Alright, alright, I hear you, I know! This forecast might be arriving a smidgen late because I’ve just returned from a beautiful winter vacation in the mountains. But fear not, all sitting in rapt anticipation— it’s that time of week again, and I’m up making sure that this forecast gets out on time, baby! And so let’s get into a cool (but mercifully light) batch of variants coming out.
(I’m straight off the plane here, cut me some slack.)
12/17
Spotlights!
Artists (in order): NetEase Games, Inkpulp, Cameron Stewart/Konstantin Turovec
Source: Spotlight Caches
Now that we’re underway with this RIVALS crossover, it’s quite expected that Doom 2099’s coming along with a variant for none other than RIVALS Doom 2099. (Really, all variants of Doom are a flavor win.) Of course, like the other RIVALS crossover variants, this piece is mostly an extension of the style oozing out of every facet of the new Marvel shooter on the block. It’s sleek and futuristic and Cool, and if you’re into that from RIVALS you’ll likely be just as into it for the variant. However, it’s worth mentioning that, like Peni, Doom 2099’s base art is already modeled on the RIVALS design, so you might not see as much difference between the two. For folks looking for some more drastic changes from base art, we’ve also got Inkpulp’s Miek, who casts our favorite buggy discard scaler into dramatically neon-dark lighting, contrasting his blue carapace with a deep pink background. Inkpulp always brings a cool style departure in his work for the game, and a welcome addition for Miek (who both has a very limited existing art catalogue and a solid set of commissioned variants so far). Finally, there’s the very recently datamined Daken variant drawn by Cameron Stewart and colored by Konstantin Turovec. This piece actually feels straight out of a comic, to the point that I thought it was from sort of interior— but nope, it’s just a competent commission of Daken and his ridiculous mohawk. Is it transformative? No. But the mohawk is mohawking.
SIXMOREVODKA’s Beta Ray Bill Bundle
Artist: SIXMOREVODKA
Source: Bundle
Legends of Runeterra veterans might recognize the name here: SIXMOREVODKA’s SNAP debut starts here, with a cool varant for Beta Ray Bill. Now, I’m a big fan of SIXMOREVODKA’s work from Runeterra, and I think that there’s actually a really cool comics pedigree behind the leadership of the studio, founded by veteran Marko Djurdjevic (whose wife, Jelena Djurdjevic, you might already recognize from her Women of Marvel variant covers adapted into the game!) All said and done, this Bill feels mostly in the PANDART vein— a highly rendered, stylized variant for a character in a solid, well done action pose that might otherwise lack a bit more personality. But I’m on the lookout for more from them— they’ve got a great background, and I think there’s potential for work that pushes them far beyond the average studio variant we see in SNAP.
12/18
Brett Bean’s Big Bundle Blowout
Artist: Brett Bean
Source: Bundle
Now this is personality. Brett Bean debuts in SNAP with a bundle for Devil Dino and Beast here, and I think that plenty of people have already had their interest piqued from the datamines: he’s by far one of the most distinct new artists to hit recent patches, and I think that he brings a delightfully zany, cartoony style to characters that really have the bandwidth to be goofier and stranger than many pieces allow them to be. I think of the two, my favorite is Dino— something about those small eyes and gleeful roar just really brings the piece to life.
Max Fiumara’s Doom 2099 Variant
Artist: Max Fiumara
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
For any RIVALS skeptics out there that still want a piece of that time-displaced Doom action, Max Fiumara’s got you covered with an absolute banger back-issue variant cover from Doom 2099 (2019) #1. For any doubters out there, Doom 2099’s got precedent in the comics that quite predates RIVALS, and Fiumara does incredible work conveying both power and 2099’s specific design, with those red eyes really selling a lot of the character. Art is subjective, and variant pricing in this game is thus literally arbitrary—there are countless Super Rare variants that I’d put below countless other Rares, countless Bundle variants I don’t care for, and so on. (Really, the only dictator is precedent and perceived ‘valuable’ traits in pieces, like high fidelity rendering and ‘realistic’ detail). But in this case? This will likely be the variant of choice for many a player, and 1200 gold in the general pool feels like a steal for a piece like this.
