2099 original artwork!

Marvel's 2099 line launched right as I was starting to read and collect comics, and something about it struck a chord with *slightly* younger me. Who can say what it was that made such an impression on me? Why, it could have been any number of...uh...well, okay, we all know what it was: Spider-Man 2099's incredible design by Rick Leonardi:

Has there been a better costume to come out of Marvel in the last 25 years?

Anyway, ever since I picked up a few issues of the 2099 books in the early '90s, I've held a soft spot for them. I tend to try and focus my original art purchases on the Fantastic Four and books I've personally worked on, but these few have managed to sneak their way in. Let's take a look!

This first piece is from Spider-Man 2099 #27, and even though he's out of costume, this page features Miguel O'Hara, Spidey himself.

The art is by Joe St. Pierre, and it was gifted to me by one Ian Nichols. I worked with Joe on a short story for Rhode Island's AR Comics, and even though he was doing me a favor by letting me write something for the book, Ian sent me this page as a thank you.

They - they said the word "Alchemax"! It wouldn't be a proper 2099 title without it.

This next page is from the second issue of Ravage 2099, the 2099 line's only non-derivative title of the launch!

This is the second page of original art I own from the late, great Paul Ryan, one of my favorite artists of all time. Oh, and it was also written by none other than Stan Lee! That's pretty exciting.

One fun note about this page is that the word "blasterproof" was added in the second-to-last panel as a late edit. I guess "bulletproof" didn't sound futuristic enough! Oh, Ravage 2099. You were weird.

These next two pieces are a bit more modern, coming from the recent relaunch of the Spider-Man 2099 series. Both are pieces of preliminary art, and both are by Pasqual Ferry. The first one is rough pencils that eventually became the a variant cover to Spider-Man 2099 #4, with a number of 2099 characters, like Spider-Man, Hulk and Doom!

Here's the final version. It changed a good bit from concept to print.

The next rough sketch eventually became a variant cover to Contest of Champions #4, which featured  a number of Marvel's characters from the future, including Iron Man 2020, who has two years left to remain a part of this group.

Here's the final cover, which took a lot from the rough sketch on the left. I do like the Killraven/War of the Worlds inspired Martian ship in the image to the right! But I'll take Spider-Man 2099 original art any way I can get it.