Posted in: Comics, Original Artwork | Tagged: captain america, carlos pacheco, rick remender

Carlos Pacheco Captain America 25 Design, Prelim Art Sells for $25,000

A group of Carlos Pacheco's design and prelim original artwork for Captain America, including designs for the new costume for Sam Wilson as Captain America, has sold for $25,000.

ComicConnect has announced that it has brokered the sale of a set of preliminary and design artwork from 2014's Captain America #22-25 for artist Carlos Pacheco's son Alejandro Pacheco and the buyer, collector David Chao.  That storyline by Rick Remender and Pacheco culminates with Steve Rogers passing the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson and reveals a new costume for the character.  Sam Wilson first appeared as the Falcon in 1968's Captain America #117 by Stan Lee and Gene Colan. Both the concept and the design introduced in 2014 in Captain America #25 have been influential on the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently for Captain America: Brave New World, which hits digital on April 15 ahead of its release in stores on 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD on May 13, 2025.  The credits for the movie note that "The producers would like to recognize Rick Remender and Carlos Pacheco for their significant contributions to this film."

In a 2021 Twitter thread, Remender described the design process between himself and Pacheco for this now-iconic look. "A fun look at how Carlos Pacheco and I designed the new Captain America. First is Carlos' take. Then the rough I designed. Then Carlos' final design. Marvel wanted Sam to lose the wings but I fought to keep them and I'm glad I did. Way cooler with them. I took a ton of abuse for turning Sam into Captain America and had all sorts of insane people attack me so it's nice to see the hugely positive reaction to the use of my take on Sam and Captain America in the MCU. If it inspires some kids and makes a positive impact of any kind that does my heart a tremendous good."

Based on the process described by Remender, and the artwork he shows in that thread, Chao has acquired Pacheco's initial take on the costume as well as the finalized design (the version holding the shield and with wings retracted).  That's a nice set of bookends from the standpoint of a collector or historian. Along with the prelims for Captain America #22-24,  they would make for an excellent exhibit in Chao's hoped-for museum wing someday.  Notably, Alejandro Pacheco has also donated 371 works by his father that will be part of a rotating display under the title of "When Dreams Come True" as part of a permanent exhibit of Carlos Pacheco's work at the San Roque Contemporary Art Center in Spain.  Pacheco passed away in 2022 at the age of 60.

The sale was brokered by ComicConnect President Vincent Zurzolo and Original Art Consignment Director Micah Spivak. "The idea of honoring my father's legacy came to me a few months before meeting Vincent and his team," says Alejandro Pacheco. "When Captain America: Brave New World was released, Vincent reached out to ask if I had any material related to my father's work on Falcon becoming the new Captain America. My father was incredibly proud of being the artist responsible for giving the Falcon his new powers. We were fortunate enough to track down the original sketches for the Falcon design, and seeing them — both from a fan's perspective and as a son — was an incredible experience."

"I mostly collect historical pieces," adds buyer David Chao, "and I love the insight that this work gives into how Carlos Pacheco built the character. So much of the tradition of the comic-making method is getting lost. It's going digital, and things like coloring are being done more on computers. I'm hoping to someday collaborate on a museum wing that will preserve this kind of work, and people can see the paste-up and the Zip-a-Tone being applied. Otherwise, it's going to become a lost art."

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