ULTIMATE AVENGERS #4 cover by Art Nichols (after Kirby)

Art Nichols is a journeyman inker whose work brought out the best in the pencils of Matt Wagner, John Byrne, Joe Quesada, and perhaps most famously, Jack Kirby in the final years of his professional career, which makes this tribute to Avengers #4 all the more special, It’s evident from the Kirby signature at the bottom that Nichols has used a blue-line of Kirby’s original cover art to Avengers #4, but redrawn the background characters as The Ultimates. This combination of familiar and unique elevates this from a mere recrearion into something contemporary and classic.