Variant Forecast
It’s another sunny day here at the Snap.Fan writer’s office, and that means it’s perfect weather for another Variant Forecast! Frankly, I’m not sure why I don’t make more direct weather references all the time. But really! There’s some great stuff coming out for a bunch of really cool characters this whole month, and I wanna talk about it. And as a thanks for all of you who want to listen, I have a Season Pass code to give away! So let’s dive in, and stay tuned for how to enter the running at the end of the article.
08/12
Inhyuk Lee’s Streetwear Album!
Artist: Inhyuk Lee
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)/Album Reward
For folks looped into the comics circle, Inhyuk Lee is having a pretty big season! Over yonder across the street, he’s got a series of streetwear fashion variant covers coming out for a bunch of Marvel characters—and it’s completely separate from this series of commissions for Second Dinner, featuring streetwear fashion variants for even more Marvel characters! Fashion variants are always a really fun intersection with superhero design, and these sit far at the fashion end of the spectrum, giving sleek, hip sensibilities to folks ranging from Magik to Enchantress.
My personal favorite might be tied up those fun clasps and buttons on Enchantress and Wiccan subtly modernizing their arcane wardrobe, though it’s also fun to see Jubilee breaking away from the yellow for some winter wear. If you like ‘em enough, snag the whole album to earn Hope Summers!
PANDART STUDIO’s Frankie Raye Spotlight
Artist: PANDART STUDIO
Source: General Pool (Spotlight)
Frankie Raye, the new Nova on the block (no relation), is going to be coming out with a Spotlight-tier variant in the shop, as is custom—not sure when Second Dinner’s larger plans for Spotlight variants in the Token shop will be, but for now all new cards launch with that hefty 2400 Gold featured artist variant for the truly dedicated. And for what it’s worth, it’s solid! The lighting on this woman-on-fire really does pop, and the PANDART artist really made some great composition decisions on how Frankie looks behind at us, lit by her white-hot hair.
Tony Moy’s Psylocke!
Artist: Tony Moy
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Of course, there’s lots of dazzling work coming in this day, with Tony Moy’s classic rich, saturated water colors that manage to evoke brilliant light bringing Psylocke to life here. I really like the darker colors and how they contrast with those whites washing out those purple psionic effects, and the whole of it is a refreshingly traditional media look for a variant in a digital card game—as always for Tony Moy. As a bonus, for only 700 Gold!
Grafit Studio’s Phastos and Alioth
Artist: Grafit Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)/Bundle
Grafit Studio has two entries for the day here, featuring a Phastos entering the General Pool and Alioth in a Bundle. The Phastos feels like it hearkens back to older designs that predates Brian Tyree Henry’s portrayal in the MCU’s Eternals, and it’s got the gravitas of those old comic poses with a game art studio’s more modern flair—though even taking that design difference into account, his skin has been lightened more than I’d personally prefer for a character who has long been portrayed as Black. Alioth’s a fun monster to see interpreted as various different predators across variants, and the more draconian, serpentine look in this Bundle looks slick. Look at those chompers!
08/13
Winking Studios’ Cull Obsidian Bundle
Artist: Winking Studios
Source: Bundle
Not to be studio-outdone, Winking Studios are bringing us an interesting take on Cull Obsidian that feels equal parts Transformer and Oni mask—which might scratch the toy action figure itch for folks that want art that evokes their childhoods! (I’m honestly getting Bionicle vibes as we speak.) The flames and whatnot (and the fact that the bundle is called The Black Dwarf) is charming on a “look how sick this is” level, and even if I don’t think it’s the most refined piece of art to grace SNAP, it might do the job for someone looking for something fun.
Cover Alert: Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings #4 Jeff Variant
Artist: Nao Fuji
Source: General Pool (Rare)
The Jeff covers are all a charming mainstay of modern variant covers in comics, with the incredibly popular It’s Jeff! Infinity webcomic spilling over into all your favorite comic covers, especially from a couple of years ago. Watching a landshark bounce into the frame of a bemused Shang-Chi is a lot of fun; it’s even more fun the more you see Jeff invading other covers in the same way, so here’s hoping we see more of Fuji’s work with Jeff make their way to SNAP!
Envar Studio’s Frankie Raye!
Artist: Envar Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
This variant is a surprising hit for me—a really surprising one! Envar overall has really stepped up this season, with variants that look like bona fide stills from an animated show; while Frankie isn’t quite my top Envar from the season, it’s close, and the flame effects in that flat-color style really shine, especially when you get that gradient from bright red to white helping dictate the forms. Envar’s never been my favorite of the studio bunch, but the work I’ve seen from the recently like this one have really bumped them up!
