Have you heard of Kael Ngu yet?
I’m relatively sure that you’ve seen his work and not recognized it. He is fairly new to the field but rapidly gaining a following. His recent Dark Nights Death Metal #1 featuring a ridiculously gorgeous Wonder Woman has been getting tons of attention. It’s amazing. On the other end of the spectrum is an upcoming cover for TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 which has a dark determination. The interesting lighting coming from the right side, the rain, the clenched fist, the furrowed brow all tell a story.
Since I hadn’t heard much about this rising star I reached out to him for an interview and he graciously accepted.
Ron: “How long have you been working in the comic book industry?”
Kael: “Started 2 years ago with commissions, and then started working on covers since mid-2018”
Ron: “What was your big break into comics?”
Kael: “Hmm, I’m not entirely sure what was my big break, it might be TMNT #97 Big Time Collectibles exclusive, or it might be the Spawn #303 Singapore Comic-Con exclusive. Both were done in 2019 and gave me a lot of followers!”
Ron: “On your website, you mention that you created card game illustrations, anything we would recognize?”
Kael: “That was several years ago when I was still working for the game industry, one specific mobile card game project I got involved in is Mobius Final Fantasy, but that game is being pulled back already I think.”
Ron: “What art style or artists influenced your style most?”
Kael: “JC Leyendecker, Jay Anacleto, David Finch are the three that I look at the most these days. Hah!”
Ron: “Do you have any plans to come to the US for a convention?”
Kael: “I do, initially, we had 4 or 5 conventions planned this year but you know the pandemic strikes. I almost got on a plane for C2E2 before deciding to cancel it at the last minute due to Italy and Korea’s outbreak at that time. Super sad lol.”
Ron: “On your Instagram page you have a wide range of characters, do you have a favorite character?” https://www.instagram.com/kaelngu/
Kael: “I don’t have a specific favorite character, but I do love X-Men…so any mutant will be my love!”
Ron: “What upcoming projects or covers do you have coming out?”
Kael: “More X-Men exclusives with Unknown Comics! More Last Ronin, and several others which I don’t think I can announce yet haha!”
Ron: Awesome, thank you.
Kael: Thank you, sir.
Below is a list of all the books we currently have in our system for Kael Ngu in case you’ve become a fan as well. They are linked to Comics Price Guide so that you can see the covers, pricing, and creative team.
Dark Nights: Death Metal #1-UNKN – Unknown Comics Exclusive Batman Cover
Dark Nights: Death Metal #1-UNKN-B – Unknown Comics Exclusive Wonder Woman Cover
Excalibur #4B – Venom Island Variant
Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1-UNKN-A – Unknown Comics Exclusive Cover
Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1-UNKN-B – Unknown Comics Exclusive Virgin Cover
Giant-Size X-Men: Jean Grey & Emma Frost #1-UNKN-C – Unknown Comics Exclusive Costume Swap Cover
Gung-Ho #1C – New Series by Ablaze Publishing
Gung-Ho #2 –
Gung-Ho #3B –
Gung-Ho #4B –
Justice League #1-CMS-A – Comic Market Street Exclusive
Justice League #1-CMS-B – Comic Market Street Limited Color Exclusive
Justice League #1-CMS-C – Comic Market Street Virgin Exclusive
Marauders #2-CE UC-A – Unknown Comics and Comics Elite Exclusive Variant
Marauders #2-CE UC-A – Unknown Comics and Comics Elite Exclusive Virgin Variant
Marauders #3 –
Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1-UNKN-A – Unknown Comics Exclusive – This is an homage cover to Incredible Hulk #181
Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1-UNKN-B – Unknown Comics Virgin Exclusive – Homage to Incredible Hulk #181
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-5Star – 5-Star Exclusive Variant Wraparound cover
Rai #2 –
Rai #4 –
Red Sonja: Age of Chaos #1-UNKN – Unknown Comics Exclusive Virgin Variant
Red Sonja: Age of Chaos #2-DMITE – Dynamite Entertainment Exclusive Virgin Variant
Red Sonja: Age of Chaos #3-UNKN – Unknown Comics Exclusive Virgin Variant
Spawn #303-SINGC – Singapore Comic-Con Exclusive Variant
TMNT #97-BTC – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Variant
TMNT #99-BTC – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Variant
TMNT #102-BTC – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Variant
TMNT: Jennika #1-KRSBF – KRS Comics and Black Flag Comics Exclusive Variant
Vampirella #1-CKC – Comic Kingdom of Canada Exclusive Virgin Variant
Vampirella Red Sonja #1-UNKN-A – Unknown Comics Exclusive Virgin Variant
Vengeance of Vampirella #1-NYCC – 2019 New York City Comic-Con Exclusive Variant
Wolverine #1-BTC-A – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Variant – Wolverine #1 Homage
Wolverine #1-BTC-B – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Virgin Variant – Wolverine #1 Homage
Wolverine #1-BTC-C – Big Time Collectibles Exclusive Sketch Variant – Wolverine #1 Homage
X-Force #1-CE UC-A – Unknown Comics and Comics Elite Exclusive Variant
X-Force #1-CE UC-B – Unknown Comics and Comics Elite Exclusive Virgin Variant
X-Men #8-ECCC – Emerald City Comic Con Exclusive Variant
X-Men #8-UNKN – Unknown Comics Exclusive Variant
X-O Manowar #1-Groun – Groundbreaking Comics Exclusive Variant
X-O Manowar #1-Groun-B – Groundbreaking Comics Exclusive Virgin Variant
by Ron Cloer
https://www.instagram.com/ronbatman/
I have never been a big fan of the variant cover comics idea, and as such I have not seen most of his work. I have to tell you though, I am impressed. Very impressed. The Red Sonja covers made me want to find a copy. You have very good tastes in artist sir, and I say that as a person who teaches art, lol.
As a side note, David Finch who Ngu listed as an influence is also a favorite of mine. I recently started playing with the idea of getting signed copies of comics from my favorite artists, but I have never done that before despite having nearly 17k comics. I think Stan Lee’s passing hit me hard and started filling me with regret that I never saw him despite the fact that he and I were at the same con once. Anyway, do you have any advice regarding collecting signatures? My first thoughts were that I would only collect signatures that came with a COA (certificate of Authenticity) and that I would only collect comic book contributors that meant something to me personally. I’ve never been a big convention person and I live in Texas so I have never been to ComicCon. So, I was thinking about eBay? Let me know your thoughts, I would sure love some help. Thanks again for the good read and the great artistic find.
I would suggest going to a convention and talking to some of your favorite artists in person. It’s a totally different experience than buying a signature from eBay. Some of the best people have long lines at their booth and some have no lines. DC and Marvel will occasionally offer free autographs at their booth but most of the time there is a cost involved.
Thanks for the comment,
R