Covering ‘LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2’

Do you find yourself craving more awesome Marvel LEGO adventures in advance of “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2” arriving for all consoles tomorrow, November 14? We’ve got some great news for you gang: with the game comes a whole heaping helping of hyper cool “LEGO-ized” Marvel comic covers!

We chatted with Dan Veesenmeyer, artist extraordinaire behind the LEGO Marvel covers, about his favorites and what goes into reworking such iconic artwork.

Marvel.com: Dan we chatted just over a year ago when “LEGO Marvel’s Avengers” dropped a ton of cool LEGO Marvel covers on us. Now you’re about to do it again? I’ve barely recovered from the last time!

Dan Veesenmeyer: We’re back brother! Bigger and better than ever! Zooming across all time and space!

Marvel.com: This time, as opposed to on “LEGO Marvel’s Avengers,” the team had access to the entire Marvel comic library. Was it a little overwhelming figuring out what to LEGO-ify or were you like kids in a candy shop?

Dan Veesenmeyer: On the previous game, I started off a little nervous and intimidated by all the fantastic Marvel cover artwork that I had to reimagine into LEGO form. That particular challenge was all new to me. So many art styles I’ve admired all my life that had to be reinterpreted. I must have done something right since TT Games asked me back. Thank goodness. When this new project started, I had a lot more confidence and I was dying to let it rip. When I saw all the choices of covers for this round, I was just thrilled. Some selections just shocked yet delighted me. This was a very fun project.

Marvel.com: And you’ve got some pretty obscure covers in this batch; Black Knight, Rawhide Kid, and the Kree Supreme Intelligence all make appearances, among others. Is it important to balance more well-known characters with other lesser known heroes? 

Dan Veesenmeyer: The obvious classics and fan favorites are always fun to see but I personally love the deep cuts from Marvel’s incredible history of covers. As an artist, I love the challenge of drawing something totally unexpected. Additionally, it’s fun to surprise the player and toss in some real obscure [covers] or character choices they’d never guess we would have recreated as they unlock them throughout the game.

Marvel.com: Do you have any personal favorites that made the cut? 

Dan Veesenmeyer: I certainly do! I actually suggested a couple of cover choices for this game that were approved. I’m a big fan of the Bronze Age of Marvel Comics so cover art from that era is near and dear to me. INHUMANS #8 [from the 70’s] was one of my choices. It’s just such a classic in-your-face, dynamic rendering of the team by artist Gil Kane.

Another favorite was actually the biggest surprise when presented to me of all the covers for the game: SUPERNATURAL THRILLERS #7. A Bronze Age Marvel horror classic originally drawn by John Romita. Never ever thought I’d draw a Marvel horror comic in LEGO form. That was a fanboy thrill.

Marvel.com: What goes into “LEGO-izing” covers? It’s not just as simple as, make the characters LEGO right? 

Dan Veesenmeyer: Correct. Rendering the LEGO Minifigure has its own set of rules I must always adhere to. Not every piece of cover art can be easily translated into the Minifigure form. Some of the more extreme, abstract posing of super hero figures just cannot be translated into tiny limbs. The other challenge is trying my best to match the original cover artist’s style beyond rendering the figures. Some artwork might feature straight up black ink and flat colors while other styles feature elaborate painted backgrounds or Photoshopped special effects. It can take some trial and error to figure out how to closely match with my digital tool set.

Marvel.com: How many covers will players be able to uncover when the game drops? 

Dan Veesenmeyer: We recreated 20 classic Marvel covers for the game’s initial release. And the selection spans every era—from the Golden Age all the way up through modern day.

Marvel.com: What else do we need to know about “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2”? 

Dan Veesenmeyer: That the game is made by Marvel fans for Marvel fans. An enormous amount of love and creativity is poured into the experience and it’s all up there right in front of you to enjoy on the screen. Go forth and enjoy True Believers!

Stay tuned to Marvel.com and @MarvelGames on Twitter for more “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2” news and interviews and pick up the game tomorrow, November 14!