4th Namor the Sub-Mariner Advent Calendar

[Reviresco]

18 Days to Christmas








Namor the First Mutant #3
by Jae Lee and June Chung
Cover Date December 2010

I was torn between picking a Jae Lee Namor cover from his own series or from Fantastic Four 1234, as I like that era of Jae Lee's Namor the best. The 2000s Jae Lee is a bit heavier, but he's also using the darker inks. The Namor from the 2010s is colored by June Chung and has an ethereal glow that fits the otherworldly vibe that I think should be part of Namor and his world. IIRC, this may be an illustration of one of Namor's duties / powers that was revealed in this run -- releasing the souls of deceased Atlanteans. There's always a staged, dramatic quality to Jae Lee's covers, but they are usually striking or beautiful.

Also I think this was the time Marvel decided they didn't have to stick with a 'masthead' on the top of the cover, so they were experimenting with various positions and things, like the black bar with the event / story arc on it.

We all know how Jae Lee's style has grown / differed from his his first work on Namor in the 1990s. But I'm including this cover, which also features Namor and a woman "floating" as a more direct comparison. It is very 1990s extreme, but even back then, I think Jae Lee's work stood out, with his use of shadows and large areas of black and of course, his signature splatter inkspots.