All throughout July we’re crowdsourcing an Extra Eisners Reading List from comics journalists and critics. Each weekday throughout the month, we’ll post a new pick we would have liked to have seen nominated for an Eisner. There are so many great comics, it’s impossible for the Eisners to recognize them all. This list is to honor and diversify the pool of work praised by the industry.

Today’s pick comes from Kirin Xin…enjoy!

To those like me who are completely willing to blind-buy a comic based on its art style, a good cover art can be a dangerous thing. Cheesy name, mediocre plotline be damned, if the cover has that dreamy coloring and those pleasing lines that instantly scream serotonin boost, it’s getting bagged and boarded ASAP.

One such artist that never fails to deliver on that front is Matteo Scalera.

Working out of Italy, Scalera has done art for everyone from Daredevil to Deadpool, as well as co-created the Sci-Fi Drama Black Science with writer Rick Remender. With over 100k collective followers on social media, his amazing inkwork is no secret, but still a gem nonetheless. (Personally, I’m in love with his newest covers for Batman White Knight: Harley Quinn.) And one of the crown jewels in his collective artisanal arsenal, is his covers for Space Bandits.

Released by Image starting in July 2019, Space Bandits follows the story of two galactic felons, Cody Blue and Thena Khole, on their journey for tasty, 80s-flavored revenge. It stylistically gives Guardians of the Galaxy mixed with Michael Sheen in Tron. With such instantly appealing elements coming into play, it wouldn’t be hard to slap together covers with characters’ heads on neon backgrounds and call it good. (Which honestly, would still look cool as hell.) However, Scalera managed to go above and beyond expectations, and create cover art for every issue of the 5 run series that provokes the imagination without instantly giving away the content inside. Attractively angular character designs come out to play with rich contrast and compelling perspectives to create designs that are not just bookends for the story within, but total pieces of Eisner-worthy art in themselves.

Space Bandits is out now in its collected trade from Image, and Matteo Scalera can be found on both Twitter and Instagram. Both are worth checking out and deserving of radical, galaxy-wide praise. -Kirin Xin

Kirin Xin is a graphic designer, band freak, and comics writer and illustrator working out of the Midwest. They could have been prom king but devoted their life to making comic books. They can be found at kirixin.com or on social media @kirixin

Learn more about Matteo Scalera’s work on his website.

Visit the full Extra Eisners Reading List!

Check out the official Eisner Nominations for 2020.