UPDATE: Well, the entries have been flying in fast and furiously over the last few weeks and I expect a bulk more before the deadline! Speaking of which, the deadline is now May 10th instead of may 7th. This was to give my yahoo group the full month to try and enter so you Deviants get a few extra days if you need them. All entries need to be uploaded to DA and a note sent to me with a link to your entry by Midnight(Eastern Standard Time) on the 10th. Any entries recieved after that date won't be considered in the contest. I'm also uploading an official colored version of the cover for everyone to see. I didn't post them until now becuase I wanted all of you that entered to be uneffected by the original colors but I think it's safe to post now since most of you are already set in how you're coloring your pieces. The colors were done by Edgar Delgado of Studio F and turned out pretty damn good in my opinion.
As soon as the deadline passes I'll be taking all the links to your entries and posting them in a new journal entry so people can vote on the winner in the journal's comment section. just like the Highlander, there can be only one but I applaud anyone that decided to tackle the piece. I hope you had as much fun coloring it as I had penciling it!! Good luck!

ORIGINAL ENTRY INFO:

This is a cover done about a year and a half ago for Marvel comics to be used as the wrap-around cover for the AoA one shot. Bryan Hitch was originally on tap to do it but his schedule was packed so Marvel tapped me to fill in. I had to draw it in about 3 days so it was a marathon for me to get it done on time. Long story short, Bryan ended up getting his cover done so mine wasn't used though it did see print in the AoA handbook and in the back of the AoA Trade paperback(out in stores now). I've been asked a lot by would-be colorists for linework to practice on so here's what I'm going to do. CONTEST TIME!!!!

Do you have the balls to tackle this badboy? I'm including a link to a high resolution copy that you can download. Simply click the link, wait for it to download on your screen(it's very large so give it time) and right click, click "save as" and save it anywhere on your computer. try to save it as a tif file but, if you can't, save it was a jpeg and transfer it into a tif file when you get it into photoshop. You can color it however you like whether it be by photoshop, painter, or crayon. Doesn't matter to me but you'll be up against anyone else that decides to try it out as well. Once you finish it, you can post it up in your deviant gallery and message me with a link. You'll have 1 month to get it finished and up in your gallery. Once I receive all the entries I'll post a new journal with links to all the entries and let the fine members here at DA vote on the winner. What do you win you might ask?

Winning prize: A goodie box of prints and comics from your truely. You'll get a full set of my 'good girl' 13X19 lithographs including Emma Frost, Blackcat, Mary Jane, and Harley Quinn. A 13X19 lithograph of your winning entry. My 2005 and my 2006 sketchbook. A whole gaggle of comics all signed and a custom sketch. I'll also throw in a poster or 2 or whatever else I can find around the office. I'll also add the winning piece to my gallery with full credit and link to the winner's page.

If you want to try out but don't know who the characters are or need reference you can go to and look at every cover from the original series. I've checked and see that every character on my cover appears on one the covers listed on the website. For clarification here's the full list from Left to right: Iceman, Gambit, Quicksilver, Nightcrawler, Mondo, Chamber, Sunfire, X-Man, Blink, Wildchild, Sabertooth, Banshee, Storm, Husk, Rogue, Magneto, Wolverine, Jean Grey, Shadowcat(Kitty Pryde), Morph, and Colossus.

Link to High res: [link]

Reference website: [link]

additional reference: [link]

So, that's it! Anyone who wants to play is welcome and my hat is off to anyone that attempts this. It's no easy task so only attempt this if you really want to and do it for the experience. This is an actual Marvel cover sized to the actual specs you would work at if you were doing this professionally. Look at it as a chance to work just like the pros do and see what they go through everyday.

Good luck and I really look forward to seeing what you guys come up with!!!!

-Mark

Disclaimer- The artwork and above characters are copyright Marvel Comics and Mark Brooks and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the artist and Marvel comics. All artwork and characters within are included for the purpose of scholarly review.