An intellectual property entertainment company Mythos Studios, founded by former chairman of Marvel Studios David Maisel, has launched the Ekos Genesis Art Collection, accessible through a virtual gallery at ekos.io.
The NFT collection includes one-of-a-kind artworks created by comic book artists Peter Steigerwald and the late Michael Turner. They are highly regarded for their significant contributions to Marvel and DC Comics and their joint efforts on Turner’s Aspen Comics series.
The Ekos Collection is focused on characters from different series, incorporating Turner’s final project, Ekos and Fathom, which was not launched during his lifetime.
Speaking to CoinDesk, Maisel addressed his excitement to offer people the chance to own “Ekos-inspired 1-of-1 original hand-crafted digital art”, which would not have been possible without Web3.
Auction schedule
The Dutch-style auction of 995 1/1 NFTs for the Ekos Genesis Art Collection will commence at 10 a.m. PT. on May 2. The date holds significance for Maisel as it marks the 15th anniversary of the release of Iron Man, the movie that began the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The auction will last for 88 minutes and will begin at a bidding price of 10 ETH, dropping by 0.5 ETH every four minutes until it reaches 0.5 ETH. In the final eight minutes of the auction, the price will decrease to 0.2 ETH if the collection has not yet sold out.
Before the auction, potential buyers can reserve the NFTs by making a deposit starting at 10 a.m. PT on April 24. If someone deposits 10 ETH before May 1, they will be guaranteed a share of Ekos Genesis Art.
The initial 100 depositors will get an additional NFT as an Early Collector Bonus from a distinct “Ekos Genesis Art Portraits” collection. Eligible collectors can select their preferred artwork based on the timing of their deposits, with priority given to the first depositors.
The top six collectors after the auction period will each receive a unique NFT displaying art created from the Fathom cover art sold in 2021.
Another NFT project by Marvel artist
There have been other NFT projects related to Marvel’s artists before Ekos Genesis Art Collection. In January, Sean Chen, a well-known comic book artist who worked on Marvel’s Iron Man, Avengers, and Spider-Man series, announced that he shifted away from traditional comic book production and now creates his content using Web3 technology.
Chen teamed up with Web3 startup 247 Comics to create a new comic book series Genesis. Genesis is a unique project for Chen because he would write the series instead of just drawing.
The story revolves around the complex relationship between an Asian-American scientist Lucas Zhang and his daughter. The comic addresses various issues, such as robotics, large corporations, militarism and immortality. It also includes references to Disney.
The series also features a blend of science fiction action, dark humor and original characters created by Chen.
In the debut issue of Genesis, the world is established through a series of vignettes. The comic contrast military scenes depicting giant robots with human operators against the bright and cheerful Bobo World theme park that offers darker experiences for adults beneath its surface.
Chen and 247 Comics Publisher Carl Choi plan to provide readers with a new sense of ownership and fandom in the digital era by offering Ethereum NFTs of the characters in Genesis. They’ve already launched a fractionalized NFT of one character, a giant gorilla named Bobo, that acts as an early-access pass to certain 247 Comics content.
