You've Read 'S.W.O.R.D.' #1, Now See Valerio Schiti's Character Designs

Krakoa's spacebound mutants have joined together to form the Sentient World Observation & Response Directorate AKA S.W.O.R.D.! Their latest story kicked off last week when S.W.O.R.D. #1, written by Al Ewing with art by Valerio Schiti went on sale, and today, you can get a closer look at how the characters made their way to the page!

Check out some of Schiti's concept art below:

Here's some of what Schiti had to say about designing the characters of S.W.O.R.D.:

“These are the design studies I did for the underlings, the mutants working under the main ones. Every section has a different uniform, vaguely inspired by the team leader's uniform, and of course all the mutants working in the same division wear the same uniform: orange for teleport, light blue for the ambassadors, blue for security and purple for analysis.”

Back when S.W.O.R.D. #1 was first announced, Schiti discussed working with Ewing on the new series:

“I really love Al’s books, so I’m very happy to have the chance to be on his side in this new adventure. We already had the chance to work together, a few years ago on MIGHTY AVENGERS and more recently on EMPYRE, so now we trust each other and we can use a more ‘flexible’ working method. He can switch from full script to ‘Marvel style’ when needed, and I can change panels or layouts when I think that could work better. This is definitely one the best working partnerships I’ve ever had.

“I can’t say much about what S.W.O.R.D. does, but I can say that every team member will have a peculiar role to play. That’s why I designed their uniforms with technical clothing, urban outfits, and even ceremonial uniforms: every role needed a different reference and a different starting point. The space outfits are inspired by trekking or hiking clothes, far from the typical space suit because these characters are explorers, not astronauts.”

ONE GIANT LEAP FOR MUTANTKIND!

The Mutant nation of Krakoa has quickly become a major force on the world stage... but why stop there? Krakoa has relaunched the Sentient World Observation & Response Directorate—a fully independent organization dealing with all things extra-terrestrial on behalf of all of Earth. Al Ewing and Valerio Schiti, the team behind EMPYRE, bring us the tale of Mutantkind looking to do for the galaxy what Krakoa did for the planet.

S.W.O.R.D. #1, written by Al Ewing with art by Valerio Schiti, is on sale now online and at your local comic shop!

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