Sufjan Stevens’ landmark album Illinois almost got the multi-instrumentalist in a bit of super-sized legal trouble, but he’s getting the last laugh a decade later. The original art for the 2005 release contained an illustration of Superman, who was included because his fictional stomping ground Metropolis was modeled after Chicago. Superman‘s publisher, DC Comics, sent Stevens’ record label a cease and desist letter for violating their copyright, and the Man of Steel was covered up with stickers of balloons, and later removed from future printings all together.
Now, Marvel — DC’s big rival and publisher of Spider-Man and The Avengers — is stepping in to help Stevens fill the gap on his album art and stick it to Supes. The 10th Anniversary “Blue Marvel Edition” of Illinois replaces Clark Kent with Blue Marvel, a Marvel superhero who was created in 2008 and plays an increasingly large role in their comic universe. Blue Marvel was drawn and added to the cover by original Illinois illustrator Divya Srinivasan.
The new edition will come out in early 2016 via Asthmatic Kitty. The vinyl will be available in two colors, in two colors “Antimatter Blue” and “Cape White,” and limited to 10,000 copies.
