F.M. :: JAE LEE

Hellshock trading card (first appearance) by Jae Lee

Artist: Jae Lee (All)

14 Comments - 1,578 Views - 6 Likes

Hellshock trading card (first appearance) by Jae Lee Comic Art

Additional Images:

Trading card box

Trading card 2

Trading card 1

Next Item:
Darkness card art by Jae Lee

Artwork Details

Title:	Hellshock trading card (first appearance) by Jae Lee
Artist:	Jae Lee (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Trading Card Art
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,578
Likes on CAF:	6 7
Comments:	14
Added to Site:	7/18/2021
Comic Art Archive:

Description

A very cool piece of rare Hellshock art by a young & white-hot Jae Lee (that may change soon considering the recent full issues released at auction).

This is probably the earliest published Hellshock art by Jae (Birth page ? Birth piece ? Birth? Pregnancy piece ?). It was a trading card, likely a bonus one, produced by the legendary Creator's Universe trading card set released in 1993(whereas first publication of Hellshock was in 1994, even counting the b&w ashcan).

For those who don't know or remember that trading card set only featured new characters created for it by industry pros and there were no bad artists in the set even if many were up & comers back when. Many characters changed in design upon publication and even more never materialized in comic book form outside of the set. Well worth seeking out for the exclusive art (you can find another great example in my Dave Johnson gallery).

Now unto the piece.

This may very well be an exception for me, as I tend to prefer artists when their artistic abilities have matured or peaked, meaning art style but storytelling even more, BUT this is likely my favorite period in Jae Lee's art. Meaning the raw fury declined from Simon Bisley by way of Bill Sienckiewickz. Lots of unnecessary lines, pinupy art and cool poses above storytelling needs, vicious energy and tons, TONS of inks and shadows. And teeth. Overdoing it basically but to great 90s Image results.

I find that Jae Lee's art is nowadays much slicker, refined and often gorgeous in terms of rendering. The storytelling could have improved more but it may be me finding that silhouettes and characters defined in shadows to be boring (Dark Tower comes to mind). I still follow him on every project but I'm not as enthusiastic as I once was.

What's super interesting here is that the art board is full of art. Not one untouched millimeter remains and there is so much inks that it spilled unto the back of the board. I may even believe that he rendered the full board in inks before applying the without and the razor cuts. And like it's been said for Harren, the board is resultantly heavy with matter applied to it.

You may notice that Hellshock's design has somehow slightly changed for publication. Jae refined him and his style a bit more between this piece and the first issue.

But it's still gorgeous, heavy (and on the nose frankly) with religious visual themes.

I find that it's an important piece in Jae Lee's artistic history.

Ps: below you can find pictures of the actual card and a variant version for the trading card box using the art.

Social/Sharing

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

Contact the Owner

Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner,
but, you must be logged in to use this feature.

Comments on this Artwork

You must be logged in to make comments.

Miki Annamanthadoo
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 7/18/2021

Love the Sienckiewickz effect. Also my favorite period of Lee's art. Even though I dislike the term}, this qualifies as a true 'birth' piece, since at birth a persom is not yet fully developed.

D J
Member Since 2014

1 - Posted on 7/18/2021

Congrats! Such a strong image for a 1st app.

Marcus Wai
Member Since 2005

1 - Posted on 7/18/2021

Jae Lee lets it all fly. If he was going to make it big, it would have to be on his own terms. Chances have to be taken, risks and stakes were high, and it would have to make a statement of who he is as an artist. Hellshock may not have been the biggest thing to come from Image, but in terms of Jae, it was a monumental step.

Ruben DaCollector
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 7/18/2021

When Jae hit the scene on Namor, I was blown away and immedaitely projected him to become a superstar. He then moved on to the style he emplyed on this piece, which was a far more refined Sienkiewicz approach, before finally moving on the the sillhouette and shadow heavy period from the Dark Tower onwards. Personally I feel he is still far better today than at any previous point in his career, but I will also admit that I can no longer look at that early Namor period without cringing. I like it only for nostalgic reasons, but not for aesthetic ones. The art from this Hellshock period is still easy to look at however.

I love the trading card, by the way. What a sign of the times. "One of ONLY TEN THOUSAND". Lol! So rare!

kent mansley
Member Since 2015

1 - Posted on 7/18/2021

The inking on this is perfection. This piece must feel heavy with all the ink on it! Huge congrats!

J H
Member Since 2019

1 - Posted on 7/19/2021

This is the Swiped Right Piece, when he met the idea and fell in love. Heavy, inky love. I liked the energy of this period, too. It had that raw, emotional feel like Sienkiewicz, as you mentioned. And I don't think he could get much more ink on that piece. Very cool piece. Congrats!

Andr� .
Member Since 2015

1 - Posted on 7/21/2021

I feel like colorists didn't always know what to do with Jae's work. Great to see the raw inks.

Michael Cross
Member Since 2018

1 - Posted on 7/24/2021

It took me forever to get this trading card out of the set. it was a "redemption" one. so you had to get a redemption card in a pack and then mail it away with shipping and handling to actually get it.

Great piece.

Tommy Kohlmaier
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 7/25/2021

Strong image from his early days ! Size of the art ?

F M
Member Since 2005

Posted on 7/25/2021

Tommy Kohlmaier wrote:

Strong image from his early days ! Size of the art ?

Full bleed 11 by 17

John Livesay
Member Since 2009

1 - Posted on 8/1/2021

awesome!

Dave Kopecki
Member Since 2008

1 - Posted on 12/19/2021

This is a really great piece of card art and a true "birth" piece for sure! Jae even scrapped the first attempt at issue #1 and redrew it so a lot changed between the card and the actual issue 1, but it was all an amazing time for his work. Huge congrats on the score, buddy! And if you ever decide to let it go, please keep me in mind. ;)

Peter Venkman
Member Since 2003

1 - Posted on 1/2/2022

Hellshock showed that Jae Lee not only could draw, but that he could write too. Nice catch !

Comic Art Channel
Member Since 2018

1 - Posted on 7/9/2022

Ridiculous intensity during this period. His art definitely got your attention as it was totally unlike anything else in the mainstream. Fantastic piece!

All
	Paul Handler 9/6/2025 2:34:00 PM
	Chris Johnson 9/6/2025 2:34:00 PM
	Comic_Lore @ 9/6/2025 2:19:00 PM
	Bruce W 9/6/2025 2:17:00 PM
	John C 9/6/2025 1:35:00 PM
View All


	J Murdock 9/6/2025 1:06:00 PM
	JN 80 9/6/2025 1:01:00 PM
	Jamo's Art 9/6/2025 1:00:00 PM
	Will Gabri-El 9/6/2025 12:52:00 PM
	Spidey-Man4444 . 9/6/2025 12:42:00 PM