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Marvel card collectors can now get their hands on the Fleer Ultra Wolverine trading card set as it makes its way to Upper Deck’s e-Pack platform.
The 100-card base set includes themed inserts, comic cuts, and sketch cards; but more importantly, original art.
We caught up with artists James Bernardin, Taurin Clarke, Crystal Fae, John Grello, Jonathan Koelsch, Kate Laird, Gil Martimiano, Tom Morgan and JP Targete to get insight on their process and love for Weapon-X himself, as well as Marvel Comics.
Upper Deck: How were you introduced to Marvel Comics?
Bernardin: “As a kid, I happened upon a stash of my older brother’s Marvel Comics from the 1960s’ in the attic. They were mostly Fantastic Four…I recall especially being drawn to “The Thing” with his rocky flesh and his sheer size and strength. (I thought) what a cool character!”
Clarke: “My parents were comic (book) collectors and when I was 4, I was given a copy of Fantastic Four # 282. I fell in love immediately. My dad saw I liked superheroes and let me read his old X-men (comics), starting with Uncanny X-men # 128. I was hooked – I think I’ve read or owned every issue of X-Men since.”
Fae: “My introduction to Marvel Comics was actually through the X-Men video game…I was very young and remember loving to play as (the character of) Nightcrawler. Not long after that, I started watching the animated series.”
Grello: “I believe my fascination with Marvel Comics began with the Marvel Universe Series One trading cards. Before that, I had a brief interest in sports trading cards. However, I vividly remember opening my first pack of Marvel cards and being utterly captivated by the original artwork. I spent hours meticulously examining each card, reading the accompanying character descriptions, and absorbing every detail. Those cards truly sparked my passion for the Marvel universe.”
Koelsch: “I begged my mom for Daredevil #225 at a grocery store rack — first just to study the amazing art, then I loved reading it. It became an enchanting ritual. Only two issues later the iconic Daredevil “Born Again” run started, and I was hooked on Marvel Comics forever.”
Laird: “The first time I was exposed to Marvel must have been through the animated tv shows in the 90s. I watched the Spiderman and X-Men animated tv shows. My favorite (character) was Storm. She was a striking, super powerful female character who controls the weather. Little Kate thought she was so cool. Big Kate still does.”
Martimiano: “I was 12 years old, browsing the comic store, when a giant lizard holding Spider-Man at the top of a building caught my attention. That issue became the first volume of my collection, and the start of a lifelong love for Marvel Comics.”
Morgan: “Somewhere around fourth grade, a classmate in school brought in some Marvel Fantastic Four comics and I read them. (I thought) what are THESE?! Who are these guys?!- The drawings were different, the stories were different, the characters argued with each other. And these were the HEROES! This was INSANE! I was immediately hooked on this crazy new brand of storytelling!”
Targete: “I was introduced to Marvel Comics through (an animated Spider-Man show in the mid-70s). I also saw re-runs of the original Spider-man animated series that ran in (the late 60’s) I saw those (decades later and) I got hooked and then started collecting Spider-man comics and many Marvel comics about 1976.”
Upper Deck: What makes the Wolverine character such a mainstay in comics?
Bernardin: “I think Wolverine represents a very intense version of the classic reluctant hero…Unlike a lot of superheroes whose powers give them a clear advantage, Wolverine’s adamantium coated skeleton and fist claws require him to get up close and personal with his adversaries. He takes his share of abuse and has to work hard to come out the victor. A hero who is in jeopardy is much easier to root for than someone who has all kinds of gadgets or dominant powers that keep them out of the fray. Sure, he has accelerated healing powers but those don’t keep him from feeling pain and taking his knocks. Perhaps he’s also more relatable because so many of our real heroes: firefighters, members of our military and other first responders, engage directly with people to make a difference. Plus, his character design is really good, and his name fits perfectly with a brawling intense fighter.”
Clarke: “His complexity, I think. When I started reading X-(Men) books with him, he wasn’t particularly nice or a team player; but slowly over the years you got to see different shades of who he was. I think for a character with so many facets of personality, it’s easy to identify with him as a reader. Also, he’s got claws coming out of his hands and is consistently doing the coolest stuff in every story he’s in. C’mon, it’s a no brainer!”
Fae: “Wolverine’s mix of brutality but wanting to do the right thing makes him an interesting character. Plus, his suit is iconic!”
