ESPN The Magazine presents Marvel Comics’ pantheon of heroes in a way they have never been seen before – in a special insert inside the magazine’s annual Body Issue on newsstands Friday, July 10th. The custom edition, entitled The Body Issue: Super Heroes Edition will feature Iron Man, She-Hulk, Ant-Man, Captain Marvel, Daredevil, Medusa, Hulk, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.
ESPN.com will also offer fans an exclusive digital sketch book featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of these powerful images. The exclusive digital sketch book will show how ESPN & Marvel Comics, along with some of the premier artistic talents in the world, worked collaboratively honoring and illustrating the male and female form through detailed anatomical drawings. This exclusive online gallery provides readers a behind-the-scenes look of how these unique concepts, designs, and masterful illustrations came together to produce this one of a kind Body Issue insert.
Every day, all over the world, Marvel’s top comic book artists flex their creative muscles to illustrate the world’s mightiest Super Heroes. In the spirit of ESPN The Magazine’s visual celebration of athleticism, dedication and strength, a mix of those same artists took to their drawing boards to craft bold images of Marvel’s characters like never before. From the ferocious and powerful Hulk to the brawny but diminutive Ant-Man, the results represent a partnership—not only between sister companies ESPN and Marvel but between physical power and sculpted beauty.
“For a comic book artist drawing the human anatomy is an everyday job,” says Marvel Comics artist Sara Pichelli. “But here it was matter of celebrating the maximum expression of human muscles and shapes. Creating believable, powerful, and at the same time harmonic bodies is always a challenge, that's why I wanted to be part of this.”
“While The Body Issue itself celebrates the unique characteristics of each athlete’s physique, we thought it made perfect sense to extend this theme to these Marvel characters,” says ESPN The Magazine Deputy Editor Otto Strong.
"When comic book artists imagine the physical ideal, they have to start somewhere," says Editor In Chief Axel Alonso. "And let's face it, professional athletes, whose bodies are fine-tuned instruments, are the closest thing to real-life Super Heroes. Marvel's Body Issue insert is a celebration of the most iconic Super Heroes in the world and the athletes that inspired them."
Check out in their own words, illustrators describe their experience creating such characters for The Body Issue: Super Heroes Edition. You can also purchase the book from Amazon.
Geekpin Entertainment
The Body Issue Superheroes Edition
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