08/14
Alex Horley’s Skaar Bundle!
Artist: Alex Horley
Source: Bundle
Alex Horley is always a massive Bundle draw, and his penchant for that old-school fantasy paperback style always meshes so well with Hulks—something about a big, muscular barbarian-hero feels right at the face of it! And, of course, Skaar is the most barbarian-classed of them all, wielding that axe in an impressively dynamic pose, ready for battle. It’s nothing exactly new we’ve seen for the son of Hulk, but it still rockets up in my eyes for how well Horley does his thing. Banger!
PANDART STUDIO’s Galactus
Artist: PANDART STUDIO
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
The original Big G is still getting variant attention, the same way the OG F4 cards got plenty of variants last season, and so featured season artist PANDART is tackling this version of Galactus, doubling down on the gargantuan scale and dread of the Devourer as he looms over this poor planet. It’s an impressive amount of power being conveyed in the composition, and I appreciate how those eyes glow like a proper otherworldly entity ought to. It’s one of the more impressive PANDARTs of the season, and certainly a consideration for anyone looking to blow up some locations in style.
08/15
Ludo Lullabi (and Jelly Pixel)’s Onslaught
Artist: Ludo Lullabi/Jelly Pixel
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Ludo Lullabi is back, teamed up with another studio in Jelly Pixel this time to bring Onslaught to life. Lullaby’s presence in SNAP is almost exclusively through these collaborations, which perhaps combines the best of both worlds when it comes to managing the cost of a commission while still letting an individual artist shine. Lullabi’s breaking away a little from his ordinarily rounded, stylized musculature to depict a harder, more rigid form in the armored Onslaught, but his draftsmanship still feels present in all those clear shapes with their harder curves. Jelly Pixel’s colors bring that out perfectly well, complementing his work a bit more, for my money, than Mooncolony, though the real star is Lullabi’s style in any case.
08/16
Winking Studios’ Crossbones Bundle
Artist: Winking Studios
Source: Bundle
Winking Studios has a Crossbones variant in this bundle that feels appropriate to the character: the skull-faced mercenary is here in all his muscly glory, with bulging biceps and a minigun’s muzzle flare providing the more immediate lighting amidst the flames of what I must imagine is something horribly violent. Villains! What’re you gonna do. Winking captures Crossbones with a strong level of fidelity in all of that, making this a fine alternate art for folks looking to really up their 4/10 game.
Phil Saunders’ Doom 2099
Artist: Phil Saunders
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Phil Saunders is a cool Marvel talent who’s done lots of wonderful key and concept art for the MCU, and Second Dinner tapping him to make some more true-to-comics work is a fun thing to see! One of his specialties is Iron Man suits, as well, making him quite suited to adapting the tech-clad Doom 2099, floating and summoning an ominous ball of maybe-magic-maybe-science. It’s a great introduction to an exciting artist who’s got both the capacity for the heightened realism for live-action concept art and the clear sensibility for comic work, and I’m hoping we see more from him!
08/17
Cover Alert: Extreme Carnage: Toxin (2021) #1!
Artist: Skan Srisuwan
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Whenever I do a Cover Alert for one of these symbiote covers, it’s really amusing to see how out there the one-shot titles get during events like Extreme Carnage. And I remember! I was there. Regardless of your feelings on the naming conventions of Extreme Carnage: Toxin (2021), though, this cover by perennially sick artist Skan Srisuwan is wonderful; capturing the monstrosity of the symbiote in Toxin’s larger frame goes beyond making him muscled, and the way we see him standing hunched and grabbing this poor sap by the head conveys the menace that any Symbiote worth its ooze should be exuding.
Skan is an artist that really doesn’t miss (and you can see plenty of that already in SNAP) and it’s great to see more of his back-issue work coming to the game.
08/18
Envar Studio’s Red Guardian!
Artist: Envar Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
We’re wrapping up on another Envar banger, with the artist behind this studio piece giving us a a fun up-front looking piece for everyone’s favorite Russian super-soldier. I really appreciate when superhero suits feel like they’re actually made of a specific material and interact with the character and world as a result, and that little tangibility really helps bring Red Guardian’s mask to life in a subtle but really impressive way. The expression reads clearly, and it’s stylized without sacrificing the fundamentals—overall, a great piece from Envar in a month that’s full of their hits.
Wrapping Up
Thanks of course, as always, for reading; I appreciate it more than you know. But I know what you all really want! So shout out your favorite variant coming this month, whether it be from this week or later down the line, and leave your Discord username as well. And in case you do get selected, either make sure you’re a part of the Snap.Fan Discord or be on the lookout for a friend request so I can send you the goods! May the best comment win, and until next time… see you!