Grello: “Wolverine is an incredibly compelling archetypal character. To me, Wolverine embodies the personification of perseverance and strength. He is a morally upright character who occasionally needs to venture into the gray area to protect others. For these reasons, I believe many comic book readers find his presence on the page deeply engaging, as he brings a unique blend of complexity and chaos to the story.”
Koelsch: “Well…. he’s crazy cool, bub!! Wolverine’s story taps into our visceral humanity – pain, struggle, raw emotion, but he always triumphs over adversity with indomitable will and grit. He also bluntly speaks the truth, no pretense. We gravitate to his raw, angry animal power – yet held in check by his moral code.”
Laird: Wolverine’s just an icon…with cool powers and a pretty powerful and unique origin story. His ever-evolving storylines and costumes keep him relevant throughout the decades. And c’mon, knife hands? Can’t go wrong.
Martimiano: “Everything about Wolverine is appealing: the look, the personality… It was very easy to like him when I was young. He was the second character I collected and remains my favorite to this day. Additionally, there is a deeper side to him when we consider his traumas and the use of violence.”
Morgan: “He’s dangerous. He’s an interesting character who, although he belongs to a team, operates very much as a loner. He follows his own rules and doesn’t always play nice with others. He doesn’t (care) what others think of him, he just does his own thing. He’s compelling in a way that readers would like to emulate his confidence and sometimes his indifference. And his design is absolutely (amazing)! C’mon, CLAWS from his hands, muttonchop sideburns and a pointy hairdo! Fantastic!”
Targete: “Wolverine is one of my favorite Marvel characters. Though I love all the X-Men, he was my favorite because he didn’t have cosmic or telekinetic abilities. He was more raw and just a primal hero, and his ferocity just kept me wanting to see more of him. His visual design is also simple yet powerful…so many artists (have done) a great job visualizing the ferocity and power.”
Upper Deck: What was your response when you got the call that you’d be one of the handful of amazing artists to have their work included in the set?
Bernardin: “I was over the moon excited to be a part of this! Definitely a dream job. There’s a reason Marvel has such a huge following from the comics to all the amazing movies spanning 60 plus years. So much has gone into the superheroes and the stories. A fun shared experience for multiple generations.”
Clarke: “I was honored …and extremely nervous! I think this was my first trading card set and also, I was still pretty new in my career when the project started! As someone who grew up collecting and obsessing over the original Marvel cards back in the 80s (I still have my full sets!) I knew I had to do something worthy of that legacy.”
Fae: “It’s always delightful to work on Marvel characters. I have a lot of nostalgia for them.”
Grello: “I was incredibly fortunate to have contributed to the 2018 Fleer Ultra X-Men set and being asked to return and illustrate Wolverine (one of my all-time favorite X-Men characters) was definitely a childhood dream come true.”
Koelsch: “It’s always such childhood dream come true, every time, to be offered to officially paint any Marvel character for Upper Deck! It’s a blast to thoughtfully contribute art into the iconic Marvel brand and mythology. Since (my) youth, I’ve read Marvel Comics and been absolutely mesmerized by the master painters in my Upper Deck cards. To now have my art in the same sets, alongside of them, is stunning, sobering and thrilling!”
Laird: “It actually was perfect timing. I’d been working at a studio job for years at that point and had just decided to get into freelance work again. I’m a concept artist in the video game industry and my work, more often than not, does not get seen by the public. I’d missed having visible art out in the world to be known by. When Upper Deck contacted me, it was a pleasant surprise as it had been years since I’d done a card for them. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance.”
Martimiano: “I was stunned! It was an incredible honor to be chosen for this set and to be included among such a talented group of artists. I received a chance to work with some truly iconic characters, many of whom I’ve been a fan of for years.”
Morgan: “Ecstatic! I love to paint and when I was told the card art was to be in full color, I knew this would be a super fun and wonderful looking set. I also knew I would be alongside artists who are simply fantastic, so I better bring my A-game. The character cards I was assigned in the set were wonderfully diverse and that allowed me to really play with different textures and rendering and layouts. A painter’s dream!”
Targete: “It was exhilarating and one of those rare moments when I was transported to my 12-year-old self and was super excited and honored to be among the artists chosen to work on this set.”
Upper Deck: So many characters are associated with Wolverine. Which were you most excited to illustrate?
Bernardin: “Cable, Jean Grey, Sabretooth and of course Wolverine!”
