Guardians of the Galaxy #6 Incentive Cover 2016

Greg Hildebrandt’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy #6 Incentive Cover’ is a riot of color, bursting with energy in every direction. You can almost hear the swish of the brush, layering light over dark, building each figure stroke by stroke. I imagine Hildebrandt, in the studio, surrounded by comic books, maybe listening to some rock and roll, and just getting lost in this other world. It's pure escapism but executed with such skill. Look at the textures! The wood-like skin of Groot, the metallic gleam of the weapons – it’s all there, rendered with care. The blues in the background feel deep and infinite, punctuated by these graphic flashes of color, like exploding stars. There's an echo of classic comic art here. It reminds me of the great illustrators like Frazetta. It’s an ongoing conversation, this exchange of ideas across genres, building on what’s come before. It all makes you realize that the way we see the world is always evolving, transforming, and exploding.