Colossus

The X-Men are Colossus, Wolverine, Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Phoenix, and Storm. Period. I realize there are eight billion other mutant characters, 17 different X-teams, and 500 overlapping alternate realities, and each character has died, come back to life, been cloned, lost their powers, died again, and had babies. I don't care. Toss all that other stuff in the trash heap, give me that perfect original X-Men, and let's call it a glorious day! [Edited to add: All right, Kitty Pryde gets a place of honor, along with Lockheed.]

First, the colored version (click the images for a larger view):

Colossus colored

And black-and-white:

Colossus B&W

The Shadow

Our all-time favorite pulp hero! As kids, we used to listen to cassette tapes of the old Shadow radio drama voiced by Orson Welles. They were decades old but still had a mesmerizing effect. And the Shadow comics by Michael William Kaluta and Howard Chaykin were big inspirations to us. (Pity about the 1994 film.) Say it together, now: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows..." [insert creepy laughter]

First, the colored version (click the images for a larger view):

Shadow colored

And now, perhaps more fittingly, the black-and-white:

Shadow B&W

Union Jack

Captain America's less-well-known British counterpart, Union Jack was in one of our favorite comic storylines when we were young: Captain America #253-254. If memory serves, the story involved a vampire called Baron Blood, the death of the original Union Jack, the arrival of his replacement, and some fantastic John Byrne art. Also, Cap beheaded the vampire with his shield. Awesome! Colored version first (click the images for a larger view):

Union Jack colored

Now, the black-and-white:

Union Jack B&W

Captain America

We aren't sure quite how long our hiatus from Season 2 will last — as long as we need to finish the final art for the published book, I suppose. So we don't wind up missing each other too much during the downtime, I wanted to share some of Kyle's artwork with you. The first is Captain America, drawn last summer during Kyle's excitement prior to the release of the movie. We'll post a new picture each Tuesday and Thursday until we run out or the comic returns (whichever comes first)!

First, the colored version (click the images for a larger view):

Cap. America colored

And the black-and-white:

Cap. America B&W