It’s a forecast, guys! And amidst so much news to boot; I’m sure patch coverage is already finished by the time you see this, but on top of new variants and new cards, we’ve got a whole new economy and acquisition update looming on the horizon. Spotlight caches, gone! Snap Packs reign supreme! Spotlight variants as a category, tossed to the wind? Well, probably. But we’re not there yet! And there’s new Spotlights until then. So I’d better dive in while you pore over all that newness in today’s patch!
04/01
New Season Pass!
Artists (in order): Envar Studio, Eduardo Mello/PANDART STUDIO
Source: Season Pass
To accompany all those new vibes, of course, we’re kicking off this forecast with the new season, per usual. And this What If…? season promises plenty of fun for fans of the show— Envar Studio will be handling most of the themed art for the season, both in Spotlight Caches and in the pass here. I really do like the Captain Carter here, which feels injected with that extra bit of painterly oomph that elevates it above some of the other art coming down the Envar pipeline this season. Uatu features, of course, which is a promising reminder that Second Dinner is committed to capturing the stories behind these characters in these cards and seasons, even when it means variants coming out for less used (and, frankly, competitively defunct) cards like Watcher. Finally, Iron Man and Killmonger feature versions of both characters directly featured on the What If…? show, which is going to be a recurring theme with plenty of the variants this season. The latter variant is an enticing exclusive reward for the Super Premium pass, and both offer a nice change of pace via starker departures from the ‘base character’ as variants. And honorable mention for Iron Man goes to Eduardo Mello and PANDART, who have done a smattering of pieces in the same vein as Envar’s What If…? work. Seeing Iron Man in a race car on Sakaar as a variant helps set the tone for the strangeness coming up in this season!
New Conquest Variant!
Artist: Fireball Studio
Source: Conquest Shop
As is custom, the Conquest reward this season has literally nothing to do with the season’s theme, meaning we’ll have to settle for an unthemed but solid Negasonic Teenage Warhead variant from Fireball Studio. Fireball’s a studio with a bit more personality than average in many of their pieces, and the expression and energy on this Negasonic in particular feels like it puts it over and above many of the studio variants you might see— it’s even one of the strongest pieces that Fireball’s done in general, by my estimate. Snag her for free some time this season, and feel for yourself if the art captures that great feeling of blowing up your enemy’s X-23!
Spotlights
Artists (in order): Envar Studio, Guruhiru, Rick Berry
Source: Spotlight Cache
Spotlight Caches’ days might be numbered, but for the rest of this month at least we’re going to still be seeing the weekly trifecta of variant art for the brand new card and its buddies. This season will have Envar taking on the specific MCU What If…? designs for all the spotlights, letting us see that version of Goliath (who we’ve only seen as a civilian played by Lawrence Fishburne in live-action) full-scale. I have a soft spot for Ant-folk in the MCU and in Marvel as a whole, and there’s a fun kick I get out of seeing a version of that wonderful MCU Ant-Man suit donned by someone who didn’t get a chance in the suit in the movies. The big draw for me this week, however, is going to be the two existing covers coming in alongside Goliath: Guruhiru’s iconic cover for The Unbelievable Gwenpool (2016) #1 finally ends the bizarre drought of variants for surely one of the most marketable characters with existing covers. Gwenpool having so few variants in this game feels like the strangest of decisions, but getting this cover (which sharp-eyed readers might recognize as the old datamined temp art for the card) is a great step in the right decision— Guruhiru (a duo) is undoubtedly the most classic, influential pair of artists for the character, and this cover captures so much of the charm and breadth to the character. Finally, Rick Berry’s cover from Eternals (2006) #3 is simply insane work from an incredible, acclaimed science fiction artist. Sersi is a character whose base art I particularly don’t care for, but it’s made up for by her consistently receiving incredible Spotlight art, and Rick Berry’s moody piece here might push that into a new superlative. I love that old-school sci-fi paperback look, rendered at the highest possible level; it’s possibly one of the strongest pieces in the whole game.
Creative House Pocket’s Mech Bundle
Artist: Creative House Pocket
Source: Bundle
Creative House Pocket has a fun new style/series coming out via these Mech bundles, putting Blue Marvel and Gilgamesh as Gundam/Pacific-Rim style mechas. They’re both appropriately heavy hitters to get the big mecha treatment, and that, similar to that Iron Man in the race car, it’s cool seeing some larger changes making it to a piece of variant art. Creative House Pocket has had plenty of variants hitting the game recently, which makes this more diverse entry from their existing heavy anime style a welcome change of pace.
