Marvel and ESPN Team Up For The Body Issue: Marvel Edition
ESPN The Magazine’s Body Issue is upon us, but this time around Marvel decided to do their own take on the popular format. Some of the Marvel Universe's best and brightest are featured in the lineup, including Daredevil, Captain Marvel, Medusa, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, She Hulk, Iron Man, Hulk, and Ant-Man. A variety of artists had a hand in the project, and while all are top notch, a few of the highlights are the Leinil Francis Yu-penciled Luke Cage, the Sara Pichelli take on Captain Marvel, the Russell Dauterman Iron Fist, the Frank Cho She Hulk, and the Jim Cheung Hulk. The Marvel Body Issue will be featured within the Magazine, but they also have a digital version that shows some of the original sketches that brought these to life, and is definitely worth checking out.
One of the cooler parts of all this is what each artist had to say about their character. You can catch their responses below, and you can check out the full issue tomorrow when the magazine is released.
DAREDEVIL
“My goal is to make super heroes more human. We look to see ourselves in many masked vigilantes. Not only with Daredevil, but many characters I draw are based on real people. —Alex Maleev
CAPTAIN MARVEL
“I work to combine correct proportions and powerful muscle shapes with a commonly accepted idea of beauty.” —Sara Pichelli
MEDUSA
“Women are more delicate in muscle mass definition, so the secret is to not define each muscle too much.” —Emanuela Lupacchino
LUKE CAGE
“I tend to gravitate toward athletes when it comes to getting a reference for my artwork. Particularly MMA fighters, who have a more functional physique.” —Leinil Francis Yu
SHE-HULK
“She’s a character of power, so I keep her upright: shoulders back, chest out—just a very commanding presence.” —Frank Cho
IRON FIST
“I do tons of reference. I try to get a variety of artists from different time periods to see how different people represented the character." —Russell Dauterman
IRON MAN
“Drawing super heroes? Well, they have to be perfect. They are like modern gods.” —Mike Deodato
HULK
“When I’m illustrating such dynamic figures, background explosions help sell the impact the character is having on the environment around him. The toughest part is trying to show the kinetic energy in a static image.” —Jim Cheung
ANT-MAN
“I always try to have the musculature of something that could possibly exist. Even though everything looks extremely exaggerated, I still want him to look like he can move and be functional.” —Greg Land