F.M. :: TOTA CYRUS

Titans 154 cover prelim by Ciro Tota

Artist: Ciro Tota (Penciller)

7 Comments - 757 Views - 4 Likes

Titans 154 cover prelim by Ciro Tota Comic Art

Additional Images:

Published French cover

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Black Panther by Ciro TOTA

Artwork Details

Title:	Titans 154 cover prelim by Ciro Tota
Artist:	Ciro Tota (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pencil
Art Type:	Prelim
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	757
Likes on CAF:	4 5
Comments:	7
Added to Site:	7/23/2022
Comic Art Archive:

Description

This is the final cover prelim to Titans 154 published by Editions Lug in November 1991.

That magazine translated several Marvel series including New Mutants from the first issue.

From time to time, the publisher would commission its two in house artists (Mitton & Tota) to produce covers for their books and magazines.

Some were basically reinterpreting the US cover of one of the series in their own style, some were more inspired and gave more freedom to the artist.

This was one of the later cases.

Tota drew a version of the meeting between Cable and Wolvie under the evil scrutiny of the Mutant Liberation Front.

These prelims are the way Tota (of Photonik fame) worked. First a rough, then a final prelim (with sometime variations in between), some more finished than not and then the final cover. He always has been a slow and intricate penciller so anything he produces has some merit.

I missed on the opportunity to buy an actual cover due to some "technical problem" when the information was sent by email regarding a recent Tota exhibition AND due to the organizer not being true to his word to come back to me afterwards, so I settled on a deluxe copy of the catalogue that came with such a prelim.

This one is a true final prelim and one of the tightest (if not the tightest one as it was used on the publisher website as customer bait).

On top of the more finished aspect of the piece, the incentive to me was Wolverine (Serval in French in those days-which is not the exact translation of a wolverine btw ^^) and how crazy excited he looks by the prospect of the fight with Cable. His animalistic combat pose, the absence of nose under his mask and how thin his claws look really work wonder for me.

What was also fun is that Tota kept a Liefeld look to some of the MLF members, especially those 2 in the center with that upper lip Liefeld used so much. The second head of the four actually looks like Liefeld could have drawn it in full. He also retained some 90s craziness with the overlong (and stupid looking) Stryfe helmet. The lady on the left is much more Tota's version of the character.

Drawn on vellum and published inside the exhibition catalogue.

A fun piece to remember those teenage years of French translations :)

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About the Owner

	F M Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	May 2005
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	BELGIUM
On CAF:	F's Classifieds Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

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Comments on this Artwork

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Nick-le-Fou !!
Member Since 2016

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

Funny, I indeed thought this was a Liefeld piece when first looking at those two characters, but the overally prelim cover is truly beautiful. I particularly love Wolvie (obviously,) but the stylish finesse of Tota's lines is the main attraction for me. Congrats on choosing another great piece of OA to add to your ever-expanding impressive collection.

Rick W
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

Pencil prelims are always insightful. Thanks for getting the lead out ;)

Hobby Halbert
Member Since 2022

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

Very nice prelim. Love how Wolverine turned out. Great pickup!

Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

It's a fun piece from the era, especially as it's by a European artist being told to emulate the Rob Liefeld approach. It was commonplace for the American publishers to tell their artists to do that, but in Europe? Not so much. He did a really good job with it!

George H
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

Fantastic find! Love the poses and cast of characters.

Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 7/23/2022

VERY cool piece, F M! I'm sorry about the shenanigans that kept you from procuring a cover, but this is a really nice prelim with a solid and compelling layout. Love the 90s-style floating heads (Stryfe is absolutely bonkers), and I know it's weird, but there's something about Cable's stance here that reminds me of Romita, Sr... Not that you'd ever mistake the figure for a Romita, just the grounded nature and power of the legs brings him to my mind here... which I guess is a testament to Tota's skill and execution here. Love Wolverine's pose and zeal for battle! What is better in this hobby than a chance to snag a piece from our childhoods? Great piece - congrats on this unique get, Fred!

Michael McIsaac
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 7/25/2022

Really solid prelim. I love seeing work like this that those of us in the U.S.A. did not often get to see.

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