Jeff Dekal’s Deadpool
Artist: Jeff Dekal
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
So, elephant in the room: I’ve never covered this piece before, because I didn’t ever actually break down the last patch’s big datamined dump! My thinking has been that I’ll cover every piece in a forecast eventually, and that time is now: and what a piece for it, too! Jeff Dekal is yet another comic artist who seems to have been tapped for a direct commission from Second Dinner, and he’s a phenomenal get. While it’s always fun to see Wade yukking it up on a piece, it’s a great change of pace to get a straightforward menacing action-shot for the Merc with a Mouth, who’s about as dangerous as Marvel mercenaries get. Dekal’s got a great eye for composition and color, and that bright lighting helps really make that stark red pop in profile. And for Super Rare, in the general shop? Terrific deal for a variant that easily skyrockets to Deadpool’s top pieces in his catalogue.
Ultimate Fantasy Magneto
Artist: ADIA
Source: Token Shop
ADIA’s got a fantasy Magneto entering the Token shop which is almost in the opposite situation as Spotlight Caches! People will soon have more reason than ever to save or spend Collector’s tokens on various things, making Ultimate series of variants perhaps even harder to justify unless you’re a die-hard fan. Credit where it’s due, of course; unlike some variants in this series, there’s a genuine fantastical translation that you can see in Magneto’s knight armor, his pauldrons, and the rain of medieval weaponry he’s got hovering around on standby. For anyone looking to spend on a Magneto skin, this is a fine one— just consider the possible new opportunity cost of spending tokens that will come up come the release of Snap Packs.
What If…? Hela Bundle
Artists: Eduardo Mello/PANDART STUDIO
Source: Bundle
Eduardo Mello and PANDART make an evidently good team, with Mello bringing a bit more individual personality to the piece and PANDART providing the rendering and coloring work to really bring it to life. Ages ago, I surmised that these collaborations (the likes of which we’ve seen from, say, Creees and Mooncolony Studio) would be great middle-ground for Second Dinner to cut costs and develop more work en masse via studios while still preserving the original artist’s individual voice in the piece. This Hela headlining a bundle is another proof of concept for that idea, giving us Mello’s take on the What If…? twist on Hela and then PANDART’s eye-catching colors making it come off the screen. It’s a fun perspective, a great subject and outfit, and a refreshing shift from Mello’s usual work. The bundle is cheap, too, coming in at $9.99 in the shop. Bundle buyers, beware!
Dan Panosian’s Promo Thena
Artist: Dan Panosian
Source: Promo
It was a late swap post-patch, for any keen-eyed variant watchers! Dan Panosian’s variant cover for Eternals (2021) #1 is now coming to what I suspect is the Webshop spending track, which is probably one of the most enticing pieces of art they could’ve locked behind that paywall. It’s phenomenal! And Thena is one of those characters with a relatively limited log of existing covers to pull from— so (similar to the Mike Del Mundo Phastos) this cover hitting the game is a huge get for the battle-lady Eternal. I love how the shadow and light play on that intricate golden armor, and the contrast between her heavily armored regalia and her more pensive expression tells a subtle story about the moment we’re seeing Thena in. I’m hugely sad to miss this variant, but hugely happy for anyone that snags it!
(And for anyone looking for that sick Anti-Venom by Dattoli, keep your eyes peeled this summer.)
04/02
David Nakayama’s Captain Carter Cover!
Artist: David Nakayama
Source: General Pool ( Rare)
David Nakayama’s iconic variant cover for Captain Carter originates from Captain Carter (2022) #1, and it gives fans of the character a great alternate art straight from the comics. You all know as well as anyone that I’m a fan of bringing choice comic art into this game, and as often happens, that comic art also ends up being really cheap in the General Pool for no discernible reason. Art is subjective! And sometimes we all reap the benefits. Nakayama’s a pro at his particular brand of modern-classic comic art, and that the color and light that just shine on the page are a great showing. I’m a fan of how many comic covers we’re getting this week, and I’m quite tempted to grab this variant as my best-in-slot over the Season Pass variant already!
