Clover Press has been on a tear with their The Marvel Art Of… series, highlighting some of the best artists around with gorgeous coffee table books featuring modern masters. The laest? Dan Dos Santos, with The Marvel Art of Dan Dos Santos hitting Kickstarter yesterday.
Dos Santos is probably best known for his work on the 2022 Marvel Masterpieces trading cards, which get a spotlight in the new volume. “I wanted the collection to be pretty comprehensive, so fans can expect to see a real overview of the Marvel Universe and not just the same 3 or 4 heroes over and over,” he told Comic Book Club over email. “If you have a favorite character, they’re sure to be in there!”
For much more on the volume, and how it all came together, read on.
Comic Book Club: First and foremost, what’s it like to get a retrospective on your Marvel work? I imagine “feels good!” is the main takeaway.
Dan Dos Santos: Oh, it feels amazing! And not just it being a retrospective of my Marvel work, but it’s actually my first retrospective ever. Which, after 25 years in this industry, is long over due!
What do you think characterizes your Marvel work in particular? Or is it just part of a larger body of work?
Most of the Marvel work included in this book comes from a massive trading card set that I created 140 oil paintings for. I wanted the collection to be pretty comprehensive, so fans can expect to see a real overview of the Marvel Universe and not just the same 3 or 4 heroes over and over. If you have a favorite character, they’re sure to be in there!
When you’re curating this collection, what was important to keep in mind? Is there a story you’re looking to tell?
I come from an illustration background, so I love to tell stories. I try my best to imbue every piece with as much information about the character that I can. So it’s more important to me that each piece can really stand on its own outside of the larger collection.
Looking back, was there a piece you were surprised by? Or found aged differently than you expected?
Lots! I think I was surprised by some of the villains. Villains often come across as very 2-dimensional. Their whole personality is just anger or revenge. But in some of these paintings, like in the case of Green Goblin for instance, I feel like the story got a little deeper than I was expecting. I actually find myself empathizing with Norman Osborne in the image, and I really enjoy the added emotional complexity. It’s one of my favorites as a result.
I believe your work is usually fully painted with some digital touch ups… Did you go back and tweak anything in this collection? Or leave it for posterity?
Industry demands sometimes mean I have to tweak things digitally, either for print quality, or for a revision, or simply to get the painting done on time. But fortunately, once those initial deadlines were met, I was able to go back and polish up all the original paintings I felt needed a little extra TLC. A few pieces in this book definitely got an extra pass of paint to fix issues I had with them the first time. To me, a painting is never truly “done”… it’s just “closer”.
There are some fun bonuses for the Kickstarter, including a puzzle… How do you feel about your art getting cut up into tiny little pieces?
Haha, I love it! I make no pretenses about being a fine artist. Illustration is my passion, so seeing my work being used commercially, in as many ways as possible, is the real joy of art for me. It’s about sharing. Puzzles, stickers, sketchbooks, I love it all! The more I can enrich people’s day-to-day lives, the better.
The Marvel Art of Dan Dos Santos is on Kickstarter now. Check out some additional images from the book, below.
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