Legion World Forums LEGION CLUBHOUSE The Legion of Super-Heroes Visionaries of Tomorrow Kevin Nowlan :o/

I used to love his work, from his covers on The New Defenders to his Jack B. Quick stuff for Alan Moore's ABC line... But is anyone else less than impressed with his recent cover work, Legion 38 included? His palette choices seem washed-out, both on 38 and here , on the July solicit for Hawkman. His inkwork doesn't seem as... rich, either, for lack of a better word.

Thoughts/opinions?

His recent Superman covers have been pretty sad too. His figures out of porportion, next to no backgrounds; almost like rush jobs.

Ugh, that is pretty terrible. Are they his colors though or someone coloring his art?

I was wondering about that myself, Vee. But regardless, it really affects the finished work negatively... Covers should *pop* off the stands, and these really don't, I'm sorry to say.

Couldn't agree more. I just don't know how much control the artist has over the selection of colors. Maybe if Ronda pops in she can provide me with an answer.

I think it really depends on the individual artist. Some of th "big names" do all the art from start to finish, others just do the pencils and it goes through the usual chain to inker then colorist. One clue might be to look for multiple signatures on the cover. Notice all those gorgeous Greg Land covers actually have three signatures. And I think his colorist enhances his work brilliantly.

I haven't done a ton of covers, but in my experience the artist (penciller) has had no input on what I've done.

Pages occasionally have notes or suggestions from the artist, though I've always felt it was at my discretion whether or not I chose to follow them. I normally do because I feel like I should respect their vision of the book.

Thanks for the reply with the information! That being the case, I commend you even more than we already have. Your work is always terrific and now we know that it is your decision on how it's colored. Bravo!

I never realised those Land covers were inked - I presumed they went straight to the colourist (then again, I didn't go sig-hunting ).

I still love his style, AND the Legion & Hawkman covers.

Here is the true color version of the Hawkman cover. Kevin said that:

That IS better. Less washed-out, I think. And overall, that is a very dynamic piece.

I pray the same thing happened to the LEGION cover image when it was scanned for the solicits.

Layout-wise, the Legion cover still doesn't grab me, but this is more what I expect when I hear "Kevin Nowlan cover", image-wise. I'm glad to see the true colors for it. Thanks, Scott!