Fleeing Darkness #1 Cover (2019)

They say that a sure fire way to start an argument, is to talk about politics or religion. And while that is true, sometimes those things can be used to create an incredible piece of art, such as this amazing cover right here.

Fleeing Darkness tells the story of what happened to the Christian missionaries and their faithful followers, after the Communist take over of North Korea. Certainly some heavy subject matter, to be sure. Artist and friend, Jason Metcalf, does an outstanding job putting so much imagery on the cover. The family embracing their crying child, as a church burns in the background, while troops and planes march on elicits a very visceral feeling. Just the way politics and religion tend to do. The level of detail in Jason's work is just unbelievable. The cross hatching done to the burning church and marching Communist soldiers is even more impressive, when you view it in person. And the use of negative space to show the tall grass in the foreground is equally intense in its level of detail. Why Jason Metcalf isn't working in the mainstream comic industry, is one of those things that's pretty much an indictment of its current state and lack of quality and creativity. 25 years ago he'd be working on Spider-Man or Batman, no doubt.

Politics and religion might be sensitive subject matter and "hot button" topics, when people discuss them, but as this cover so wonderfully shows, it can also be skillfully used as a source for some great artistry, as well. Such as this fantastic cover!