Most famous for his Chicago police officer series Savage Dragon and a co-creator of Image Comics, Erik Larsen is a wealth of notable artistic expression that continues on even today. Larsen has worked on a wide variety of titles and companies throughout his comic book career. Notably he has worked alongside his Image teammates like Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane.
Larsen's artwork has been an inspiration to future creators, many of which can be seen even highlighted in the great work he did for Marvel. With a great use of action and space, Larsen manages to showcase how fun and action-packed comics can and should be.
Presenting Frank "The Punisher" Castle like readers have never seen him before, Erik Larsen creates a shadow-laced cover for issue #21. Castle staring directly at his opponent, the reader, was a terrific idea to show what so many of his victims have seen before.
Frank here looks exhausted, beaten down, with Larsen using the smallest of details to portray this like the sweat marks around his body, the dark circles under his eyes, and his mouth slung open like he is gasping for breath. It is a Punisher cover that stands out from the rest for the right reasons.
Erik Larsen has always had a fantastic eye for detail, asking his viewers to take in the entirety of the work. And this cover for The Uncanny X-Men is no exception. Having the team smash through the cover shows the excitement that every reader wants when they see their favorite book on the stand.
As if the characters and their expressions weren't great enough, Larsen smartly used a great collage-styled backdrop for the team to break out of. The repetition of the X-Men logo is simple but pleasing and forces the mutants to stand out on their cover.
Like an ode to Jack Kirby, this Defenders cover perfectly illustrates Marvel's past success with monster branded comics with wild designs and even wilder names.
Here the reader is shown the city mid-destruction as the gigantic Orrgo parts skyscrapers as if they were nothing but curtains obstructing its view. Even while the world is on fire, Larsen shows it as a living organism with plenty of small points to bring the eyes to. It gives the reader plenty of material to gloss over each time they return to it.
Wolverine and Spider-Man have teamed up together for adventures multiple times and Larsen takes full advantage of this by having these heroes entangled in an intricately detailed web.
Spider-Man is draped in shadow as he swings on webbing that is as detailed as Todd McFarlane's. Meanwhile, Wolverine is shown far more exaggerated than readers have seen previously. But from the slightly high angle of Larsen's perspective, it doesn't look out of place. It instead looks fresh and as wild as the comic itself.
With another subdued cover design, Larsen kept all the detail for Venom's razor-sharp jaws. This famous cover for The Amazing Spider-Man has the deranged symbiote holding a skull wrapped in the tatters of the web-slingers mask. Even with a single color background, this is a loud work of art that speaks volumes.
The skull itself should even be the focal point of the cover, but the spotlight is stolen away by what might be one of the best images of Venom seen so far. With wide rows of teeth dripping green, this look of the villain is what most people think of when Eddie Brock is mentioned. Without any violence or blood needed, this action-less piece by Larsen may be out of character compared to his other work but it is a change that is worth it.
As the dark villains loom in this gorgeous background, Spider-Man battles against Shocker for the second chapter cover of the "The Return of the Sinister Six" storyline. The energy Larsen shows here is infectious. The line work firing out of Shocker's destruction is hard to not fall for.
What might be even a better design choice however is to have the great Doctor Octopus standing tall in the background. His mechanical arms almost frame the fight below as they almost tangle with Spider-Man's webbing. It is fun, vibrant, and what all good covers hope to be.
Wolverine has always been noted for his animalistic aggression when it comes to fighting. Larsen capitalizes on that here with this Marvel Comics Presents cover art. Running through a wooded area, Wolverine's adamantium claws look as though they are ready to burst off the page.
The choice to keep Logan's mask off his face only adds to the brutish design of the character, with the tattered clothes showing he is one with nature.
This expanded three page cover highlights Larsen's ability to organize a chaotic scene. Balancing this many characters onto a cover might be disconcerting to some, but Larsen clearly shows how adept he is at handling this by having heroes and villains on opposite sides to create order.
Using the extra space given to him, Larsen balances the scene by having each character fit like a jigsaw piece. Each one is carefully placed to make sure there is no overlap that could hide the players in this game of good and evil.
Much like Todd McFarlane's cover for The Amazing Spider-Man #311, Larsen switches to show a first person perspective of the wall-crawler as he faces Venom. Though maybe not as effective in terms of the reflection design, the cover is still one to be looked upon in awe.
With a creature like Venom who is draped in all black, Larsen chooses again to focus his work on the symbiote's teeth. Dripping with green, the rows of jagged teeth jut out in every direction, which is something others have copied since. It is truly one of the most terrifying looks of Venom that has ever been conceived.
In what might be one of the best (and underappreciated) depictions of Ghost Rider, Spider-Man #18 has the quintessential Larsen cover.
Though not readily talked about, this issue combines everything that Larsen does well. The shared spotlight for Ghost Rider and Spider-Man is perfectly executed, showing a high level of action and intensity from both. Even the background collage showing the Sinister Six has a high level of detail that adds a level of depth to the piece. It's covers like these that keep comics flying off the shelves.
