Unbelievable: $15,000 for MTG x Spider-Man Original Art

Last updated on July 28, 2025

Venom, Deadly Devourer | Illustration by Dan Dos Santos

“Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does what ever a spider can.
Is it cheap? No it's not.
Universes Beyond costs a lot.
Look out! Here comes the Spider-Man [art]!”

Final Fantasy and Lord of the Rings have proven that there's a premium on Universes Beyond Magic sets, and we're approaching Spider-Man‘s time in the spotlight. An auction of the original art of an upcoming Spider-Man card indicates that the UB tag is enough to raise prices on its own (if that wasn't already clear from all the Final Fantasy hubbub).

Venom, by Jesper Ejsing

Venom, Evil Unleashed | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

The original art for Venom, Evil Unleashed goes up for auction today, with a starting bid of $15,000. That's a pretty steep price for a piece of Magic: The Gathering art, but unlike Venom himself, it's not exactly out of this world.

Original Magic art for newer cards often sells in the $1,000-3,000 range, though as you can tell from sites like MTG.ART, the numbers are never that static. There are many factors that can boost those numbers.

• Is the piece by a prolific Magic artist (yes in the case of Ejsing)?
• Is it art of a well-known character, setting, etc? You can expect art for Urza, Mishra, or Nicol Bolas to run a bit more expensive than, say, some random legendary Draft uncommon. Venom's pretty damn popular.
• Is the art associated with a powerful or recognizable card? Venom, Evil Unleashed is a common from the upcoming set, so it's unlikely to make a big splash anywhere outside Limited, but that “recognizable” part is pulling its weight here.

Spider-Man's a household name. A friendly neighborhood name, if you will. It's a highly collectible property with countless fans, and collectors will chomp at the bit to have an original piece of art related to the IP. In this case, Eddie Brock's alternate ego Venom is probably the most recognizable character in the franchise aside from Peter Parker himself. As Jesper Ejsing himself says: “Getting to work on a Marvel character is an all time favorite of mine especially when it's someone like Venom.“

Venom, Evil Unleashed original art | Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

And just think: If you're the world's biggest Venom fan, you could have this 14in x 18in piece of original art hanging in your own house. Across from the toilet for maximum exposure, surely. It'll only cost you… a lot of money.

The auction begins at 6:00pm EST on Monday, July 28, with a starting bid of $15,000. That's already a hefty starting point, but don't expect it to stay that “low” for long. Odds are, this piece skyrockets when the bidding begins. Venom's just that popular folks.

Meet Jesper Ejsing

Game Knights Kickstarter Playmat – Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

Jesper Ejsing is a freelance artist from Copenhagen, Denmark, and a prolific Magic: The Gathering artist at that. He has one of the most recognizable styles in the game, to the point where you can tell a piece was illustrated by Ejsing without even looking at the artist credit. He has 276 credits on Scryfall dating back to his MTG debut in Lorwyn, where he contributed 24 pieces of art to the block.

He's known for very character-drive art, usually putting a creature or figure centerstage, often in an action pose of some sort. There's also a very light-hearted or even goofy approach to some of his art, as you can see on cards like Frantic Scapegoat, Teething Wurmlet, or Fearless Fledgling.

Some of his most recognizable cards include Fblthp, the Lost (the original art of which sold for $4,600), Thassa's Oracle, and Reliquary Tower. And of course, who can forget MTG Hall-of-Famer Colossal Dreadmaw?

Ejsing has also contributed art to World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons, and many more IPs, and Commander fans might even remember his collaboration with The Command Zone, where he illustrated their first one-of-a-kind Kickstarter playmat.

You can find more of his work on jesperejsing.com or follow the artist on Instagram, and check back to see how this Venom auction ends up going. If you want to get in on the bidding yourself, you can find the original post on Facebook's MTG Art Market group (it's private, so you'll need to request to join and wait for confirmation). And best of luck to anyone trying to snag some Spider-Man art! That Venom piece would look mighty fine above the towel rack, just saying.