The book that changed our lives
On 18 June 2014, The Wicked + The Divine #1 was released.
That was ten years ago.
A lot has changed for me since then, and a lot of that change is because of WicDiv. We knew we'd made something special right from the start, but we weren't prepared for the response - and community - it created. Not everyone in comics gets to make something like this, a career-defining work that they also own, so I'm enormously grateful that we got to do that.
One thing we took away from our time at Marvel was a (maybe unhealthy) need to control every aspect of the book from cover to cover (which involved working closely with designer Hannah Donovan to set the tone of everything outside of the actual comic pages). The covers were obviously the most important aspect of that. I had very strong ideas of what I wanted to pull from other fields, to try to make the book look like nothing else on the stands, because the comic inside was like nothing else on the stands. Looking back at all of the covers, I think we succeeded.
To celebrate the book that changed our lives, we’ve put together a project we always talked about doing but never got around to: a beautiful, super-sized hardback art book of all the covers we ever printed.
A mock up of the book
The Kickstarter launches today at 5 pm BST (12 pm EST, 9 am PST). While the main attraction is presenting all 126 covers* in a super-sized hardback format (240mm x 320mm or 9.44" x 12.59") we’re also including extra material, such as Kieron writing an introduction to the book and me explaining my thinking behind each arc of the covers.
Also included are making-of features, where I demonstrate how I went from concept to sketch to inks to the finished work.
It will also include a bonus cover by me to truly make it a COMPLETE collection: Sahkmet will finally get her head cover.
*AND POSSIBLY MORE, WE MAY HAVE LOST COUNT, THERE'S A LOT OF THEM
A selection of the covers Matt and I made for WicDiv
Along with all the covers Matt Wilson and I made for the series, the book will include every variant artist who made a cover for us. We were lucky to work with some of the best artists in the industry during the run of WicDiv. Here's a full list:
David Aja · Kris Anka · André Lima Araújo · Jen Bartel · Kate Brown · Sophie Campbell · Elsa Charretier · Cliff Chiang · Becky Cloonan · Russell Dauterman · Leila Del Duca · Vanessa R. Del Ray · Ray Fawkes · Jenny Frison · Paulina Ganucheau · Grimes · Stephanie Hans · Erica Henderson · Jonathan Hickman · Olivia Jaimes · Phil Jimenez · Jock · Daniel Warren Johnson · Ryan Kelly · Aud Koch · David La Fuente · Jason Latour · Emi Lenox · Tula Lotay · Meredith McClaren · Olly Moss · Bryan Lee O'Malley · Emma Ríos · Claire Roe · Margaux Saltel · Alison Sampson · Marguerite Sauvage · Nicola Scott · Mike Spicer · Fiona Staples · ND Stevenson · Babs Tarr · Kevin Wada · Christian Ward · Yoshi Yoshitani · Chip Zdarsky
A selection of the variant artists we worked with on WicDiv
You can get the standard book, or the deluxe version of the book. The deluxe is a fancy companion to the previous four hardcover deluxe editions of The Wicked + The Divine, this version is bound in sumptuous black cloth, with a stunning stamped holographic foil title on the cover, spine, and back cover. It has holographic gilded pages. It has full-colour, custom endpages. It has a sewn binding with custom head and tail bands and a black marker-ribbon. A gorgeous work of art. It also comes with a high-quality bookplate signed by both me and Kieron. There’s also an option to add a giclée art print of the cover image.
A mockup of the deluxe version of the book
Get the book on Kickstarter and enjoy! Thanks for all your support for the last decade. Now back to One For Sorrow!
Until next time!
J
Shit, almost forgot:
Agnes and Eddie cuddling on the couch next to all their toys