Friends… gamers… countrymen…
How’s it going? We’ve got a pretty chill month rolling so far, which has made putting out these forecasts a chiller ordeal than normal, at least for me. (I certainly don’t mind chill, in these trying times). But there’s always variants to cover! And so I’m here to do that, for all you forecast faithfuls out there. Let’s get this forecast!
04/15
Spotlights!
Artists (in order): Envar Studio, salmon4dinner, SIXMOREVODKA
Source: Spotlight Cache
Spotlights have their days numbered, which will be an interesting change of pace for the forecasts coming out. We don’t know exactly when or where Spotlight variants will recur, or if there will be new variant releases to fill the void they leave, so if you’re interested in these, it might feel a bit more pressing than normal. As with the whole month, Envar Studio’s on duty for the What If…? card’s Spotlight: Infinity Ultron gets a piece closer to the What If…? style, complete with some stark, dramatic lighting that elevates the dynamism of Ultron’s pose. There’s not going to be any big design differences, but I think the stylized lighting genuinely makes the piece a solid one, especially for a character who will have to be getting variants commissioned from scratch. Pixie’s here with a reprisal from salmon4dinner, who previously did a Spotlight variant for Kate Bishop. Their animated style lends itself well to cute young women like Pixie and Kate, and there’s a similarly fun cool, wintry light that cools a character with a traditionally quite warm palette. The final Spotlight’s a SIXMOREVODKA variant for Cannonball, which has some great lighting coming from his explosive mutant ability. I really love the balance of the simplified style with some more complex lighting and shadows, and the darker palette really makes that contrast pop.
Rian Gonzales’ Chibi Gorr Bundle
Artist: Rian Gonzales
Source: Bundle
Rian Gonzales’ next venture into the Chibi world will be a bundle for none other than the God Butcher himself: Gorr gets rendered here in impressively cute pastel colors, making those almost spectral yellow eyes more adorable than anything else. I love that l’il hood and the purple background— the palette feels more unified than many more vibrant-rainbow colored Gonzales variants, and it makes for a genuine change of pace for fans of Gonzales.
Francesco Manna’s Carnage
Artist: Francesco Manna
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Francesco Manna is a comics talent who has come from relatively recent Carnage comics, and this commission is definitely a sign that Second Dinner is still committed to finding existing comic creators and offering the chance at commissioned work rather than only pulling from the Marvel license’s existing covers. He delivers a straightforward, menacing lean for Carnage, and it’s the type of pose that looks great on an actionized card for a game like SNAP. I like the vibrant colors, and I think there’s a deceptive amount of mood and gravity you get from that moon looming over the rooftop. I’m hoping to see more, both from Manna and other working comic artists!
04/16
Rodgon and Mooncolony’s Chibi Infinity Ultron
Artist: Rodgon/Mooncolony
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Rodgon is in a similar role to Rian Gonzales from previous seasons, providing some secondary shop variants for new cards releasing, and he’s even doing it in a Chibi style! With a coloring assist from Mooncolony, Rodgon brings out a very stylized, more Western-looking Chibi, with less anime-esque stylization but equal parts exaggerated, big-headed cartooning. It’s not for everyone (like every Chibi, to be fair) but I can appreciate the more cartoon-comic strip-esque influence brought to the style, not dissimilar to Skottie Young’s baby variants. Keep an eye out for more like this the rest of the season!
Mooncolony’s Redwing Bundle
Artist: Mooncolony
Source: Bundle
Wow, that was quick. Mooncolony’s got a lot going on this month, to be fair! This Redwing (in an amusingly meme-titled bundle) goes back to the well of big-eyed cutesy animal companions, joining the likes of Mooncolony Lockjaw and Goose. I like this Redwing a good deal more than those two, for what it’s worth— it dials back the saccharine goo-goo eyes and replaces it with the more ordinary cuteness of a bird’s naturalistic, perplexed expression. Magnified by those goggles, it’s genuine quite charming seeing those big eyes regard us with birdish curiosity. Fans of cute animals probably won’t need more convincing either way, but I think this is fairly easily a step in the right direction for folks who were more tepid on the first two.
