‘OMG!’: Maltese Illustrator’s ‘Incredible’ Comic Book Tribute To Video Games Gets Massive Shout-Out
Anyone who’s ever played more than a couple of hours’ worth of video games can tell you that working for Rockstar Games is a pretty big deal. Pair that with getting a massive shout-out by an award-winning Naughty Dog writer, and you’ve got a recipe for geeky Nirvana.
Maltese illustrator Mark Scicluna has been making waves in the local and international scenes for a decade now, going from MCAST graphic design lecturer to a Senior Illustrator at the insanely popular Rockstar Games (that’s the guys behind Bully, Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto) in a matter of a couple of years.
Scicluna’s designed political card games, in-game artwork, cult online series and literally everything in between. His latest work to be showered with kudos, however, is a passion project of his that speaks to everyone’s inner gamer.
In an online series published on his website, Scicluna shared “a selection of comic book covers inspired by some of my favourite video game franchises”.
As wide-ranging as it is colourful (and accurate AF), the series features everything from Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon to Metal Gear Solid and Resident Evil, reimagined as retro comic book covers from yesterdecade.
But beyond the awesome interpretation of the beloved classics, it was his tribute to a more modern behemoth that earned him massive kudos… by no less than the game’s actual writer!
Scicluna also gave his retro fan art treatment – which went on to be featured on mega PlayStation portal Push Square – to The Last Of Us, a 2013 series with an incoming sequel that’s already been cemented into the video game hall of fame.
Turning a modern video game into something that looks straight out of a bookshop from half a century ago takes some serious talent, and it wasn’t long until Scicluna’s work was noticed by Naughty Dog writer Neil Druckmann.
Druckmann was the man behind the Uncharted series… and all editions of The Last Of Us, of course. But when he wasn’t busy writing and weaving the next generation of gamers’ favourite story, Druckmann took some time to shout out the Maltese illustrator’s amazing work.
“OMG!” Druckmann wrote on Twitter last weekend sharing Scicluna’s latest fan art announcement. “These are incredible!”
And while I’m sure Drackmann liked all of them, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say having The Last Of Us on the very front of the comic book pile definitely helped.
OMG! These are incredible! https://t.co/Yado0X62Qb
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) March 28, 2020
Check out Scicluna’s entire series here and tag a gamer who’d love to own a couple of these!
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