by Jon Partridge
Mondo, those fine purveyors of limited edition screen prints, tees and cool shit are back with a bang, or rather a “SNIKT! BAMF! THWIP!” To close out a damn fine year for them they bring us a celebration of Marvel comics, assembling some of their finest talent to do so.
That lineup includes Florian Bertmer, Boneface, Glen Brogan, Becky Cloonan, Sam Wolfe Connelly, Craig Drake, Francesco Francavilla, Gianmarco Magnani, Mike Mitchell, Phantom City Creative, Chris Skinner, Matt Taylor, Emily Tetri, We Buy Your Kids, Tom Whalen and Matthew Woodson.
From Mondo Creative Director/Co-Founder Mitch Putnam: “It’s probably no surprise that the Marvel Comics universe holds a special place in every Mondoer’s heart. These characters inspired us, helped to shape who we are, and taught us life lessons that stuck with us forever (our own Eric Garza still pretty much thinks he’s Wolverine). We excitedly asked a handful of artists to create posters for some of our favorite comic storylines and characters. We can’t wait for you to see everything.” Check out our coverage of the show below!
DARK PHOENIX (Becky Cloonan)
“X-Men was the very first comic I followed religiously, issue to issue. So you can imagine getting to draw the Dark Phoenix, one of the most beloved and iconic characters and storylines in the history of the X-Men, well, damn, it means a lot to me!”
THOR & LOKI (Matt Taylor)
“I’m probably most drawn toward the cosmic and otherworldly Marvel heroes and villains, so a two piece illustration of Thor and Loki was a no-brainer for me. I wanted to try and capture a louche and totally relaxed Loki — the trickster and manipulator who is always one step ahead of the game and can sit back waiting for everyone to catch up to him. For Thor, I wanted to focus more on the cosmic, space-traveling adventurer, grinning and confident as he rides the lightning to strange new worlds. The two pieces were designed to sit next to each other, but also to work independently (the shape of the World Tree and Thor’s lightning mirror each other and hopefully complement each other too). It’s probably no surprise that i’m a big comics reader, so being able to contribute to this show and produce some work for Marvel is another big item ticked off the list of life goals.”
WOLVERINE (Tom Whalen)
“I’ve always been a Marvel guy. Sure, I love comics from every publisher, but no company’s offering of books spoke to me in my formative years like Marvel’s did. Spider-Man’s adolescent struggles with dutiful responsibility were all-too relatable. The melting pot dynamic of the X-Men teams were an allegory for my high school existence. And the unpredictable nature of the Jekyll/Hyde relationship between Bruce Banner and the Hulk was breathtaking to a kid who all-too often kept his emotions bottled up. Through my work, I’m thrilled to be able to again spend time with this amazing/uncanny/incredible pool of characters that meant, and continue to mean, so much to me.”
“We Are Each Our Own Devil” by Matthew Woodson depicts the vigilante Daredevil
Mike Mitchell — Thanos & Chris Skinner — Spider-Man
MONDO Presents: SNIKT! BAMF! THWIP! A Celebration of MARVEL Comics Opening Night: Friday, December 11 from 7–10pm Show Run: December 11–19
Gallery Hours: Tuesday — Saturday 12pm — 6pm
Originally published at cinapse.co on December 11, 2015.