What if one man was two superheroes at once? That’s the premise for Alter Ego, a new original graphic novel by writer Nate Cosby, artist and writer Jacob Edgar, colorist Kike J. Diaz, and letterer Rus Wooton. Later this month, a Kickstarter campaign will launch for this action-packed story. But first, Superhero Hype is going to exclusively premiere the Alter Ego covers! , and the varia
Before we get started with the covers, and the accompanying commentary from Cosby and Edgar, here’s the description for the story.
“In Alter Ego, LA’s scandalous crime wave inspires two strikingly different heroes to spring into action. By day, the streets are protected by Whiz-Bang, a grinning, gregarious defender of goodness. By night, the City of Angels is defended by an entirely different kind of hero: The Black Dog appears in a cloud of smoke, a mysterious vigilante determined to strike fear in cowardly criminals. And unbeknownst to the mayor, the police force, the entire city…these radically different heroes share an incredible secret: They are the same man.
Ace Adams is a cocky stuntman who can throw himself off 20-story buildings, or scrap with a legion of thugs. Ace is the kind of guy that has a motor that won’t quit. He thinks he’s got the world on a string; all he has to do is keep pulling. This superhero thing is a gas, and it allows him to perform, in ways that he’s not able to in movies, now that his acting career is stalled. Who knows…if he saves enough people, maybe they’ll make a movie about him, and maybe he’ll star in it.”
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And now, here are the covers by Edgar, Wilfredo Torres, Phil Hester, Declan Shalvey, Chris Eliopoulos, and SOZOMAIKA!
SHH: Additionally, we have a few unlettered pages by Edgar and Diaz, which should help readers get a feel for the story.
NATE: When our story begins, Ace Adams has been successfully fighting crime by day as Whiz-Bang for a year. Whiz-Bang and his can-do attitude are beloved by everybody. He’s on posters and lunch boxes. He stars in comic books, and even has his own breakfast cereal! But when Ace chooses to also defend the night as The Black Dog, the balance begins to shift and what was once a blast for Ace becomes a deadly tightrope act. He’ll be faced with impossible choices, forced to compromise his moral code, and begin to question the entire purpose of his quest to always be there and save everyone.
JACOB: In a lot of ways, Alter Ego is exactly the kind of project I got into comics for. I’m an unabashed superhero fan, particularly superheroes flavored with the kind of swashbuckling adventure tone that we’re going for. I love bringing this elevated, fantasy version 40s/50s Hollywood to life and I think readers will be really excited by the characters and world Nate and I are creating. We’re jumping from bombastic superheroics, to noir, to Old West movie sets and so much more. I think there’s an energy we’re putting into the book that I hope will leap off the page when people get ahold of it.
NATE: Alter Ego is all about what it means to be a hero. Can you do more good if you’re a role model to kids and the community? Or is justice best dished out by a mysterious vigilante operating in the shadows? And when one man tries to be three people…who is he, really?
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NATE: Alter Ego is also about what happens when you realize you can’t do everything. You can’t save everyone. But you can try. It’s the kind of story I’m passionate about and why I started Linney Incorporated.
The Kickstarter campaign for Alter Ego will begin on Monday, March 14. Click here for more info!
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Alter Ego Cover Gallery
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Alter Ego primary cover by Jacob Edgar
JACOB: From what I remember, the basic concept of my cover came from Nate. The split image which would show off both characters, how they differ in look and attitude, but also convey they’re the same guy.
We wanted this cover, in one splashy image, to really sell the idea and the energy of Alter Ego. It all came together once Kike applied his brilliant colors and with Rus’s stellar logo he designed for us.
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Alter Ego variant cover by Wilfredo Torres
NATE: Wil is the illustrator of amaaaaaaaazing Superman ’78 series, so I knew he’d bring something special in terms of classic superhero iconography. He built a pseudo-montage, where both personas are on the cover, unseparated but also not exactly occupying the same space.
Colorist Kike J. Diaz developed a subtle separation by toning Whiz-Bang’s color up, and darkening The Black Dog’s. It was totally Wil’s idea to build the big “W” (for Whiz-Bang) in the background.
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Alter Ego variant cover by Declan Shalvey
JACOB: I’m a big fan of Declan and he always brings a unique and exciting spin to cover work, I feel. I love the way he lit this one, especially.
One of the interesting and fun things about seeing all these great artists draw our characters is there are little things that I’m seeing where I think “oh I should steal that.” Like I love the pattern in the architecture that Declan did. Such a nerdy artist thing to pick out but I thought that’s unique, I want to use that sometime.
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Alter Ego variant cover by Chris Eliopoulos
NATE: Chris and I co-created Cow Boy together, and he’s one of my best friends, even though I hate him. I felt zero guilt about asking him to draw a super-complicated cover, because he draws best when he’s miserable.
I challenged him to do a continuous “moving image” of Whiz-Bang jumping into his house, undressing, feeding his dogs, dressing as The Black Dog, and driving away on a motorcycle. Alter Ego colorist Kike J. Diaz handled the dazzling colors.
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Alter Ego variant cover by Phil Hester and Klaus Janson
JACOB: I was blown away by the names that Nate kept coming to me with that were willing to do covers for us, and that would be drawing my designs. But to have the likes of Phil Hester AND Klaus Janson team up on our characters, that’s surreal. Even more surreal that I was gifted the original art!
You look at this cover and think “yeah, that’s what a great superhero comic should look like.” The energy of the poses, the big bold spot blacks, it’s like a couple of legends drew it or something. Then colors by Chris Sotomayor? Fantastic work.
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Alter Ego variant cover by SOZOMAIKA
NATE: SOZOMAIKA is one of my favorite cover artists working today. When I first saw her Catwoman covers, I immediately did a deep dive of her other works and found equally stunning compositions.
I wanted to have her cover introduce one of our big villains, Baby Grand, a nightclub owner who has her sights on running a criminal organization. I’d originally pitched the idea of having Baby Grand standing in front of The Black Dog, but I’m glad SOZOMAIKA went with just Grand, because it inspired the idea of doing a Vogue-style cover dress, courtesy of Rus Wooton.
I came up with the text, with the intention of leaning into a “gossip column” vibe, which is a bit part of the Alter Ego world.
