“Avengers… assemble.” With those words, a Mjolnir-wielding Captain America (Chris Evans) leads the charge against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in the climactic final fight of Avengers: Endgame, which assembles Earth’s mightiest heroes for a splash page-worthy wide frame. From OG Avengers Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to the just un-snapped Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), and the Guardians of the Galaxy, the portals sequence — with its Avengers rallying cry and epic cavalry charge — is one of the most iconic moments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But it almost looked different.
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ComicBook can exclusively share a first look at Avengers: Endgame concept art and keyframes from Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding, which showcases Meinerding’s art as Marvel Studios’ Head of Visual Development. On sale Oct. 1st from Abrams Books, the new book features more than 500 illustrations and goes behind the scenes of the MCU with unprecedented insight into Meinerding’s creative process.
To quote Wong: “What, you wanted more?”
In addition to the work-in-progress concept art and Avengers assemble keyframe above, check out (top to bottom): The Avengers vs. Thanos’ Black Order and the Outriders; Smart Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), having brought brains and brawn together, slugging it out in a deleted rematch with Thanos five years after Hulk’s defeat in Avengers: Infinity War; and the Iron Spider Armor-clad Spider-Man leaping into the fray alongside Iron Man, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and War Machine (Don Cheadle).
Marvel Studios: The Art of Ryan Meinerding compiles the artist’s work dating back to Iron Man (2008), and includes keyframe and concept designs for Thor (2011), concept designs for Captain America’s suits from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and beyond, character designs for The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) created in collaboration with Charlie Wen, and suit and gear designs for Daredevil (2015), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), and more. The book by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry (co-authors of The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) also features a foreword by Marvel Studios president and Marvel Chief Creative Officer Kevin Feige.
Pre-orders for The Art of Ryan Meinerding are live here on Amazon (priced $65). A deluxe edition limited to 500 copies — which comes with an exclusive foil stamped cloth case, slipcase with tipped on art, and archival-quality matte print hand-signed by Meinerding sealed inside a numbered envelope — is available for pre-order ($175) via Abrams Books.
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