12/19
Rian Gonzales’ Chibi Hercules
Artist: Rian Gonzales
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Now, admittedly, this is an example for me of that exact arbitrariness! Rian Gonzales’ chibi work especially doesn’t necessarily resonate with me, just in terms of that cutesy-appeal chibi style in general. I can appreciate the watercolor style that makes Rian’s work in general so appealing, but they’re working in a style that isn’t for me at a baseline. But they’re clearly a draw for other players, and precedent has made for many of them to be 1200 Gold! Can I appreciate the value of the piece despite my own personal tastes? For sure. Is there a right answer for the pricing? Absolutely not. And does Gonzales’ abundant style and skill clear G-Angle chibis any day of the week? Damn straight.
12/20
Junggeun Yoon’s Mystique
Artist: Junggeun Yoon
Source: Bundle
Adding to the list of comic artists who have since been commissioned for original SNAP art, Junggeun Yoon (who had a Miles Morales variant cover added to the game earlier this September) has been tapped for a wholly original Mystique. It’s got all the hallmarks of a variant in the style of Artgerm or InHyuk Lee, showing off a fine pin-up style pose stylized and then exhaustively rendered. And I appreciate the composition; while the background is bland, the pose itself is fun and alive, even if it seems a bit coquettish for Mystique the femme fatale. But what can I say? It’s a solid piece, and definitely one that’ll turn heads for fans of that style.
Tony Moy’s Cyclops
Artist: Tony Moy
Source: General Pool (Rare)
People looking for something a bit more colorful might be interested in Moy’s Cyclops, continuing the series of variants that dropped in a takeover a while ago. Moy’s got a really impressive talent for color and lighting, using a harsher, almost washed out style to really up the drama and energy of his work. I’m a big fan of the X-visor on Cyclops, especially when its highlighting his optic blast. If you enjoyed the Vincenzo Riccardi variants that also released around the same time, Moy’s work definitely might be up your alley, and if you were already a fan of either you might consider this Cyclops— vanilla 3/4 be damned.
12/21
Sweeney Boo’s Gamora
Artist: Sweeney Boo
Source: General Pool (Rare)
Sweeney Boo’s probably got her best in-game piece so far getting added this week— I think her cute, Disney reminiscent style is fun and expressive, but it really shines in a piece like this. Gamora’s fierce scowl and pose have a lot of energy in them, and the composition spotlight’s Boo’s strength for facial work and emotion in a way that not all of her work in-game so far necessarily has. And as much as it plays to her strengths, Gamora’s rage feels like a bit of a departure for her— stepping away from the lighter, smiley pieces that often dominates a lot of her existing work.
12/22
Jonboy Meyers’ Black White and Red Elektra Variant
Artist: Jonboy Meyers/Ryan Kinnaird
Source: General Pool (Super Rare)
Not only is this a back-issue variant cover from Elektra: Black, White, and Blood (2021) #2, it’s a rare inversion on a pattern we’ve noticed recently— rather than a comic artist getting a SNAP commission, this is a case of a pair of SNAP base artists getting to show off their existing comic work! We’ve seen Meyers in certain existing base arts, and Kinnaird in certain damn near everythings— but while normally Kinnaird’s involvement signals a level of homogeneity/SNAP house style that I’m not a fan of, here he’s working with Meyers to create a classic feeling, exaggerated action-comic look that perfectly matches the over-the-top violence that Elektra promises for a series called Black, White, and Blood. It’s really neat to see Kinnaird outside of his eternal, ubiquitous, Atlas-esque role holding the globe of general base-art style variants for all players to appreciate. The piece itself is striking (befitting the visual hook of the source comic) and I think that applying that limited color palette is something that will really look great as a card in SNAP.
Wrapping Up
It’s a (relative) quickie this time around, folks, but don’t let that fool you! There’s some gems this week as we enter the major pre-Christmas season, and I’m happy and excited that this series has been able to persist through the holidays. Let me know what you think of the variants this week down below, and get ready to tell me what you think of next week’s— just not before I write what I think myself, in the next forecast, next week. Until then! Thanks for reading, y’all.