José Delbo is an Argentinian born artist who published his first work at the age of only 16. Inspired by the American cowboy westerns, he moved to the States and began work on classics like Billy the Kid, Judge Colt and the Lone Ranger. Then in the 70’s, he brought a host of television shows to comic book form with titles such as the The Twilight Zone, The Brady Bunch, Hogan’s Heroes, Buck Rogers, The Monkees and the Mod Squad. Back in the 80’s, long before the modern superhero dominated the big screen, he worked for the likes of DC and Marvel Comics and penciled the published adventures of Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Arrow, The Transformers and The Thundercats.
Manchester City FC is an English Premier League club initially founded in 1880 as St Mark’s West Gorton. It officially became Manchester City FC in 1894 and has since then gone onto win the European Cup Winners’ Cup, seven League Championship titles, including five Premier League titles (2012, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021), and six FA Cups. Manchester City FC is one of 10 clubs comprising the City Football Group and counts New York City FC and Melbourne City FC among its sister clubs. Under manager Pep Guardiola, one of the most highly decorated managers in world football, the Club plays its domestic and UEFA Champions League home fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, a spectacular 55,000 seat arena that City have called home since 2003.
Heroes of Manchester
A legend in the world of comics and now NFTs, José Delbo’s newest series of artworks is inspired by the concept of football, bringing his unique artistic direction to Heroes of Manchester. In collaboration with Manchester City Football Club, the collection depicts City’s five captains as superheroes, bringing together football and comics in rare digital art.
The upcoming collection, hand-drawn by Delbo, comprises five pieces. Heroes of Manchester and Heroes of the Pitch portray Manchester City’s captain group – Fernandinho, Ruben Días, Kevin de Bruyne, İlkay Gündoğan, and Kyle Walker. Hidden behind the light blue shirts, they possess great superpowers within. Each player is unique, but together they form the ultimate team, which work together to achieve many great victories. The pieces will also be available as still images.
The artwork illustrates the transition of the captains, each with their own unique superpower – shifting effortlessly from the conformity of the pre-match line-ups to the flare of on-pitch play. Audiences revere the superheroes that represent Manchester City as they battle for the biggest honours in Football.
“During my 70 year career as a comic artist I have had the wonderful opportunity to illustrate so many of the superheroes we know and love. But it is always a special thing to be able to dream up your own superheroes. Growing up in Argentina, football is part of my DNA. So when I was thinking through what kind of superheroes football players could become, I thought a lot about the traits of footballers: speed, strength, vision and let my mind run wild with those concepts.
To me, professional athletes are somewhat like real life superheroes. They train their whole lives to perform at the peak of human ability and are always in the spotlight. People love them or hate them just like superheroes in the comics. So for me, turning Manchester City’s captains into superheroes with the powers that the players possess on the pitch just made sense. It’s wonderful that we are able to create works like this digitally and on the blockchain to be able to reach an audience all around the world. I am very grateful for the opportunity to have been able to work with Manchester City on this drop and create art for their fans and my own!”
-José Delbo
Heroes of Manchester
Editions: One
Pricing: Accepting Offers Only
*A 24 hour auction will ensue once reserve price is met. Owner will receive an animated edition of Heroes of the Pitch.
Heroes of Manchester – Still
Editions: 10
Pricing: $2500/edition
*All editions offered at a flat price – First come, first buy.
Heroes of the Pitch
Editions: 5
Pricing: $5000/edition
*All editions offered at a flat price – First come, first buy.
Heroes of the Pitch – Still
Editions: 15
Pricing: $1000/edition
*All editions offered at a flat price – First come, first buy.
COLLECTOR’S DRAW
A special collector’s draw for all current owners of José Delbo and Manchester City artworks on MakersPlace, including all collaborations. Opt in at drop time for your chance to win one of 20 limited edition Manchester City – The Heroes artworks.
Manchester City – The Heroes
Editions: 20
Pricing: $0
*Collector’s draw for all current owners of José Delbo and Manchester City artworks on MakersPlace, including all collaborations.
About MakersPlace
MakersPlace is the premier NFT marketplace for digital art. Launched in 2018, MakersPlace utilizes blockchain technology to facilitate the sale of authentic, original digital artwork, ensuring rarity and ownership for both creators and collectors. MakersPlace has emphasized accessibility since its inception, and has attracted a large mainstream audience as the first NFT marketplace to accept both cryptocurrency (ETH) and non-cryptocurrency (USD) payments, which it facilitates through crypto wallet and credit card transactions, respectively. MakersPlace helped catapult digital art and NFTs onto the global stage, with the historic sale of Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5000 Days for $69.3 million in partnership with Christie’s auction house in March 2021 – the record price for any digital artwork. Our mission is simple: to enable a vibrant future for digital creativity.
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