San Diego Comic-Con is the biggest pop-culture event on the planet.
The 2019 convention marks the 50th event thrown by the Comic-Con producers. The cover of their yearly book showcases the biggest news in comics. Since it’s such a special occasion, they brought in renowned artist and DC Comics chief creative officer Jim Lee to design the cover. And it’s special.
(Final cover will NOT include www.comic-con.org watermark.) Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman ™ & © DC Comics • Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther © MARVEL • Michonne and THE WALKING DEAD are TM and © 2019, Robert Kirkman, LLC • Spawn, its logo and its symbol, are registered trademarks ™ & © 2019 Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc. • Hellboy ™ & © 2019 Mike Mignola • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles © 2019 Viacom International Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Comic-Con is pleased to reveal this year’s cover, penciled by the great Jim Lee—with inks by Scott Williams and colors by Alex Sinclair—featuring 13 of comics most popular characters. Sure you’ve seen Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman together before, but have you seen them with Spider-Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther, Hellboy, Spawn, Michonne from The Walking Dead, and all four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo? It’s the team-up fans have been dreaming about!
It was DC Comics publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee’s idea to feature all of these earth-shattering heroes bursting from the San Diego Convention Center lobby to save the world in a one-of-a-kind piece of art the likes of which has never been seen before.
Jim had this to say about working on this year’s cover: “The honor was mine getting to do this historic cover for the world’s preeminent pop culture event. What an amazing 50 years!”
“Comic Con was the start of it for me and from my very first Con back in 1987, it’s been a huge part of my life. I’ve watched it transform the business and usher in a world I don’t think any comic book reader back in 1987 would ever have imagined to come to be.
“Thank you, Scott and Alex—you two continue to elevate and enhance everything you guys touch and this cover is a testament to the teamwork that we have forged and the sheer talent you bring to every project.”
As a side note, this also marks the first time since 1975 that Comic-Con’s Souvenir Book has featured a wraparound cover (that cover featured Will Eisner’s The Spirit poolside at the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego). Click here to see all of our Souvenir Book covers over the past 50 years!
Comic-Con’s Souvenir Book is available free to all 2019 attendees (while supplies last). This 280-page, full-color, trade paperback book features a pictorial history of Comic-Con’s past five decades, featuring over 530 photos and artwork from the event’s past, along with special features, including an in-depth history of Comic-Con by Eisner Award-winning author Bill Schelly. The Souvenir Book is available onsite only at Comic-Con 2019, July 18–21 at the San Diego Convention Center.”
It’s an incredible image. Jim Lee stands as one of the best artists in comics of all time, and it’s great to see his take on characters he normally doesn’t cover. As chief creative officer of DC comics, I didn’t think we’d ever see him do Marvel characters again.
Maybe with all the cross-overs between Batman and the TMNT lately, maybe there’s still hope for Jim Lee to tell a full Ninja Turtles story. Until then, we at least have this cover.
What do you think? Are you heading to SDCC this year? If we ask nicely, will could we get Jim Lee to do a full TMNT series? Let us know in the comments!