Carbon 4

Mark Schultz unleashed! Inspired by the otherworldly pulp stories of his childhood in the 1950s and ‘60s, Schultz continues to draw inspiration from the adventure, fantasy and science-fiction genres of that imaginative period. With its visions of romanticized space exploration, this time continues to be a primary influence on his artwork and in this new collection, where the focus is on life on other worlds. While many of these new visions were created purely for his own satisfaction, Carbon 4 also features Schultz’s most recent commissions and commercial illustrations. As always, Xenozoic’s Jack and Hannah are featured prominently. A number of the works include preliminary sketches as well as the finished pencils, residing alongside their completed brush-and-ink companions. Two gatefolds highlight a pair of the artist’s most-ambitious commissions to date—illustrations of contrasting literary interpretations of Martian life. Carbon 4 also opens the Schultz archives to highlight obscure pieces not included in his previous volumes from Flesk. Rarely seen imagery from the first decade of his career is finally revealed after years of requests from fans. The drawings include covers done for the SubHuman series as well as for Superman, Aliens and Predator. Also presented are sketchbook page samples that offer insight into the artist’s thought process. As a bonus, fans will find “Time Troubling,” a little-known three-page teaching aid made for a long out-of-print book about the comics process. The breadth and scope of Schultz’s evolution as an illustrator is fully represented by these dynamic images spanning his thirty-year career.