DaCollector, Ruben :: PERKINS, Mike: Various Titles

Stephen King The Stand - Sketchbook Cover

Artist: Mike Perkins (All)

17 Comments - 1,002 Views - 11 Likes

Stephen King The Stand - Sketchbook Cover Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Stephen King The Stand - Sketchbook Cover
Artist:	Mike Perkins (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Cover
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,002
Likes on CAF:	11 12
Comments:	17
Added to Site:	4/13/2022
Comic Art Archive:

Description

During the back half of the 1980's, reading Stephen King novels seemed to be a big thing for Horror buffs, which I had always been. I have very fond memories of going with my friend next door, who was more like a little brother to me, to the video store every week to rent every Horror movie known to man, or at least known to be available in that particular store. We started this when I was 12 and he was only 6. So yes, a 12 and 6 year old pair of boys, going into the video store and regularly renting 3 Horror movies at a time (they were 3 for $6 back then!) which were all rated 18+. Ah, the good old days when no one cared about the fragility of youth and potential psychological harm the content in these films could cause!

Anyway, back to King novels. I got into them like many other people did and I recall the idea of tackling The Stand was so intimidating because of it's length, even in the abridged format. But I got through it and loved it. I suppose there's always been something about post-apocalyptic scenarios that while dark and dire, still somehow fascinates us. Fast forward to 2009 and Mike Perkins was offered the opportunity to illustrate King's seminal novel. He decided to do it, though not without some trepidation, as he was well aware that while being able to be associated on a project with someone of King's stature would be a nice feather in his cap, he was also keenly aware that it would also essentially entail spending approximately 3 years of his life drawing mostly regular humans, dressed in regular clothing, placed in normal earthly settings with nary a single costumed hero in sight! In the end, he decided to do it and he and I are both happy that he did, as it gave him that aforementioned "forever association" with Stephen King and also put him on the New York Times Best Seller list, another great feather in his cap! When all is said and done, I've always thought of this adaptation of The Stand to be Mike's Magnum Opus, as it is from start to finish of the 680+ pages, the single most complete comic book adaptation of a single novel ever created. In recent months, I've actually begun to wonder if his work on The Swamp Thing may now actually have become his Magnum Opus, though the comparatively much shorter length of it gives me pause. Either way, that'll be something to debate at a further time.

This piece, as stated in the title, is the cover to the The Stand Sketchbook, which was a single issue containing a lot of Perkins' character designs, cover prelims and page layouts. I love symbolism and this is one of those pieces I love due to how much the image tells you, in spite of how little art there actually is. I know it's just a bird, but Perkins delineated it with a beautiful, textured dry brush technique which makes it appear incredibly lifelike. Anyone with even a passing familiarity of Stephen King's great novel will immediately recognize that the Biohazard sign speaks to the post apocalyptic nature of the story and the crow resting on it represents one manifestation of the story's antagonist, Randall Flag, aka The Dark Man. With a single tiny image, Perkins symbolizes what The Stand is all about.

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About the Owner

	Ruben DaCollector Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	April 2008
Last Login:	September 2025
Website:	http://www.ComicBookArtGallery.com
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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F M
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

I love those minimalistic covers that indeed tells much with less.

(It reminds me of Willingham’s cover to Coventry 1).

Dave Kopecki
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Great cover! I love Stephen King's books and the comic adaptations have been quite good.

Miki Annamanthadoo
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Very Cool!

Jason Hussa
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Great write up, Ruben, and you're right about it being a fantastic piece. Any horror buff (or, let's face it, anyone who's lived through the last two years) is more than passingly familiar with biohazard iconography, and the use of the crow / raven here tells us all we need to know. Brilliantly simple; simply brilliant. Great piece, Ruben.

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

2 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Ah, yeah, ah, yeah
I got this feelin' that you should own
The bird's in comics, waves at me, horror's on
All through the cover, framed in your home
We're flyin' up, no ceilin', when in warning zone

I got that sketchbook in my pocket
Inks by Mike Perkins so sweet
I feel that hot bird on my cover when it drops (ooh)
I can't take my eyes up off it, drawin' so phenomenally
Mike's on lock, the way he rocks it, so don't stop

And inside the books where anything goes
Nowhere to hide when I'm gettin' you Cross
Why we move, well, you already know
So just imagine, just the virus, just imagine

Nothin' ABC about you when you Stand, Stand, Stand
Feel a good, good creepin' up on Stu
So just Stand, Stand, Stand, come on
Stephen Kings I shouldn't do
But you Stand, Stand, Stand
And ain't no Frannie leavin' soon, so keep standin'
I can't stop the Randall
So just Stand, Stand, Stand
I can't stop Abigail
So just Stand, Stand, Stand, come on

Rick W
Member Since 2017

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

The crow is authorized personnel ;)

Love the symbolism!

Michael McIsaac
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Now this is a cover that's the stuff of nightmares. More frightening than anything that Freddie Krueger or Michael Myers had to offer.

I also have fond memories of my friend and I going to the video store when we were 12 in the late 1980s, but instead of horror our movies of choice were comedies like Revenge of the Nerds or the first Police Academy - stuff that we couldn't watch if our parents were around. Good times.

Tyler T
Member Since 2020

1 - Posted on 4/13/2022

Awesome cover! Love knowing that Perkins did anything Stephen King related.

K Gearon
Member Since 2011

1 - Posted on 4/14/2022

Super efffective stuff. The less is more strategy definitely works here. And the fact that it's "simpler" but strongly encompasses the story at the same time as a single image...great. And definitely makes you wanna see what else is inside the book. Congrats, Ruben!

Paul P Spiderversity
Member Since 2011

1 - Posted on 4/14/2022

Well you know how much I loved Perkins' work on this series. And this cover is so perfect. Like you say, it conveys the whole spirit of the 'The Stand' in one simple and beautiful image. It still boggles my mind that Mike drew over 680 pages of art for this adaptation, without the quality ever wavering. And I still read the novel every three years, cuz it's so captivating. Great stuff !!!!

James Dornoff
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 4/15/2022

Really enjoyed THE STAND work from Stephen King, nice to see a piece like this on here to represent. Nice find!

J H
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 4/15/2022

Crows and biohazard signs go together like ice cream and chocolate. Yummy horror! I really dig his horror sensibility throughout his work. I would love to see him start up a modern EC with a few other artists...I loved the Stand, too, and how cool to be tied to that masterpiece! It's a really great image, with all you need to set the scene. (And Swamp Thing could be his Opus, for sure). Very cool, Rubén. Congrats!

David Bixler
Member Since 2016

1 - Posted on 4/17/2022

This is beautiful in its simplicity, instantly recognizable as The Stand. Definitely making me reminisce, especially since I always loved this novel (and am a sucker for post apocalypse, dystopian stories). Great pickup!

David Askani’Son
Member Since 2012
Forum Moderator

1 - Posted on 4/17/2022

Badass Cover!!!! Such an impactful Image!

Brian Norton
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 4/19/2022

a perfect case of one small image telling almost the whole story. it really packs a great punch.

Ian Saint
Member Since 2021

1 - Posted on 4/19/2022

Love the apocalyptic eerieness of it all.

Peter Sullivan
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 8/6/2024

Wish I had this and I bet I am not the only one.

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