THE MOON HAUNTS— okay, no, I’m not doing the same bit twice. And I’m late! So maybe it feels a bit indulgent where I should be apologizing. I wanted to get this out sooner, but the Khonshu article kept me, alongside that pesky ‘rest of my life’ thing going on. Imagine! Getting in the way of the forecast. But I’m here; I’m ready; I’m diving into this forecast right now. Let’s go!
03/25
Spotlights
Artists (in order): Alex Horley, A.J. Nazzaro, Grafit Studio
Source: Spotlight Cache
So let’s cut to the chase! For this Spotlight Cache (which is still available, so this section is still relevant all week!) we’re getting the killer Horley Khonshu on top of a Corvus Glaive from A.J. Nazzaro and a Scorn from Grafit Studio. The obvious star is Horley here, bringing Khonshu to life with a design heavily influenced by the more overtly mummified MCU Khonshu— I love the way Horley’s old school fantasy textures line up so well with Khonshu’s vibe. A.J. Nazarro’s Glaive is much more stylized and cartoonish, bringing out a Disney villain-esque energy (the kind of smaller bad guy that helps the big bad guy) that echoes the datamined Cull Obsidian drawn in the same style— perfect for brothers in the Black Order. Finally, Grafit Studio gives players another alternate piece for Scorn that might appeal for people looking for a more straightforward, traditional ‘cool’ looking take on the techno–symbiote, putting that robot arm front and center. There’s not misses, and thanks to me being late, I can speak from experience: Horley Khonshu? Horley month? Completely worth it.
SIXMOREVODKA’s Corvus Glaive
Artist: SIXMOREVODKA
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Corvus Glaive actually got two options this week, though— fans of a slightly more neutral take on the sharply titled Black Order member will have this piece from SIXMOREVODKA available, featuring his near-skeletal mean mug posing next to that beloved pointy stick of his. I think SIXMOREVODKA remains one of the more solid studios to put out work for SNAP, and so I’m glad to see some more coming from them. At this point, I’m pretty sure Second Dinner ordered the Black Order in a massive commission spree once they found out how little existing art there was— and it’s just all seeing the light of day now, flooding them with some really great pieces. Now if they could just find that Lasher art…
Alex Horley’s Fenris Wolf Bundle
Artist: Alex Horley
Source: Bundle
Alex Horley’s Fenris Wolf bundle will be going on this week, meaning that we’re getting even more of that deliciously metal Horley style, conjuring up the enormous Fenris Wolf and completely filling that composition with fur and fang. I really love how those green eyes contrast with the fiery Ragnarok-red haze coming off the background, and the scale of the Fenris Wolf in the composition really helps make it feel enormous— set far and above from any typical wolf someone might paint. This (like any Horley) absolutely enters “snap Vault pick-up” tier a year from now.
03/26
Kim Jacinto’s Killmonger Bundle
Artist: Kim Jacinto
Source: Bundle
Speaking of bundles, Kim Jacinto’s coming through with one of his own! And one that basically enters that same “snap Vault pick-up” tier with little deliberation; it’s refreshing to see more liberties taken with the character’s design, and something extra has been poured on the heavy inks and trademark Jacinto forced perspective to make Killmonger here pop. It’s also more subtle, but whenever a different likeness gets developed for characters that have had many, many interpretations over the years, I’m interested, partly because likenesses often aren’t consistent or defining for many comic characters. Killmonger’s face here feels specific and different, and it’s kind of cool after seeing many more traditional, MCU-adjacent designs get put to print. I really love Jacinto’s work baseline, but this enters the running for some of the sickest art he’s got in SNAP to date!
Fireball Studio’s Khonshu
Artist: Fireball Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
We’ve also got Fireball’s General Pool variant for Khonshu here, providing a perfectly suitable alt-art for folks who feel 6000 tokens for a Spotlight variant is a bit too rich for their blood. All the Fireball variants for the new cards this month have been solid, and I think Khonshu’s here might even take the cake, with some particularly great blues in that lighting helping convey a lot of atmosphere around the lone moon god in the desert. Super Rare is still a price, but it’s a great half-step for anyone not as interested in Horley’s work, or looking to ball out on a budget.
03/27
John Tyler Christopher’s Negative Space Variants
Artist: John Tyler Christopher
Source: General Pool (Rare)/Album Reward
The big takeover this week will be John Tyler Christopher’s set of Negative Space variants, pulled from a series of various variant covers from the comics. These are exactly the kind of interesting and different that I appreciate from comic variants, and I’m glad that we’re getting some of that material ported directly into SNAP, if only to show a broader audience some of the great work that’s been done for comics in the past. John Tyler Christopher has a graphic sensibility in the way he’s done these striking negative space pieces, and it contrasts in a cool way with the way his work otherwise skews towards realism in style and rendering. Whether the majority of the suit, like Iron Man’s, is rendered in flat reds, or more specific patterns like Miles or Kamala’s costumes are woven into that negative space, Christopher keeps it creative and playful in each piece. My personal favorite might be the Werewolf By Night bursting out of his green tattered shirt, though he’s already simply spoiled for great work; and no matter your favorite, these will all be an incredible 700 Gold, making collecting all of them as accessible as possible.
Fans of the series will be able to get them all relatively easily and be rewarded by the Black Panther, glowing purple and otherwise blending into the pitch black— which, duh, sick. These might take the cake this week for coolest incoming addition!