Clarke: “Surprisingly? X-23! I’d probably drawn Logan and Deadpool a zillion times in fan art, but I’d never thought about drawing Laura. She was a fun challenge. I tried to tailor her likeness a bit to Logan. I even drew slight hairs on her forearms to kind of capture some of his signature features! I love doing little storytelling details like that.”
Fae: “Magik was the most exciting for me! I am a simple girl and think swords are cool. I was also thrilled to paint Storm. She’s always been a favorite of mine!”
Grello: “That’s an easy one – Wolverine himself! I’ve always been a fan of the Wolverine #2 cover, which features a bright red background with Silver Samurai and Wolverine clashing in an epic battle. I asked if it would be possible to combine my illustrations of Silver Samurai and Wolverine, and I was thrilled to receive the green light to do so!”
Koelsch: “Ummm…. all of them?! Haha. It was an incredible thrill to paint Ultimate Wolverine (Earth-1610)! And a blast to illustrate characters I read from youth: Alpha Flight (members) like Sasquatch, Puck, Shaman and Northstar, and amazing X-Men (members) like Quentin Quire and Thunderbird! Still pinching myself it’s real!”
Laird: “Upper Deck originally contacted me asking for 5 card illustrations. Unfortunately, I was only able to offer 2 due to my availability at the time. I was given a small list of characters to choose from and from those I chose X-23 and Domino (my response to the email was “100% Domino and X-23”). I loved Domino in (the) Deadpool (movies) and X-23 just happens to be one of my favorite Marvel characters. If I was able to do the last 3 of the list I was given, I would have chosen Jean Grey (because she’s iconic), Jubilee (I get a kick out of Jubilee. She’s super cute and silly), and Dazzler (just for the 80s glam rock madness of her style). Hopefully I’ll get to work on those characters in some future set!”
Martimiano: “Without a doubt, Gambit was the character I was most excited to illustrate. He’s another fan-favorite character, and I remember good stories with Wolverine and Gambit together. I also really enjoyed drawing Elektra, especially since I could work with a reduced color palette. It’s no wonder that both artworks are among my favorites from the ones I contributed to the set.
Morgan: “I drew comics for many years but there were a number of characters I never got to illustrate, and this set gave me a chance to paint some wildly outrageous ones! The savagery of Weapon X was so much fun; having him bursting out of the water, and Old Man Logan, standing atop a hill just looking commanding with claws popped. There’s a subtlety in that one I hope people see– he’s older and most of his life is behind him, so I graded the color in the landscape to fade to gray as it moves across the art. And I had SO much fun on Patch, a noirish looking character that I loved injecting some super vibrant colors to contrast the hard shadows!”
Targete: “That’s a hard question because I loved working on all of them. There were a couple I really enjoyed, and they were Sabretooth, Magneto, Mojo, Stryfe and Nimrod. Nimrod was a character I hadn’t been too familiar with. After reading more about him and really enjoying his visual design, I really loved working on the illustration of him. I wanted to portray him bursting into outer space and his energy power trailing his clenched fist and his open mouth yelling at the universe.”
Upper Deck: Wolverine has been part of Marvel Comics for decades. Which storyline is your favorite and did it influence your art in the set?
Bernardin: “The Wolverine Vs. Sabretooth saga played into it quite a bit. One gets to know those two really well by how they go at each other. Also, the storyline of Hope Summers and her adoptive father Cable played into it quite a bit as well. The histories, details, and many connections of these characters give them so much more substance.”
Clarke: “This is the hardest question! I think I became a Wolverine fan around Uncanny X-Men #133, where it’s Logan solo against the Hellfire Club. I was maybe 5 or so when it came out and had only read 5 other X-men books, and nothing Wolverine did prior to that could have prepared me for how awesome #133 was! (The writer) did a great job at depicting how stealthy, clever or brutal Logan could be solo – but it also showed how much he cared for his team. It was a good building block for how I approach the character.”
Fae: “I was lucky enough to get all ladies to illustrate, so I put my focus on showing their skills and strengths instead of thinking about how Wolverine relates to them. That said, I really like the Old Man Logan storyline.”
Grego: “The inspiration for my Wolverine artwork was largely drawn from the late 1980s and early 1990s. As for my favorite storyline, I think that would have to be from the Ultimate X-Men series, where (SPOILER!) Cable is actually a future version of Wolverine himself.”
