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/
Source: Comics Price Guide