Don Aguillo’s Dracula
Artist: Don Aguillo
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Don Aguillo is back with some more work, giving us some terrific manspreading from the king of all vampires, leaning in that classic ‘ruler in repose’ composition. Like Don Aguillo’s work thus far, it’s more classically ‘cool’ comic book art, and I think it’s got quite some personality to it, reminding me of some of the more exaggerated expression work you’d see in manga. It’s solid, and for only 700 gold it’s a great candidate for any Discard aficionado’s next variant tune-up.
Dino Captain Marvel!
Artists: Eduardo Mello/Ryan Kinnaird
Source: Bundle
The Dinosaur takeover continues, this time with a Parasaurolophus Carol, looking basically as intimidating as a Parasaurolophus has ever looked, with those binary-power fists. It’s silly, yes, and I think the sheer absurdity seems to be what makes this series divisive, but I do love how unabashed they are, and I think that it’s admirable to play it straight and try and make these Dinosaur Avengers as genuinely intimidating as possible, given the conceit. Once again, Mello and Kinnaird get to flex beyond their base-art style here, providing an unlikely place to see just the range these artists have beyond people’s perceived ideas of them. Viva la dinosaur!
Kim Jacinto’s Gorr Bundle
Artist: Kim Jacinto
Source: Bundle
Kim Jacinto’s a bundle twofer this week, bringing out a Gorr that’s been datamined for quite some time finally in a big Gold bundle, giving folks a second option if they want their fix for beautifully forced perspective. This Gorr is notably drawn a bit more alien than some other incarnations, which I think helps make this interpretation Jacinto’s own: it’s not unlike Killmonger’s more specific likeness I was talking about earlier! And while the pose is not quite as pushed or dynamic as some of Jacinto’s strongest (really, the Killmonger is making Jacinto his own stiffest competition) it’s a great variant for a character who’s swimming in them. Gorr’s on the fast track to joining the likes of Knull and Carnage for villains with no shortage of incredible art competing for the attention of SNAP players’ wallets everywhere.
03/28
Marco Checchetto’s Old Man Bullseye
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Pulled from the cover of Old Man Hawkeye (2018) #9, this older, longcoat-clad Bullseye is cut from the same cloth as the dark, wasteland future wandering versions of Hawkeye and Logan. That is, he’s grittier, and stuff. You get it! And Marco Checchetto (a bona fide modern Daredevil genius) tackling Bullseye is great, giving us those classic thrown playing cards with a nod to Hawkeye as the series headliner on those face cards. It’s a great composition, and it sells the fact that this is an older, different take on the character while keeping him abundantly recognizable. Combine that with dulled colors and the contrast on those heavy inks, and Checchetto sells a strong, dramatic piece set in a very specific, desolate atmosphere.
03/29
Art Nouveau Apocalypse
Artist: Wild Blue
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Wild Blue is bringing their A-Game with this Art Nouveau stylized Apocalypse, which may just be the best thing the studio’s done by an absolute landslide. It’s clear that different artists headline different series over at Wild Blue, between their series of various characters eating in the general base style, their more anime-inspired pieces, and now this honestly beautiful Art Nouveau piece that feels like it belongs in a Krakoan church somewhere. Apocalypse’s design is a beautiful blend of imposing stature and comic techo-stuff, and seeing that rendered like a historical figure on a triptych is a fun visual oxymoron in and of itself, and it elevates the whole piece like a great comic cover would. If we see more studio work, I absolutely want to see more of this sort of creativity and competence; and, frankly, I wish we could see the individual artists helming these so we can ask for more!
03/30
James Ryman’s Cerebro
Artist: James Ryman
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
James Ryman is our penultimate stop, giving Cerebro a solid piece that spotlights the various mutant psyches it touches whenever Xavier taps into its power— which is as inventive a composition as any when you ultimately just need to draw the same helmet with a glass X on it! It’s a great idea that gets carried out well, and while I think that Ryman’s style isn’t my personal favorite, I think anyone earnestly tackling some of the less-featured characters in this game (as in, anyone who isn’t a headlining character or a beautiful woman) deserves some attention. Here’s to you, Cerebro players— there might be less of them than others, but it’s the die-hards with a pet card that deserve to be rewarded for their devotion!
03/31
He Tianyou’s Elsa Bloodstone
Artist: He Tianyou
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Finally, He Tianyou returns with a great Elsa Bloodstone, dripping in almost Matrix-type style (peep that background palette!) and packed full of that iconic Tianyou energy in the shadows and lighting. It’s a contender for one of the coolest pieces she’s ever been in, and I think that trenchcoat in particular is done really well by Tianyou, with all those dark folds and creases really bringing some texture to the whole piece and helping push the dynamism thanks to Tianyou’s sensibility for stylish coloring and lighting. The orange really pops against both Bloodstone’s clothes and that backdrop, which really drives home that sense that this character, colorful as she might be, is cut from a slightly more foreboding cloth than classic Marvel fare— and anyone interested should almost certainly consider this piece for just 1200 gold. I mean, I’m echoing myself here, but it’s a steal!
Wrapping Up
Thanks for your patience on the delay, folks; it’s always an ongoing process figuring out the best way to tackle these, and while this was a hiccup, I really do enjoy getting these forecasts out to y’all. Thanks for reading, and thanks for commenting below all the things that you enjoyed, agreed with, disagreed with, feel you’d love to see…
What’s that? You didn’t do that quite yet? You’re just now getting to it? Don’t worry about it; I was late too.