Koelsch: “Obviously there’s Weapon X and Old Man Logan. But my childhood (introduction) to him was Uncanny X-Men #205…That amazing one-shot featured a feral Wolverine protecting little Katie of Power Pack and fighting Lady Deathstrike. My young artist brain exploded with inspiration and has literally colored my personal lens of Logan directly into my art in this set. “
Laird: “I loved Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk. (The artwork is) great and the story is just fantastically brutal while retaining a good amount of humor. It’s cool that it’s a throwback to Wolverine’s original debut in the Hulk comics. We also learn Wolverine’s spirit animal is a panda. So, there’s that. I also very much enjoyed the X-23 origin series (though it’s more about her than Wolverine). It has some good commentary on the cycle of abuse and trauma. I read it years ago, but it stuck in my head. I’d say it influenced my work in that it made me choose X-23. “
Martimiano: “Two moments were significant for me. The first was when Magneto ripped the adamantium out of Wolverine; I remember how I felt reading those pages and how much I hated Magneto for it. The second was in Ultimate X-Men, the first appearance of Wolverine in those stories. And I need to mention (the amazing) art in those pages! I love the use of pencils without inking on some pages. And those digitally painted covers still influence my art today.”
Morgan: “No single storyline influenced my approach to the cards, except maybe the Melita Garner character card. She is sitting next to a prone Logan, who has been badly injured and she is watching over him. He is bandaged and has been cleaned up and the sun is just rising through the windows in the background, and it shows she has been nursing and watching over him all night long. Storytelling in a single image. Although it wasn’t part of the set, I would love to paint scenes from the Days of Future Past storyline.”
Targete: “My favorite Wolverine storyline would have to be ‘Weapon X’… (The artist) captured the true beast inside the man and it was powerful and glorious to read and be amazed by the art.”
Upper Deck: What’s your process like when it comes to putting an idea on canvas?
Bernardin: “With a knowledge of the storylines and characters, I come up with general design ideas I want to try out. In sketching I primarily rely on large shapes and gut feelings to guide me, no details. Keeping it really loose allows me to make adjustments easily. Out of the scribble, the pose and the action start to emerge. Next, I focus on a larger compositional structure. Once I start anchoring the action in the overall design, I can tell pretty quickly whether it is headed in the right direction. There are quite a few false starts at this stage, however, I’ve come to love this part of the process of flushing out bad ideas because I know how essential it is for finding the designs that really work; and a bad idea often triggers a better one. Usually after four or five rounds of this I start to zero in on the best sketch. Once I feel the design is working, I will do a number of smaller thumbnail sketches of the composition to determine lighting and overall dramatic effect. I try to limit my tonal values to just 3 or 4 when doing thumbnails. This helps my eyes to really focus on what’s important. Thoughts of colors have been creeping in throughout this process, so now is the time to try them out in a color comp. I do this part in the computer because it saves time but, in the past, (I’ve) used watercolor and gouache. Once the characters, design and colors are looking right, I do a tighter, more finished drawing and transfer that to the final canvas and begin to paint. The final painting is so much easier because of all the sketch work that has gone into it so far.
Clarke: “A LOT of trial and error! I think with certain characters it’s easier. Wolverine is a character I’ve known my whole life; I *get* him. It’s not hard to get into the head of a character like that because they’ve got such a great history of stories to lend to their personality, which I feel should show in any drawing. With X-23, it’s a little trickier because I haven’t read as much with her… but I get the general idea of the character. Trying to find a middle ground between what’s going to look cool and still be true to the character is key for me. Acting and including personality is key in drawing any of these characters in a way that’s engaging, I think.”
Fae: “Typically I start with a few thumbnails, fleshing out basic figures to find a pose and composition I like. After that, I do a more detailed sketch of my favorite, and then start the painting process.”
Grello: “The initial stage of my process involves drawing inspiration from iconic elements that I know resonate with fans. I strive to stay within the threshold of what people expect and remember, while also ensuring that my artwork stays true to the character. Next, I experiment with a few thumbnail sketches until I land on a design that accurately captures the essence of the character. Once I have a solid foundation, I can essentially go on autopilot, allowing my creative instincts to guide me through the rendering process.”
