The Amazing Spider-Man #10 Cover

Dike Ruan seemingly burst onto the comic scene five or so years ago already a pro. He now seems to run through styles and mediums with ease, regularly switching it up. It takes big confidence in your skills to do that and I respect it highly. I particularly like what's on display here in this AMAZING cover: watercolor underneath colored pencil and a bit of ink and gouache (from what I can tell).

I'm a sucker for a Spidey swinging through NYC--I used to imagine Peter wooshing by when I used to live there. But more importantly I appreciate the space it leaves for creativity in each new artist that has the opportunity. How will they make their image stand out among decades of others?

Dike's choices of pose, city perspective, and style are exceptional. Often Spidey is drawn like a contortionist acrobat--which always works in a fun way--but this pose actually looks SPIDERY. Jumping, hunched over, limbs splayed, ready to attack! Made extra special with the camera above and behind. You really get the feeling of the jump.

The city is drawn simply and beautifully. Great choice to use a limited color palette here: cool blues and warm oranges play nice against the classic red/blue pairing of his costume in a night scene over glowy Manhattan. The Empire State Building keeps your sights locked on Spidey, who's almost perfectly bisects the page. The dynamic perspective on the buildings has a nice warp to it yet still feels real.

Finally that style and medium choice--you don't see much colored pencil on Marvel covers. Dike's application gives the entire piece an exciting texture and he uses them to define shapes and light like ink. The contrast is mixed with some great hatching/blending.

Thanks to Dike for making my favorite Spidey cover in recent memory. A top tier stunner!