04/17
Rodgon’s Chibi Goliath
Artist: Rodgon
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Wow that was quick. Wow, that was quick! Rodgon’s got another variant this week too, with another Chibi entry for Goliath, who released a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure why this is dropping a bit later, but it certainly fills out that trend of second launch variants for all the new cards. Similar to the other Chibi, there’s probably different opinions folks will have on a pure taste-style level, and I think that that’s always going to be the case for more stylized pieces in any direction. But Rodgon, I think, is quite competent at the work here, and though I think that the piece could do more to work with Goliath’s scale, there’s a fun energy just from the explosive background and perspective work. I doubt this season will be the last we see of Rodgon, but at the very least we’ll be seeing more all month. Fans, look out!
SUPJA’s Destroyer
Artist: SUPJA
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
SUPJA returns, this time bringing a red-hot Destroyer shooting that classic laser into the sky. I think it’s a classic pose for something like that, and any chance to use the Destroyer’s wonderfully excessive face-beam (the most exciting part of its design) is a win for me. I like how pushed it all is, too, with those robot pecs front and center and those arms tight against the body. I liked previous SUPJA work, but I think this might be their most striking work so far, and that red lighting on a reflective surface feels like the rendered icing on the cake.
04/18
Gustavo Pelissari’s Ares
Artist: Gustavo Pelissari
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Gustavo Pelissari returns with a wonderfully chilling, ghostly Ares, steering a little away from the pumped-up masculine direction that’s low-hanging fruit and leaning further into Ares as a ghost of war, haunting the battlefield. I think those wispy plumes coming off his head and the way he’s hovering with those axes in hand draws the character closer to those ancient Greek roots, and those red eyes act as the bow on top of a malicious godly present. It’s a great second piece for Pelissari, who really debuted strong with that terrific Zabu— I’d be more than happy to see him tackle a whole season.
04/19
Envar Studio’s Gladiator
Artist: Envar Studio
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Envar’s doing double duty this season, bringing out some of the General Pool variants on top of their Season card duties— this Gladiator is straightforward and finely done, like many of their variants, and I think the shadows and variation in those reds on his costume really are what make the piece pop. Envar’s similar pieces are defined by these clear planes on their shapes, and their Gladiator’s no different. Lit with a clear light source (some nebulous meteor shower), the contrasts and shadows on the piece feel really bring the whole thing to life. Fans of Envar will appreciate!
04/20
Penny Arcade’s Ghost Spider
Artist: Mike Krahulik
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
We’ve had Penny Arcade variants datamined for a while, and a couple have already released, but it’s clear that someone on the team was fan enough of the Penny Arcade webcomic to commission Mike Krahulik for a whole batch that they’re dropping here and there. I appreciate that much— I think the Penny Arcade comic and style feels so of a particular period on the internet, and it’s really neat seeing that cross over into a ‘new’ game like SNAP. Am I the biggest fan of the piece itself? Well, there’s certainly critiques! I think something about the lighting and colors feels a bit muddy, and while I think the simplified stylization is working, it does feel like it’s missing some of the polish that really ties that sort of piece together. But I think it’s a fine piece for any fans of Krahulik or of the webcomic, and fans of Spider-Gwen (sorry, Ghost-Spider) might just be in the market for a new piece in the shop!
04/21
Exiles Bucky/Winter Soldier
Artist: Eduardo Mello/Ryan Kinnaird
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Finally, we’ve got a fun variant drawing on a particular What If…? style incarnation for Bucky— Becky Barnes, a gender-swapped variant of Bucky from a timeline where a version of Captain Carter ended up joining the eXiles! That wacky bunch of multiverse-hopping rascals. She debuts in eXiles (2018) #3, which is also where we see the debut of Captain Carter in Marvel Comics! You can look through that run to learn more about that circumstance, but for now you can also appreciate a fine variant from Mello/Kinnaird, elevated by the fact that it comes with a specific Becky Barnes Winter Soldier token. And at Super Rare rarity, too! It’s promising to see more and more custom tokens coming from variants from multiple places, too. What critique I might have about the standard Mello/Kinnaird base style is certainly overshadowed by the fun novelty of a unique token and a whole variant for a specific alternate incarnation of Bucky: fans of the Winter Soldier should consider!
Wrapping Up
Another week in the books! It’s a tame week with a couple of stand-outs, but I want to hear what those stand-outs are from you. What’d you love? What’d you hate? What’d you love or hate that you found me speaking frustratingly vague about? Let me know all of the above and more down below: I love reading all the comments! And until next time, adieu!