Rachta Lin - Cover Girl

Written by Ross Locksley on 04 Jun 2025

Occasionally I like to spotlight talent on UKA and meeting artist Rachta Lin at MCM London Expo reminded me of just how long I've been following her career - almost a decade of art that's seen Rachta go from self-publishing her own work via Kickstarter (which includes artbooks, cards for Magic the Gathering, Inktober collections and now even her manga) she's crossed the line from fan favourite to much sought-after comic cover artist.

The UKA Rachta artbook collection which sits in our office for visitors to enjoy

Cover artists can make or break a book for sales, with the right artist able to shift thousands of copies - artists such as J Scott Campbell make their living through the practice. In fact I Have one cover of his (Chat Noir for Spider-Man) that is now worth £1,200, a considerable investment for the £50 I paid. It was a struggle to snag one too, as they sold out within a minute of going on sale!

Look on any comic book website and you'll see they always lead by desirable cover variants rather than just latest issue. Where "key issues" (which usually have a first appearance or mention of a character) used to be the main selling point, these days it's all about the cover, the most prized being limited runs and signed by the artist. Even remarques, where a cover artist might add a doodle, can massively increase the value of a book. Case in point, I can't stand the current Poison Ivy character (a poorly written, directionless eco-warrior and miles away from her original femme fatale persona), but as soon as Rachta had a cover on an issue (#23) it not only  has it made its way into my collection, but sits on proud display in my office. It'll never get read, but you'll have to pry it from my cold dead fingers!

Many artists start with sequential work, which has a much lower page rate by comparison, so attaining a position as a desirable artist from the start is an incredible achievement for Rachta. Comic companies will only invest in cover artists that sell, and clearly Rachta's unique style is winning over fans. With that in mind, I thought now might be a time to look back over some of the highlights of her work from the past 5 years.

With a penchant for pastel colours, dynamic poses and alluring expressions, there's something unique in the way it comes together - you can always spot a Rachta cover! She entered the comics arena officially in 2020 with Dynamite Comics Vampirella #16, a gorgeously dark take on the character that takes on all of Rachta's signature art elements:

Rachta Lin's debut comic cover

You have a gloriously detailed background, a buxom character in a devilishly relaxed position and all finalised with that hand-finished pastel colour technique that really stands out in a world of computer colouring. The way in which the fur is rendered on the bat, the viscosity of the dripping blood and the beautiful attention to lighting all come together to make a memorable cover - my own copy is graded and stored for prosperity, but as debuts go, this is quite the statement!

Understandably after this, demand seemed to take off and she has created numerous comic covers since for DC, Top Cow/Image, Dynamite and Udon, the latter of which led to two of my favourite comic covers, Sakura from Street Fighter and Lilith from Darkstalkers.

Stiff competition for drawing Udon's character roster of Capcom characters makes getting two quite impressive!

Now Udon probably have some of the best comic cover artists in the industry today, with enough material to pump out yearly artbooks featuring covers, guest art and pencils from the likes of Reiq, Panzer, Omar Dogan and Andrea Cofrancesco (aka Andrew Cockroach), so entering that arena is quite the achievement. Rachta easily holds her own with these two pieces, again managing to take iconic designs and still make them her own. 

The Sakura cover has some of my favourite details, such as the Ryu noodle stopper and the deer nibbling her shopping, which puts me in mind of Miyajima where a similarly hungry horned beastie snatched a curry bun out of my hand! The Lilith cover is a delightful perspective piece with spheres landed in hot lava, the moon large in the background and of course the requisite vampire bats flooding the skyline. 

When it comes to the DC covers, we've had Harley, Ivy and Black Canary covers for the girls, though nowhere is Rachta more represented than the Catwoman title, with numerous covers depicting the thieving femme fatale in some memorable outfits - being surrounded by Cat-man and money is probably my favourite, though the striking cover featuring a yellow background and kitties dressed as Gotham's finest (and least finest) always makes me smile. 

Her most recent work, which made its debut at New York City Comic Con, is for Absolute Batman #1, a book which has gained critical praise for its fresh approach, and for which Rachta's cover made the CBR Top 10 covers for the series. 

Harking back to the gothic vibes of her Vampirella cover, Absolute Batman is a complete beast here, the swirling reds reminiscent of Vampirella's bath of blood, the bat motif writ large in the characters, surrounding bats and even the monstrous wings of the gargoyle on which sits, again showcasing that lovely colouring technique. As you can see, I have mine signed!

Taking in to account the high inflation on Rachta's covers over on Ebay and other stores, it's worth nailing them on release if you can find them. Some of the covers have been exclusives for US Comic Stores, so you may have to do a bit of digging, but UK stockists like Forbidden Planet, Sad Lemon Comics and 7Ate9 can order in for you and frequently stock the regular variant covers she produces.

Meanwhile we'll look forward to more of her work as she gathers steam. We were delighted to have a meal with Rachta in London at the MCM London Comic Con, where she also delighted the crowd with her appearance on the artists stage:

Rachta Lin at MCM Comic Con

You can follow Rachta on social media:

Rachta Lin on X

Rachta Lin on Instagram