SubscribeNote: After winning over the P:R staff and readers earlier this year with his rockabilly take on Batman & his extended cast, Denis Medri is back with another themed re-invisioning of a classic comics hero. In this outing, it’s Spider-Man meets steampunk as Medri takes a wrench to the webcrawler and his rogue’s gallery You can see how Medri’s put alot of thought into each of these designs, both in style and substance with the webshooters and various contraptions the villains use. Denis Medri — thank you! – Chris A.
Tom Brazelton
/ July 18, 2012I’m normally not a fan of steampunk motifs (I think it’s become something of a cliche) but Steampunk Doctor Octopus NEEDED to happen.
Thank you, Denis!
Andrew
/ July 18, 2012These are all gorgeous and amazing.
I would buy this comic in a heartbeat.
Denis Medri is definitely one of my P:R favorites. : )
yihdego
/ July 18, 2012I want to read this book right now. Missing steampunk Electro, Shocker and Mysterio and a few supporting cast members like J.J. and Mary-Jane but I want Marvel to send this kid a book deal pronto to keep drawing these characters.
Alex
/ July 18, 2012Green Goblin and Venom are my favorites out of the bunch. I don’t know why, but that Venom just WORKS.
Mike
/ July 18, 2012These work on all levels for me. The Batman ones had some wink-wink touches, but these make a lot of sense. Well thought out and beautiful.
Tim
/ July 18, 2012I love these. Green Goblin really works with this motif.
Olivarosully
/ July 18, 2012There is a lot to love in each of these designs. I am particularly enthralled by The Scorpion’s leaking member and can quite lucidly envision the viscous sewage he would spray over his foes. I would consider his style the most well developed of the lot, since it seems to be the one with the greatest foothold in realistic mechanical engineering. I could truly imagine MacDonald Gargan as a disgruntled worker at a sewage treatment facility, employment terminated after a scathing exposé into his unethical dumping of contaminants by J. Jonah Jameson. Now, tightly strapped into his leather harness, using his years of experience with excrement, he is dedicated to saturating Jonah with his septic effluents as… The Scorpion!
avantsweater
/ July 18, 2012Agree with Alex on Venom, it just works. I think it’s the vest.
Mario Silva
/ July 18, 2012venom-ripper is my favorite, but again: spiders don’t have compound eyes…
JSG
/ July 18, 2012I love his Green goblin he really translates well into this style !
Andrew Kilian
/ July 18, 2012Venom’s a coal worker with black lung.
Bunx05
/ July 18, 2012Steampunk Venom is the greatest thing I’ve seen today. I can totally see that character as a smart, vicious and ultimately creepy character.
Anton
/ July 18, 2012All of these are pretty awesome. I’d read this book. (And I’m a guy who’s doesn’t usually read Marvel or DC.)
Al Bruno III
/ July 18, 2012Terrific art, terrific ideas…
Bruce B.
/ July 18, 2012These are brilliant interpretations. The period wardrobe elements and clunky tech resonate nicely. Spidey’s goggles and bandana make for a great mask substitute without obviously crossing the line into superheroey; the goblin’s full mask is offset by the obvious mesh over his mouth. I also like the control panel for Octopus’s arms and the way you made his look angry, frustrated and frumpy. (Body language!) Rather than expound on each item, I’ll just leave it at an overall A-plus rating.
Bruce B.
/ July 18, 2012Oh, and the Rhino? I can actually imagine him wading into fisticuffs and proving to be a serious problem for any opponent.
Kyushu Miyamoto
/ July 18, 2012I think Venom works so well for me because it conjures a serious Edward Hyde and/or Jack the Ripper vibe… This seems like a more focused and calculating Venom, one who prowls the shadows and stays just out of sight rather than wading in to full combat and spraying green drool everywhere.
lefty891
/ July 18, 2012These are so awesome!!! It makes me wish that Marvel would do a line of ‘steampunk’ comics, a la the ‘noir’ series.
