A couple of years ago, Marvel decided to wipe out Marvel Earth, along with all the parallel Earths that existed in the Marvel Multiverse. New Universe Earth. Gone. Squadron Supreme Earth. Gone. Shadowline Earth. Gone. Ultimate Earth. Gone. All these, along with some others we hadn't even seen before they too were wiped from existence by a great cosmic disaster. Some might call it a "crisis," but we aren't talking about those guys (although we will soon).
In the wake of all this, a new Earth emerged. A patchwork kind of "amalgam" Earth that contained aspects of the previous main-Marvel Earth and was now ruled by Victor Von Doom, who had managed to attain godhood. He even called himself "God." And the only remains of the previous Earths were a few survivors from each one who now found themselves on this new Earth, under Doom's rule. So, I thought: What if this event not only wiped out the Marvel Multiverse Earths, but also destroyed parallel Earths in the greater Omniverse as well? Earths where characters like the Continuity Comics heroes, the Harvey Comics heroes, the THUNDER Agents, Malibu Comics's the Protectors, and the Atlas-Seaboard heroes all lived? And what if they too also landed on this Doom-controlled Earth?
So, I decided to have a commission done depicting just that. Ironically enough, I found a cover that made a perfect template for such a piece from a DC Comic called DC Universe: Rebirth, which itself was a rebooting of DC's cast of characters. The cover was drawn by Gary Frank, and I took that cover, plugged in various superheroes that I used to read about from defunct publishers and then took the whole kit and kaboodle to an artist who I knew would draw it just beautifully as Frank's original version, yet fit within my woefully pitiful budget: The great Ian Richardson!
Ian Richardson is one of those amazing talents who should be drawing some of the top titles in the industry. An outstanding artist, who has been kind enough to draw some of my most prized pieces in my collection. His work graces the galleries of some of the great collectors in this hobby. Michael F. Finn, Brian "Marvel Two-in-One 76 Guy" Sagar, F. Michael Dunne, Aidan Lacy, Kevin Moorhead, Rob Shalda, Shannon Weathers, Travis Ellisor -- this iist goes on and on. If this doesn't convince to head to his CAF gallery, or his DeviantArt page, and commission him, then nothing will. A special thank you to Ian, not only for this piece, but for indulging me in all my quirky commissions and doing a spectacular job!
