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The Graphic Novel Part 1
Art by Scott Hampton
Welcome to Oz
About the Graphic Novel
Scott Hampton has adapted Gregory Maguire’s classic masterpiece Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, the inspiration for the Broadway show and now the major motion picture—in the first of a two-part series featuring gorgeous full-color illustrations by Scott Hampton.
While the long-running Broadway musical and major motion picture takes inspiration from this iconic novel, this is Oz exactly as Gregory Maguire wrote it; a story with dark edges that explores morality and ambition, love and friendship, and discovering one’s inner power.
Elphaba will become the Wicked Witch. She was born with emerald-green skin and like anyone different, she faces bigotry and a complete set of obstacles to her happiness. That is especially true in Oz, where superstition and magic are not strong enough to explain or overcome natural disasters of flood and famine. Still, Elphaba is smart, and by the time she enters Shiz University, she becomes a member of a charmed circle of Oz’s most promising young citizens.
Cover Art for Book 1 of
Wicked: The Graphic Novel
About the Artist
Scott Hampton was born in 1959 in High Point, North Carolina. In 1976, while still in his teens, Scott joined his brother Bo Hampton, working and learning under Will Eisner. This included some work on the groundbreaking A Contract with God: and Other Tenement Stories (Baronet Books, October 1978).
Scott's first professional solo comics work was the three-page story "Victims," published in Warren Publishing's Vampirella #101 in 1981. Scott's next significant project was Silverheels from Pacific Comics in 1983-4. Those issues were considered the first continuing painted comic.
Since then, Scott has worked as a freelance comic book artist. He is known for his diversity, having illustrated such iconic characters as Batman, Sandman, Black Widow, Hellraiser, and Star Trek, in addition to work on his creator-owned projects such as The Upturned Stone.
His recent works include Spookhouse, released in 2004 by IDW Publishing, in which he adapted his favorite ghost stories into sequential form, and Batman: Gotham County Line from DC comics in 2005. Scott is co-creator of Simon Dark with writer Steve Niles for DC Comics and has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.
Hampton is currently completing Book 2 of Gregory Maguire's Wicked into a graphic novel, scheduled to be published in March of 2026.
The Artist’s Process…
Astute readers, who now have the graphic novel in their hands, might notice that some of the printed pages do not completely match the the originals that will be shown on this site.
I spoke with Scott to ask about his process.
“I found myself drawn, pun not intended, to varying techniques, depending on the story beats and scenes. Sometimes, I would paint the entire page as panel-to-panel continuity like a normal comic page.
At other times, I would create a master background that I could repeat for different angles. In those instances, I would then paint the figures separately and bring them together with the background as layers in Photoshop. It’s a little like cell animation.”
It is probably no mystery that Scott was on a very short deadline to finish 176 pages in 8 months. To aid his speed, Scott could use the same painted background to produce multiple images and place them on the page in the form he wanted to tell the story. That is why you will see some images of Ephelba and Glinda that appear to have no background. Using photoshop he places them where he wants them. Still, there are some pages that are complete on one shet.
A perfect example of this is the graphic novel’s cover. The image, as printed, does not exist as a standalone piece. There were two proposed covers for the graphic novel: the blue one shown above and a second featuring Oz. The editors and production team at Little-Brown/William Morrow Paperbacks decided they liked components of each cover and combined those to make the finished cover. There is no single image that looks like the actual cover.
Most of the art is done on 2-ply Bristol board in pencil then painted with mixed media.
For comment, questions, or inquiries, contact info4wgn@gmail.com
Coming Soon - Original Art for Sale
Sales and Shipping
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1. Sales are on a first come, first served basis.
2. Prices do not include shipping or insurance (if desired) and are added to the final price
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4. The item(s) will be shipped, and tracking info sent to buyer once payment clears.
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Wicked: The Graphic Novel Original Art
Own a Piece of Wicked Artwork
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Wicked: The Graphic Novel Part 1, with art by Scott Hampton, will be released on March 11, 2024. Originals from the book will be available for sale on this site.
