Home | Articles | Manga/Comics
J Scott Campbell Covers the Marvel Universe

J Scott Campbell Covers the Marvel Universe

Posted on 05 Aug 2019

Being a fan of J Scott Campbell can be a frustrating experience. The artist is truly a superstar in the comics world, his original artwork commanding top-level prices and his signed variant covers selling out in seconds on his own website, you need a lot of patience and deep pockets if you're going to amass any kind of decent collection featuring his work.

Happily, if you only want to gaze at the talented chap's excellent artwork, all you need to do is pick up his collected editions, and the latest is arguably one of the best for fans of his Marvel work. The book, which runs at 112 pages in a softcover release, organises some of his most famous (and highly sought after) artwork into the series he has drawn for over his first 15 years with Marvel. 

Campbell is certainly best-known for his depiction of the female form, a fact he acknowledges and even celebrates in this book, which features snippets of interviews with the creator alongside notes to go along with the covers and even some initial sketches.

It's rare in this day and age that we can celebrate with him - he's courted controversy by commenting back to those who find his work too idealised, and honestly he's one of the very best we have so I hope he continues to do so. For all his sultry heroes and villains, he can knock out some of the best male character work going today as well. He's incredibly versatile when it comes to body shapes, and clearly understands the essence of motion in his artwork. Subsequently, this book, featuring everyone from Spider-Man and the ladies that love him (of course) through to Black Widow, Daredevil, Thor, The Avengers and The X-Men among many others. 

At £16.95 (less on Amazon currently) this is an absolute bargain. I've collected many of his hardcover collections, but even though they use superior stock for the paper, they don't have as much crammed in as this particular tome. The addition of the commentary and "behind the scenes" information is also an easily digested goldmine. I never knew, for example, that his iconic Mary Jane cover to Amazing Spider-Man #601 was coloured by the artist himself, making it highly unusual for two reasons - firstly, he almost never colours his own work, and secondly, it's arguably his most iconic cover (the poster sits in our kitchen, Bry's concession to my comics obsession as she loves it too).

Many of the covers showcased in this book now sell for hundreds of dollars on the collectors market, making the total value of the issues depicted here frightening to contemplate. Campbell has built his career as a cover-only artist, and as such his work is almost always incredibly eye-catching.

I think I've gushed over the book long enough to give you a flavour - this is a terrific slice of Marvel Campbell, and a book any fan should pick up on sight. The only book to better it for a comprehensive look at his career is the Time Capsule volume which covers his career between 1994 to 2004. But spoil yourself and get both - be warned, this rabbit hole can get expensive!

Follow A.I. on Twitter and Like us on Facebook to get all the latest site updates

Also Happening:

Gundam SEED Freedom Review
posted on 26 Mar 2024
Metallic Rouge First Thoughts
posted on 27 Feb 2024
Delicious in Dungeon First Thoughts
posted on 15 Feb 2024
Bang Brave Bang Bravern! First Thoughts
posted on 06 Feb 2024
The AI translation fascination
posted on 08 Jan 2024
Pluto First Thoughts
posted on 10 Nov 2023
Correcting clickbait articles comparing She Hulk and One Piece salaries
posted on 18 Sep 2023
Gallery