The Magnificent Seven (inked)

One of my great wishes as a comics fan is to see Marvel do their version of the Magnificent Seven using their western characters. They came real close once. "Blaze of Glory" was a 4-issue limited series published in the 90s where they brought together the heroes of the Old West in one story. Although I mostly enjoyed the series, I didn't care for the fact that they gave the characters more of a "spaghetti western" makeover which resulted in them not looking like their classic selves. I also didn't care that a few them were -- SPOILER ALERT -- killed off.

So here's how to make it better: Do a version in which ALL of them look like their classic selves. And one more thing: Don't kill any of 'em. It can't be that hard to do.

I was inspired to commission this piece by a picture I saw of the stars of the Magnificent Seven REMAKE from some years ago. It starred Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, and Kevin Bacon, among others. Somehow, I just know the PERFECT artist for this piece would be Ian Richardson. Ian is a UK artist who I sometimes think is the second coming of Alan Davis, but with his own spin. He did a phenomenal job penciling this piece. Then along came Bob Almond and took it to the next level. Just a stellar job by two talented artists at the top of their game.

Last thing: Don't get at me about the Western Ghost Rider. It's the Magnificent Seven, not the Magnificent Eight. I like him just fine, he just didn't make the cut.

Big thanks to Ian Richardson and Bob Almond for this amazing piece of art.