Tae Kwon Kim’s Black Swan Bundle
Artist: Tae Kwon Kim
Source: Bundle
Tae Kwon Kim is debuting their first variant in the game this week, and they’re coming out the gate swinging with this great Black Swan variant featuring her laser vision front and center. Similar to the Dattoli Anti-Venom, I especially love the way that Black Swan’s pallor makes that orange light really pop in a dramatic way, and that the general action of the pose has a lot of movement to it that I really appreciate. Black Swan is no stranger to great commissioned variants, but folks looking for a fiercer look for their favorite Black Order Goth might enjoy the actionized energy that Kim is providing here. Be on the lookout for more from him, sooner than later!
04/03
Jack Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur Cover!
Artist: Jack Kirby
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Joining the Guruhiru, Rick Berry, and Nakayama pieces this week, Jack Kirby’s Devil Dinosaur (1978) #1 cover still might take the cake for best comic cover hitting SNAP this week: there’s something perfect about Kirby’s art (shocker, I know) but Devil Dinosaur in particular feels pitch perfect as a Marvel monster in the 70s. That beautiful red color, those uncanny textures and eyes, the way the yellows all pop… Kirby’s just the best to do it, and tapping into some of Marvel’s old covers is a great opportunity to pay homage to some of the greats that have really just made Marvel everything it is today. Incredible comics work hitting the game this week, overall.
Flaviano Beast
Artist: Flaviano Armentaro
Source: Bundle
Flaviano’s back with his trademark purple lighting and a devious looking Beast— he captures the line between genius, madness, goodness, and monstrosity that Beast has always straddled, and that unnerving grin coupled with Beast’s clawed fuzzy fingers reaching out strikes a great tonal dissonance with the coffee mug and the average reader’s general understanding of Beast as a swell fella. Is he grinning just because he’s discovered something new and exciting behind those scientific goggles of his? More likely than anything. Is it unnerving, and even fitting for a character who, for all his good intentions and heart, is a Beast of a man? 100%. Great piece in a bundle!
04/04
Creative House Pocket’s Dazzler
Artist: Creative House Pocket
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
This Creative House Pocket Dazzler is coming out for the anime-style fans out there, and it’s pumping that style full of colors and energy befitting the mutant pop-star. I really appreciate the glow from the hair bringing a really warm contrast to her make-up and white suit, and that the swirling light in the foreground is a great element to help center the entire composition. Fans of Creative House Pocket will certainly like this one, and even skeptics can appreciate the quality this particular piece is at— like I am right now!
04/05
Artist: ARTTREE STUDIO
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Another studio with a similar (much shorter) history doing anime-style variants, ARTTREE actually makes a departure with this Wave, which is decidedly less anime-influenced. It feels very much like a different artist at the studio is in the lead here, and the piece feels characterized primarily by the striking inks that really help the whole piece pop. The more classic comics-style suits those inks; ARTTREE may very well become a studio like PANDART or ADIA that has multiple different talents at the studio handling different series for SNAP.
04/07
Envar Studio’s Wong
Artist: Envar Studio
Source: General Pool (Rare)
And if Creative House Pocket this week is a anime-style studio doing anime-style art, and ARTTREE STUDIO this week is an anime-style studio doing non-anime art, then Envar is a non-anime studio doing decidedly anime-style art with this Wong! Envar’s one of the bigger style chameleons among the studios, and that it’s no surprise that a commission finally has it dipping its toes into that popular look for Wong. The pose is solid and the colors borrowed from the MCU’s palette are good, and I like the light-distortion effects on those Tao Mandalas in Wong’s hand. (They have names, it turns out!) It’s a Rare, too, making it good value for anyone looking to pull off shenanigan-level combos with alternate art.
Wrapping Up
And, yes, I haven’t forgotten that I’m still to tackle the alternative to the old Patch Variant Round-Ups that I used to do. But covering at least one variant in this forecast that I’ve never tackled in a Round-Up, I feel more confident that I can continue using these as my in-depth dive into given variants and use patch coverage as an opportunity for maybe a more general overview of what we’ve gotten: perhaps, with more opinionated editorializing from me. Stay tuned! Hopefully you’re going to see and hear more from me sooner than later.
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