WHITE QUEEN: by Brett Booth

The character growth of Emma Frost from the original Hellfire Club’s White Queen to head mistress of the Xavier Institute and a fan favorite hero in her own right is one of the most extraordinary in comics. And more than just an excuse for a talented artist to draw an attractive heroine, Brett Booth captures something ubiquitous while drafting off elements of the Jim Lee and Frank Quitely version of the character that also taps into the illustration chops of While Portacio and Michael Turner: class.

The pose and the cold beauty convey an aristocratic air that separates Emma Frost from other badass Lady mutants like Jean Grey or Rogue, and Brett’s thin lines suggest a mature sophistication that makes her a very different kind of team leader than Rogue or Kitty Pryde. It’s the type of cover-quality illustration that brings to mind the similarities between Emma and Storm, actually.

It really makes one optimistic for the potential of a high-profile X book assignment for this incredibly gifted and yet somehow underrated artist who has made a name for himself as the regular artist on SPAWN.