Last year, Marvel Comics created what was maybe their coolest set of collectible variants yet, with over fifty titles from across the line featuring covers which homaged classic hip-hop albums from the ’80s up until today. The covers got a ton of press, and sold out in comic book shops all over the country. The series was so popular, in fact, the publisher unleashed a second wave of hip-hop variants that were just as popular as the first set.
Now we’ve learned, thanks to the folks at Billboard magazine, that Marvel Comics will continues to honor the greatest albums of hip-hop with a third wave of variants, set to hit comic shops in November. With the exception of one cover, almost all the albums from this wave are from the 21st century, with the oldest album only going back to 1997.
For this latest series, Marvel is taking inspiration from Nas’ 2012 album Life is Good for The Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows #1 by Sam Spratt, Dr. Dre’s 2015 Compton for Black Panther: World of Wakanda #1 by Alitha E. Martinez & Rachelle Rosenberg , Missy Elliott’s 2002 album Under Construction for Invincible Iron-Man #1 with art by Adi Granov (featuring new African American Iron “Man” Riri Williams), 1997’s Back in Business by EPMD for Iron Fists #1, by David Williams & Carlos Cabrera, and finally, Venom #1, which references 2013’s Albert Einstein by Prodigy and Alchemist, with art by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. You can see all the covers for this latest series in our gallery below.
What do you think of this latest wave of hip-hop covers? And do you have a classic album you’d like to see paid tribute to by the folks at Marvel? Let us know in the comments down below.
Images: Marvel Comics