League 1) and Jaime Hernandez (issue 3, homaging Love and Rockets 1). And what about the Fantastic Four 1 homage back cover on issue 3 by John Muller? All in the name of fun!
- Even the stories themselves have different takes. Consider Scott McClung’s Accelerator story, and then look at how Teri Sue Wood drew the character.
Past that, there’s the Hero Gallery. It’ll be a periodic series within the Heroes Now title where I do my darndest to ask artists of note (especially the ones I have enjoyed over my years of reading comics) to give me their interpretations of my five original heroes on 2.5″x3.5″ blank trading cards. I can’t promise these in every issue, as it takes a special type of artist for me to commission such tiny masterpieces, but they’ll see print as they come in.
One of the drawbacks of the black and white interiors of Heroes Now is that the color-illustrated cards only get the black/white/grey treatment. So let’s use this site to show the cards off in full color as intended!
We’ll start with the Fred Hembeck cards featured in Heroes Now 2. Enjoy!
Patriot & Jeff, from happier times
The Light. Note the sweet belt with the flash bombs!
Accelerator.
The slightly lighter colored Hologram.
Laser-Disc.
Mr. Hembeck accepts commissions for sketch cards through his website. He welcomed my inquiry as it provided a breath of fresh air, character-wise, in drawing.
Hope you liked this! I’ll post the next gallery, from Matt Feazell, soon!
Phoenix Productions 