The Harp
/ July 18, 2012Holy. Crap. I want a comic book, an animated TV series, a video game, and a big-budget film trilogy based on these designs. Yesterday. Oh, and wallpaper. Not wallpaper for my iPhone … wallpaper for my living room. Genius. Brilliant. Kick-ass. Yes, please. NOW.
John K
/ July 18, 2012I’m not a fan of Venom, but Venom the Ripper is awesome.
I still want to see Dr. Connors & Mr Lizard, A high society Black Cat and Voltaictro (a hapless victim of Teslaesque experiments). This would be such a fun book I’d read it in a second.
Also Steampunk Doctor Octopus rocks.
John K
/ July 18, 2012Oh and Pith hats! Pith hats for all!!!
Felix Vasquez Jr.
/ July 18, 2012Green Goblin and Venom are my favorite of these designs. And Spidey looks wicked. Wonderful art.
theBitterFig
/ July 18, 2012Pretty nice. I don’t really like the tech with Kraven, though. Just doesn’t really seem to fit with the character. The fact that he looks like he’d single-handedly fight the Boer War is pretty good, though. The “Sun never sets on the Brittish Empire” vibe really works with him. Mechanical claws? Not so much.
Edwin Latorre Jr.
/ July 18, 2012I don’t love this as much as Rockabilly Batman, but I still got a boner at the sight of all this
tbolt
/ July 18, 2012Neat redesigns, love Vulture, and finally a Venom I can get excited about.
Jim
/ July 18, 2012Wow, is what I say really amazing, or punked out! I’m a big fan of spidey, and my fav. Bad guy is Kraven, I have been wanting to come up with a steam punk outfit, The Kraven one is what I will try, or on like it, very good job!!!:)
Pogues
/ July 18, 2012I gotta disagree with Brazelbomb this time, I dislike Doc Oct the most of all the designs. I felt him and Scorpion were to obvious. To me Green Goblin is where these designs hit it out of the park. It is a simple design, but brilliant. It looks steam punk without the usual random cogs and tubes look that has begun to be the “steam punk” style. Kraven is a nice design by grabbing that era’s safari look and Venom has a cool old world Jack the Ripper feel that I really dig. I like these even better than the artist’s Rockabilly Batman designs.
Tegan
/ July 18, 2012Wow. Spidey and his villians really fit in to the steampunk era!
AgathaRights
/ July 18, 2012This is the most dapper Venom I have ever seen. Can we just have a comic that’s nothing but gorgeous dapper villain designs?
hoylus
/ July 19, 2012For me, Spider-man himself is the least effective design here. It’s not iconic. Also, a bandana is too easy to remove/flap up when swinging and, as someone mentioned, spiders don’t have the compound eyes.
BUT – The most successful is Venom – truly imposing and sinister. I love the idea that venom is a gentleman (with top hat etc.) but Brock appears as more of a working man (with his flat cap). Even that lends itself to the idea that the ripper was actually two people. Love it.
UltN
/ July 19, 2012Kraven in a safari hat is just too great.
More, please!
Dedpool
/ July 19, 2012I would buy this. They should do a Marvel Steampunk line like the did with the Noir line. I like them all, but Not a fan of Spidey’s mask. I think a fullon mask would’ve looked a lil better, or at least not have it being a handkerchief.
DoctorSmashy
/ July 19, 2012Great redesigns. Venom, Scorpion and Doc Ock in particular look awesome. The only weak one in the bunch I’d say is Spidey himself. There’s just not enough of the classic costume in there, I don’t think, and it’s a little generic with the kneepads and the goggles and the bland red shirt with spider logo. The design lacks the unique, genius little original touches that make the others great, like Venom’s squirming little tentacles and Scorpion’s complicated backpack device.
Tim Keating
/ July 19, 2012Now. Yes. Now. Please. Now.
