COVER STORY: Dark Horse Presents #2
In 1986, comic store owner Mike Richardson started his own publishing company. In July of that year, his brand new company, Dark Horse Comics, debuted with the release of an anthology series titled Dark Horse Presents.
The cover of that first issue featured an overly-muscled, t-shirt wearing, machine gun wielding wild man standing in front of a fence of barbed wire. Black Cross was a good read and an entertaining hero, but the real treasure in that historic first issue lay in the second story.
Written and drawn by Paul Chadwick, Concrete told the story of a man who had the unfortunate experience of having his brain removed from his body by aliens and then transplanted into an artificial and fully functioning body that looked to be made of stone.
Other than a one time visit by those scalpel-wielding aliens, the feature was completely grounded in reality. Concrete was, and still is to this day, one of the most enjoyable books to come out of the eighties.
He first appeared as a cover subject on the cover of Dark Horse Presents #2. Chadwick placed Concrete right in the middle of a cactus-strewn desert. It is a memorable image of the massive speechwriter walking with purpose through the plains as a star studded sky hangs over his head.
Behind him a mountain that clearly holds an image of the man himself seems to mirror his determination. The expression that Chadwick creates for Concrete makes you want to find out what would cause this man to become so driven.
Without a single bit of narrative on the cover, other than the title, anyone walking past the newsstand or comic rack and seeing that look would almost become compelled to find out what was driving this man so.
Chadwick had no use for the more traditional comic book blurb such as “Superman and Plastic Man Fighting? What Could Have Led to This Titanic Battle?”
He wasn’t selling hyperbole. He was drawing us in with a few simple lines and setting us up to learn about one man’s quest, about what is driving him as he moves with such focus that nothing else seems to matter but his ultimate goal.
The understatement of the cover was balanced by the amazing coloring job created to support Chadwick’s art. The night sky of the desert is brilliant and glows with the star-sparking clarity of a real sky. The flora that populates the desert as he passes by is perfect for the space.
While blues and purples and greens fill the cover, the brown of the mountain fits in perfectly into the surrounding.
After his debut, it wasn’t long before Concrete received his own solo title. While he had graced several covers over in Dark Horse Presents, the solo title created a much stronger presence on the shelves of the growing number of comic book stores across America.
Over the years Chadwick has created quite a few memorable covers, but Dark Horse Presents #2 brought a lot of fans into the fantastic world he created. And few, if any of them ever regretted the decision to take that issue home.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
COVER STORY: Dark Horse Presents #2
In 1986, comic store owner Mike Richardson started his own publishing company. In July of that year, his brand new company, Dark Horse Comics, debuted with the release of an anthology series titled Dark Horse Presents.
The cover of that first issue featured an overly-muscled, t-shirt wearing, machine gun wielding wild man standing in front of a fence of barbed wire. Black Cross was a good read and an entertaining hero, but the real treasure in that historic first issue lay in the second story.
Written and drawn by Paul Chadwick, Concrete told the story of a man who had the unfortunate experience of having his brain removed from his body by aliens and then transplanted into an artificial and fully functioning body that looked to be made of stone.
Other than a one time visit by those scalpel-wielding aliens, the feature was completely grounded in reality. Concrete was, and still is to this day, one of the most enjoyable books to come out of the eighties.
He first appeared as a cover subject on the cover of Dark Horse Presents #2. Chadwick placed Concrete right in the middle of a cactus-strewn desert. It is a memorable image of the massive speechwriter walking with purpose through the plains as a star studded sky hangs over his head.
Behind him a mountain that clearly holds an image of the man himself seems to mirror his determination. The expression that Chadwick creates for Concrete makes you want to find out what would cause this man to become so driven.
Without a single bit of narrative on the cover, other than the title, anyone walking past the newsstand or comic rack and seeing that look would almost become compelled to find out what was driving this man so.
Chadwick had no use for the more traditional comic book blurb such as “Superman and Plastic Man Fighting? What Could Have Led to This Titanic Battle?”
He wasn’t selling hyperbole. He was drawing us in with a few simple lines and setting us up to learn about one man’s quest, about what is driving him as he moves with such focus that nothing else seems to matter but his ultimate goal.
The understatement of the cover was balanced by the amazing coloring job created to support Chadwick’s art. The night sky of the desert is brilliant and glows with the star-sparking clarity of a real sky. The flora that populates the desert as he passes by is perfect for the space.
While blues and purples and greens fill the cover, the brown of the mountain fits in perfectly into the surrounding.
After his debut, it wasn’t long before Concrete received his own solo title. While he had graced several covers over in Dark Horse Presents, the solo title created a much stronger presence on the shelves of the growing number of comic book stores across America.
Over the years Chadwick has created quite a few memorable covers, but Dark Horse Presents #2 brought a lot of fans into the fantastic world he created. And few, if any of them ever regretted the decision to take that issue home.
Popular Topics
Overstreet Access Quick Links