Koelsch: “First I always feel the weight of honoring the design, ethos and heritage of that character. The art directors (at Upper Deck) provided references. If time, I read/re-read comics to “feel” the character and get inspired. I start with iPad roughs to pencil sketches, while accumulating reference – toys, comics, photos that I shoot or find, even 3D backgrounds that I build. The approved sketch is printed in blue line onto the board, then painted in gouache and airbrush. Then each board is scanned, and digital art highlights added as needed.”
Laird: “I start with a vague idea of a composition. I try to reflect the personality of the character in their pose and actions while considering framing and dynamism. From there I gather a ton of references. Cosplayers have actually helped a lot with this kind of work. I can get dynamic poses in the costumes I need…I’ll start to sketch using a combination of these references… I usually just go for it and produce a pretty crisp black and white sketch with basic lighting. I’ll send that to my art director, and they approve it or suggest adjustments. Then it’s time for color. I’ll do color wash overlays to start with. When I decide my color palette and lighting is correct (or good enough), I render.”
Martimiano: “My process can be broken down into these phases: layouts, refinement, color testing, and finally, painting. I love the layout phase. It’s where I explore the possibilities for each character and try to tell a story through composition. There are several unapproved layouts that I wish I had finished.”
Morgan: “Sketches, sketches and MORE sketches! Trying to put an idea over in a single image and make it clear and readable and have impact takes some doing. Some cards told a story, which I tried to convey the emotional impact of the scene, means juggling several elements and composing them to read at a small card size. Other cards are character pieces, which focus more on costuming, expressions and body language. For those I tried to include some background elements that were both appropriate to an action and also aid in the directional flow of that action. The color choices for backgrounds were chosen to reflect the tone and intensity of the scene. It’s a tremendous challenge yet ridiculous fun to create form and dynamics in paint. I got so lost in the creative process of these cards that hour after hour went by as I worked on them, grinning ear to ear as I did so.”
Targete: “My process involves researching the character I am illustrating. If I’m familiar with the character, then it’s easier. If I’m not so familiar with the character, then I’ll do some research and then start doing some very rough sketches in my sketchbook. These are crude and messy. Once I feel one of these sketches speaks to me then I begin to flesh it out more and refine the design. The design and the idea or emotion has to move me.”
Upper Deck: What do you want collectors to get out from your artwork on the set?
Bernardin: “I would hope that collectors would not only get the sense of pleasure one gets from looking at good art, but also that their imaginations would be triggered and their experience with the character and storyline would be enhanced.”
Clarke: “I hope older collectors can see a cool interpretation of their favorite characters! I love to see lifelong fans connect with how I view these guys. I also hope, though, that younger collectors will pick these cards up and be as inspired to draw as I was way back in 1989 with my first pack of Marvel trading cards. I might not be sitting here having this conversation if it wasn’t for opening that first pack!”
Fae: “My desire to do art started from drawing fan art for fun, so my focus now is still to connect other fans with their favorite parts of a character! I just hope I did justice for everyone’s favorite characters.”
Grello: “I hope to introduce new fans to characters I was lucky enough to grow up with.”
Koelsch: “I hope that collectors feel the deep love, respect and elation that I feel as I paint each piece! We all share these wonderful Marvel characters together– we artists are simply dancing around the vision of them that you already have in your heart.”
Laird: “First off, I have to say that my X-23 card is one of my favorite cards I’ve done ever. Strong words but true. She just turned out well. She’s on the box art so at least one other person must have liked her too. That’s always a fun surprise. “
Martimiano: “I hope they enjoy the collection and have as much fun as I did painting these characters. Wolverine and the X-Men are favorites for many of us, and with everything going on right now, it’s a particularly exciting time to be a Wolverine fan!”
Morgan: “I hope they see the love each card was given artistically. Each is different, and each has its own feeling and story. The cards may appear small, but the original paintings were created much larger to add the detail that would make the characters and scenes believable. I hope collectors feel the emotion that I tried to imbue into the characters. They’re far more than painted brushstrokes. Within the confines of the printed card, these characters are alive, and it’s been an honor to depict them and help to tell THEIR stories.”
Targete: “If a collector can be transported back to when they first experienced a Marvel character or Marvel comic they loved as a kid or as an adult, then then I’ve done my job. I’ve mentioned this before: it’s a pleasure and so much fun to contribute to the Marvel universe. I’ll always be a fan.”
Fleer Ultra Wolverine is available on Upper Deck’s e-Pack platform right now!
