Christopher Chuckry, The Manitoban Illustrator Responsible For Colouring The Iconic Spiderman Cover

Christopher Chuckry has Coloured many of Marvels most popular comics such as Spiderman and X-Men.

In 2008, the election of US President Barack Obama captured the hearts of a nation and, everyone wanted to be a part of that historic moment. One of those people was the legendary creator of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee. Marvel Comics is one of the most iconic names in superheroes comics, movies and action figures.

To mark the historic moment in time, Marvel Comics cast President Obama on the front cover of their Spider-Man issue number 583. Throughout the years, there have been 17 US presidents to appear in Marvel Comics but never on the front cover until 2008.

To mark such a significant event in history, Marvel turned to one of their top illustrators Phil Jimenez to do the cover and veteran colourist Canadian Christopher Chuckry.

Chuckry is a professional illustrator from Manitoba who also happens to be a highly respected college instructor and a freelance artist.

Chuckry is no stranger to Marvel, he has worked on many comics for the industry giant and felt it was quite the honour to be chosen out of so many gifted colourists.

“The typical sales for The Amazing Spider-Man are about 70,000 copies per issue. Issue #583 sold over 350,000 copies and went to print five times. It was the highest-selling regular series book of the 2000s.” Several versions of this issue can be found on eBay for up to a $1000.

When Christopher is not illustrating for Marvel or teaching many of the future up and comers, you could find him weighing in on Manitoba’s current political climate through his many illustrations.

When asked Christopher, where does he get his ideas for his political illustration? He said, “they just write themselves.” Christopher’s illustrations bring light to some of the more questionable decisions made by the current Manitoba government.

“The cartoons tap into what people are feeling and gives them a bit of a chuckle to lighten up the mood in the pandemic.” Said Chuckry. He also noted, not all of his illustrations were meant to be funny, some are supposed to make you think. People are frustrated and feeling anxiety from the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chuckry recalls one of his first political illustrations was that of current Manitoba Premier Pallister holding a pair of scissors. Chuckry’s illustration was making light of the Premiers cuts to various programs. Since then he has produced many gems that have been shared hundreds and hundreds of times across multiple social media platforms.

Although Chuckry tries to keep a pulse on the current political climate, he has no intentions of seeking public office.

” Political illustrations is a passion of mine, plus it allows me to step away from the computer and go back to traditional media using water colours and ink.” Said Chuckry

If the right scenario should present itself to do political commentary that’s something he would give strong consideration, but for now, he will continue to do what he loves most and, that’s teaching and spending time with his wonderful family.

Check out more work from Christopher Chuckry

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