Spider-Man 2099

What a sketch!!

Got this from Leonardi's recent Kickstarter for his Blue Angel GN and his sketchbook. But to be honest, the real draw for me was the original art tiers ;-)
(Only got the sketchbook, but it's great! And the Kickstarter was very well run too!)

I've been a fan of Leonardi for decades at this point. I love the way his work never repeats itself. Always a new angle, a new framing, a new approach. He never settles for stock solutions, no matter what he's drawing.

Which is why I felt comfortable asking for Spider-man 2099. I mean, Rick has to have drawn it thousands of times by now. And for a bust sketch, most artists would have a tried and true formula, they can knock out in 20 minutes. But not Rick Leonardi.

To be fair, the battle damaged, torn mask was my idea (wanted the iconic design, but also to give Rick a chance to show off his acting chops), but everything else is pure Leonardi genius. I've looked through all of CAF, when I was searching for ideas, and I promise you that none of the other pieces look anything like this. It's entirely its own thing. Just like every other Leonardi piece.

If the uniqueness was the only thing, it'd still be impressive. But the artistry! The acting!
This is what Spider-Man (no matter the century) is all about! Being beaten, bloody, on the ropes, but still full of fight and ready to take on the bad guys. Just bad-ass.

When I backed the Kickstarter, I was excited to finally own a Rick Leonardi piece. When I got it, my expectations were blown out of the water.

Love it!