Jay
/ July 19, 2012I’m surprised at how well this rouges gallery translates to the steam punk style. Doc Oc and Venom are standouts with Kraven and Spiderman needing some tweaking.
Great stuff all around
Angela
/ July 19, 2012Wow! I would be much more likely to read that than the regular Spierman stuff.
Tony
/ July 19, 2012I love the control panel for doc oc.
Ben
/ July 19, 2012This could have been a cliché, but it’s completely lovely. The only design that doesn’t completely supplant the original in my mind is the web-slinger himself. If I could change anything, it would by Spiderman’s mask (a bit more “fly” than “spider) and Kraven’s glove (I just don’t see the function). It’s safe to assume Black Cat was left out due to her similarities to Catwoman (who we’ve been shown as a rockabilly girl), but she and Chameleon seem destined for this era.
Joshua
/ July 19, 2012Olivarosully, for using phrases such as “Scorpion’s leaking member”, “viscous sewage he would spray over his foes,” and “saturating Jonah with his septic effluents”, the Academy is proud to present you with the Roofie Award for Outstanding Graphic Imagery in a PR Comment. Feel free to pick up the award after I finish throwing up forever.
Joshua
/ July 19, 2012I am entranced by Doctor Octopus’ turgid members, flailing wildly and emerging from his flushed and sweaty body. Of all the designs, these firm rods of steel are the most mechanically sound. I envision Otto Octavius as an angry ex-employee of Osborn Industries’ Cybernetic Tumescence Division. Now, firmly caressed by his cummerbund and lightly choked by his necktie, he is devoted to springing hard into action and erecting a defense from spider-man as Doctor Octopus!
Adam
/ July 20, 2012Wow! I’m normally not excited by steampunk or Spider-Man, but I’m just amazed at how well these characters translate. The art is fantastic as usual, but it’s the imagination of the design that just really pops. Nice job!!
Pól Rua
/ July 20, 2012Love all of them, but the one suggestion I’d make is an aviator’s leather cap for Spidey. I’d help to conceal his distinctive hair, and the stitching on the headgear and rounded, enclosed shape would possibly be more reminiscent of the standard costume.
Plus, he’s got the knee and elbow pads, surely something to protect his head wouldn’t be out of the question.
Kraven and Venom are just wonderful and I’m so glad to see The Scorpion… one of Spidey’s rogues I have a particular fondness for, but who frequently gets overlooked or banished to the ‘lame villains’ bin.
Itlas
/ July 20, 2012PERFECT!!!
there is nothing more to say
Toom
/ July 21, 2012Fantastic work, much more considered than the rockabilly stuff, although I agree that the Spidey design could use a bit more thought around the mask area. That chest emblem is the biz, though.
For me, the only one of these designs that doesn’t really work is the Rhino; it’s not a terrible drawing by any stretch, but it’s a little phoned-in. I think more could’ve been done with the idea that either the character is permanently bonded with the Rhino suit (steampunk cyborgs are wicked fun to draw), or that it’s an enormous powered exoskeleton (a la the Ultimate incarnation, and again, steampunk mech-suits are wicked fun to draw).
Wrath
/ July 24, 2012The Green Goblin reminds me of Count von Count from Sesame Street. “One pumpkin bomb, AH AH AH… Two pumpkin bombs, AH AH AH…” Is it just me? Yes? Okay.
Doctor Octopus reminded me of Diego Maia’s 3D render of a similar concept: (image link) http://www.zbrushcentral.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=156234
Senior Blu
/ July 24, 2012I think I like Rhino the best although I’m quite fond of Kraven as well. Well done.
Steampunk Jewelry Maker
/ July 27, 2012These are absolutely fantastic! I’ll be sharing this on Twitter. Thank you.
Will
/ October 17, 2012I don’t think that the venom thing was really necessary given the nature of the villain as an otherworldly organism. It’s cool looking, don’t get me wrong, but as a comic fan, it doesn’t really work for me. Aside from that, these are all incredible designs. :)