Vault Comics has announced their 2021 Cover Artists-in-Residence (or “CAIR”) variant program lineup, which includes some of the most talented artists in comics today. That includes Yoshi Yoshitani (Beneath the Moon), Martin Simmonds (The Department of Truth), Joshua Hixson (The Plot), and Jen Hickman (Test). The program allows each artist to draw “open-order variants” for the entire run of Vault’s series of their choosing.
In some ways, the 2021 Cover Artists-in-Residence program sounds a bit like Marvel’s Stormbreakers program which has seen all of their selected artists draw special variant covers over the last few months.
“In comics, we want to be judged by our covers,” said Vault Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Adrian Wassel via press release sent to AIPT. “That’s why we started CAIR—our Cover Artist in Residence program. On top of our phenomenal core teams, our 2021 CAIR roster of Jen Hickman, Joshua Hixson, Corin Howell, Martin Simmonds, and Yoshi Yoshitani will be making covers that leap off the shelf and shake you by the shoulders for our entire 2021 catalogue. This team represents an expansion of last year’s team—our first year of CAIR, that saw astonishingly gorgeous covers from Jen Hickman (returning!), Adam Gorham, and Rebekah Isaacs. So please, between this roster and Tim Daniel’s daring and indelible design, I’d very much like to invite you to judge us by our covers.
This year the program kicks off with Yoshi Yoshitani’s cover to Matthew Erman’s and Lisa Sterle’s Witchblood #1, on sale this week. Hickman’s, Hixson’s, and Simmonds’, cover runs will follow.
Check out a few of the artist’s previous covers from Vault below.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to boast an entire roster of extremely talented and stylistically varied artists that will compliment each new series’ standard covers.” added Vault’s VP of Branding & Design, Tim Daniel. “This newly composed, slightly expanded team of emerging talents and top-tier names follows in the footsteps of 2020’s Adam Gorham (The Blue Flame), Jen Hickman (TEST), and Rebecca Isaacs (Money Shot), presenting our creators’ unique stories (to you) in their own distinctive way! Please join us in welcoming returning alumni Jen Hickman, along with their new teammates Joshua Hixson, Corin Howell, Martin Simmonds, and Yoshi Yoshitani!”
For more on this 2021 Cover Artists-in-Residence program news, read the official press release below.
Missoula, MT (3/2/2021): Vault is thrilled to announce the 2021 Cover Artists-in-Residence (or “CAIR”) variant program, featuring Yoshi Yoshitani (Beneath the Moon), Martin Simmonds (The Department of Truth), Joshua Hixson (The Plot), and Jen Hickman (Test). The CAIR program will see each of these artists drawing open-order variants for the entire run of the Vault series of their choosing.
Vault’s 2021 Cover Artist-in-Residence program will kick off with Yoshi Yoshitani’s mind-blwoing cover to Matthew Erman’s and Lisa Sterle’s Witchblood #1, on sale March 31st, 2021. Hickman’s, Hixson’s, and Simmonds’, cover runs will follow.
“In comics, we want to be judged by our covers, said Vault Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Adrian Wassel. “That’s why we started CAIR—our Cover Artist in Residence program. On top of our phenomenal core teams, our 2021 CAIR roster of Jen Hickman, Joshua Hixson, Corin Howell, Martin Simmonds, and Yoshi Yoshitani will be making covers that leap off the shelf and shake you by the shoulders for our entire 2021 catalogue. This team represents an expansion of last year’s team—our first year of CAIR, that saw astonishingly gorgeous covers from Jen Hickman (returning!), Adam Gorham, and Rebekah Isaacs. So please, between this roster and Tim Daniel’s daring and indelible design, I’d very much like to invite you to judge us by our covers.
“We’re incredibly fortunate to boast an entire roster of extremely talented and stylistically varied artists that will compliment each new series’ standard covers.” added Vault’s VP of Branding & Design, Tim Daniel. “This newly composed, slightly expanded team of emerging talents and top-tier names follows in the footsteps of 2020’s Adam Gorham (The Blue Flame), Jen Hickman (TEST), and Rebecca Isaacs (Money Shot), presenting our creators’ unique stories (to you) in their own distinctive way! Please join us in welcoming returning alumni Jen Hickman, along with their new teammates Joshua Hixson, Corin Howell, Martin Simmonds, and Yoshi Yoshitani!”
ABOUT JEN HICKMAN:
Jen Hickman is a visual storyteller from California. Past work includes Lonely Receiver, TEST, Moth & Whisper, Jem and the Holograms, and more. They get really excited about dystopian fiction, good coffee, and drawing hands. You can find them on twitter as @thejensington. Discover more about Jen’s work at jensington.com.ABOUT JOSHUA HIXSON:
Joshua Hixson is best known for his work on The Plot, Shanghai Red, and working as an Illustrator for Kannibalen Records. He lives on Long Island with his wife and pup.ABOUT CORIN M HOWELL:
Corin M Howell is a comic artist of the spooky, scary, and sexy. A graduate from SCAD, Corin has worked on various titles such as “Ghostbusters: Answer the Cal”” with IDW Publishing, “Dark Red” With Aftershock Comics, “Girl in the Bay” and “Calamity Kate” with Dark Horse Comics, and more. She’s a lover of horror, giant transforming alien robots, and the world of Tolkien. Also a full time cat-mom. You can find Corin on Twitter, Instagram, Tumbler, and Patreon. Discover more about Corin’s work on their website and webstore.ABOUT MARTIN SIMMONDS:
Martin Simmonds is a comic artist, and co-creator of The Department of Truth (with James Tynion IV) from Image Comics, Dying is Easy (with Joe Hill) for IDW, Punks Not Dead (with David Barnett) for Black Crown/IDW, and Friendo (with Alex Paknadel) for Vault Comics.He is also a contributing artist to Marvel’s The Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing and Joe Bennett, and series cover artist for Marvel’s Quicksilver: No Surrender and Jessica Jones.
ABOUT YOSHI YOSHITANI:
Yoshi Yoshitani is a California-based artist whose vibrant illustrations draw on inspiration from across the globe, with a particular focus on multicultural identity. Past clients include Disney, DC Comics, Valiant, Image, Dreamworks, and Netflix. Yoshi spends time researching world mythologies, listening to audiobooks, creating fashion inspiration boards, and attending comic conventions and art expos across the country. Discover more about Yoshi’s work at yoshiyoshitani.com
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