If you followed Valiant Entertainment's resurgence in the last decade, you saw plenty of Lewis Larosa's work. Characters like Ninjak, X-O Manowar, and Savage benefited from his loving touch. While IDW is currently publishing new Valiant titles, Oni Press is launching this astonishing art book that celebrates Valiant's rich history.
Here's all the info:
Since making his professional debut at the dawn of the 21st century, American illustrator Lewis LaRosa
has defined himself as one of the most singular masters of the modern
comics medium — fusing dynamic reference-based realism, stylized
superhero storytelling, and a master's control of shadow and light to
produce a wholly unique, jaw-dropping style that could only be called
“carbon based.”Now, Oni Press
— the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher groundbreaking
comics and graphic novels for more than 25 years — is proud to unveil CARBON BASED: THE ART OF LEWIS LaROSA, launching today with a hard-hitting battery of exclusive offerings on Kickstarter.
Here's some of his stunning art:
In
this first-ever career retrospective—spanning more than 250+ pages of
LaRosa's raw unexpurgated line art in all of its painstakingly rendered
intensity, alongside rarely seen covers, character designs, concepts,
and more from Marvel Comics, Valiant Entertainment, Epic Games, BOOM! Studios, Creative Beast Studio, and more—experience the artist's artistic evolution in all of its stunning detail from series including Bloodshot Reborn, Divinity, Harbinger, Punisher MAX, Savage, Shadowman, Uncanny X-Men, A Vicious Circle, X-O Manowar, and many more.
This deluxe, oversized hardcover art book (measuring in at 10 x 12 inches) features an all-new introduction by Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson with page-by-page commentary by LaRosa and former Valiant Editor-in-Chief Warren Simons, alongside appreciations by some of the artist's most prominent colleagues and collaborators including Lee Bermejo (Joker), Dave Johnson (Superman: Red Son), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR), Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), Yanick Paquette (Wonder Woman: Earth One), and more.
Here's more of his beautiful work:
In addition to a Kickstarter-exclusive, foil-stamped hardcover edition of CARBON BASED: THE ART OF LEWIS LaROSA,
the Oni Press Kickstarter campaign will also feature limited-run
slipcased, signed, and remarqued editions; a deluxe portfolio set
recreating the fine detail of the original art for LaRosa’s most iconic
Valiant covers for Divinity #1, Ninjak #1, X-O Manowar (2017)
#1, and more beloved issues; premium, hard-screened t-shirts emblazoned
with LaRosa’s high-intensity artwork; specialty giclée art prints;
highly coveted LaRosa commissions; and even the opportunity to own
LaRosa’s instantly iconic original cover art for CARBON BASED itself.
"It's
happening, guys! Thanks to the fine folks at Oni Press, a retrospective
of my art spanning over 20 years is in the oven,” said artist Lewis LaRosa. “What an incredible honor. From my early days at Marvel launching Punisher MAX
to my years helping relaunch the Valiant Universe, this will showcase
some of my best work in one lovely tome. I'm making sure to include some
rarely seen odds and ends, as well as insight into my old school analog
process revealing how the sausage is made. Whether it's the muscly
figure work, sleek robots or prehistoric dinosaurs, hopefully these
images will inspire you to pick up the pencil and DRAW!"
Here's some of what's on offer:
“When it comes to Lewis LaRosa, 'immense talent' seems like a titanic understatement,” said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson.
“For more than a decade, I’ve had the great joy of working alongside
Lewis at a number of publishers, and it’s an honor to finally collect
his life’s work – so far! – for the first time between two covers at Oni
Press. This is a comprehensive, career-spanning appreciation of Lewis'
artwork in one heavyweight, coffee-table book-sized tome that's suitably
oversized to capture all the grit and grandeur of his unique and
unreplicatable style. We’re having a blast collaborating with Lewis on
this one-of-a-kind collection spotlighting his unique and hard-fought
position in the pantheon of comic book greats.”
Now
in his third decade as a professional comics artist and illustrator,
discover why LaRosa’s deeply detailed, high-impact artwork continues to
reap international acclaim and recognition from fans and critics alike:
About Lewis LaRosa:
Born
in 1978, Lewis LaRosa grew up steeped in the worlds of comics,
animation, comics, and dinosaurs. After winning a local art competition
at Dr. No’s Comics in Marietta, GA as a teenager, he decided to pursue
comics illustration full-time, eventually making his full-length comics
debut as an interior artist in 2002 on a Thunderbolts mini-series, Citizen V & The V Battalion: The Everlasting, for Marvel Comics. Following short stints on DC Comics’ JLAand Firestorm, LaRosa returned to Marvel in 2004 for the debut of Punisher MAX
with Eisner Award-winning writer Garth Ennis – launching Marvel's
seminal MAX imprint to blockbuster sales and immediately cementing him
as one of the industry’s most watched up-and-coming artists.
Following
a sabbatical away from the industry to become a special education
teacher, LaRosa returned to comics in 2013 at the newly revitalized
Valiant Entertainment, where he began a years-long run contributing
covers and character designs for some of the publisher’s most
recognizable properties including Divinity, Harbinger, Ninjak, Shadowman, Unity, X-O Manowar,
and more. During this time – as LaRosa’s heavily reference-based style
and techniques began to evolve and change in even more captivating ways –
he returned for a series of high-profile interior art assignments with
Valiant: Bloodshot Reborn and Bloodshot Salvation (with multiple Eisner Award-winning writer Jeff Lemire) and Savage (with acclaimed writer B. Clay Moore and co-artist Clayton Henry).
Since
that time, LaRosa has continued to create covers and key art for a
variety of publishers and clients – including Marvel, Image Comics,
Hasbro, Mondo, and more – and, in 2025, drew the unique distinction of
being the first comics artist to have his work featured on the cover of Nature magazine. He still lives in Marietta, GA with his wife and two children. He draws every day.
About Oni Press
Founded
in 1997, Oni Press has a 25-year history as one of the industry’s most
respected and acclaimed publishers of award-winning comic books and
graphic novels with titles including Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, K. O’Neill’s Tea Dragon Society, Cullen Bunn & Brian Hurtt's The Sixth Gun, Maia Kobabe's Gender Queer, Ezra Clayton Daniels' Upgrade Soul, Brenna Thummler’s Sheets
trilogy, and many hundreds more. In 2019, Oni Press merged with Lion
Forge Comics – the Eisner Award-winning independent comic book publisher
founded by Academy Award-winning producer and entrepreneur David
Steward II – to create one of the largest, independent libraries of
comics content anywhere in media. The Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group
now exists as a publishing subsidiary of Steward’s diversified global
media company, Polarity.
The
Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group publishes more than 60 original and
licensed graphic novels annually, in addition to an extensive list of
periodical comics.
Thanks to Oni Press for sharing this announcement with us.
