Guardians of the Galaxy #6. 2013.
Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on bristol board, 11 × 17″.

I didn’t really know who the Guardians of the Galaxy were when I was offered the first of four covers gigs. I had heard the name before and I knew that a movie was in the works, but that was about it. To be completely honest, I don’t know a lot more now, but they’re a whole lot of fun to draw — especially since I got to take inspiration from classic EC sci-fi covers by Wallace Wood, Jack Davis, and Al Feldstein. Marvel is relaunching the series with Brian Michael Bendis and Steve McNiven at the helm — I’ll be reading it as soon as I get my comp copies!
inks by my Joe Rivera (my Dad)
blue-line print of pencils
pencils over digital print
digital sketch
digital layout

Guardians of the Galaxy #7. 2013.
Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on bristol board, 11 × 17″.
Guardians of the Galaxy #5 Variant Cover. 2013.
Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on bristol board with digital color, 11 × 17″.
Step by step post
Guardians of the Galaxy #2. 2013.
Ink(ed by Joe Rivera) on bristol board, 11 × 17″.
Step by step post

Last, but not least, this is the team in their current incarnation. As you can see, Iron Man (complete with space armor) is a temporary member of the team. Although this original art was drawn traditionally, the final image was helped along digitally — the nebula-filled background was painted in Photoshop.