Spider-Woman 11 Heroes Reborn variant cover Feat’ Thanos by Carlos Pacheco

So, this cover by the late, great Carlos Pacheco has a bit of publishing history.

When the Heroes Reborn event (initially, an arc of Jason Aaron’s Avengers tenure apparently) was announced, Marvel released several teasers/promo illustrations by Carlos (look on top of the board here, it says “prom”).

I don’t know if it was the initial plan or if Marvel got wise afterwards seeing the quality of those pieces, but they were later released as variant covers. (One can only hope Carlos was paid a cover fee).

Once the OA was released for sale, their prices were more that of promo illustrations rather than covers so I was lucky to grab several.

This was by far my fav’ of Carlos’ cover run. Not only does it feature the mad Titan himself but given Carlos’ artistic roots being firmly set in the classic influential artists we all love (Adams, Perez and Buscema), I always felt like he was a perfect fit for the character and yet, he never got a chance to really draw him before this. Many of the covers/promo he drew were a mix of different techniques with sometime a sense of unfinished business whereas this one is much more polished (despite the lack of inks which is never a bother as far as I’m concerned).

And what a perfect match indeed. I feel like he perfectly nailed the character who exudes the puissance, bravado and dangerosity he is legendary for. He is, to sum it up, just MASSIVE.

The radiating halo and those infinity gems energy swirls also help centring him in the illustration.

Just an instant classic cover by a superb artist gone too soon.

(Down below, you will find the promo version released by Marvel then the published cover).

This is part 8 of my 2024 CAF birthday party.