Mark Millar—who you may know as the writer of Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service, and Starlight—has a new comic coming out Wednesday.
But it’s the cover art created by artist Sean Murphy that’s already stirring up chatter on social media.
The new Image Comics series Chrononauts follows two science geniuses on a time-traveling adventure, perhaps making it fitting that the cover of the first issue features an optical illusion that will be easy for most readers to miss.
The optical illusion can be found in the watch featured on the left side of the cover. While the majority of people will just see a broken watch, apparently some may see a green hourglass on a purple background.
Before Chrononauts illusion explained by @Sean_G_Murphy, what do you see in the middle of time-piece on left? pic.twitter.com/dYrkT8ccjV
— Millarworld (@mrmarkmillar) March 16, 2015
The creators explained the illusion on Twitter. According to Millar, Murphy made the illusion with the help of a neurologist and there’s no way to see anything in between the two.
Yes, most people see the broken watch-face with no hands. 1 in 15 see a diff picture entirely. Super-creative brain sees it differently.
— Millarworld (@mrmarkmillar) March 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/Sean_G_Murphy/status/577461126058872832
https://twitter.com/Sean_G_Murphy/status/577461992505606144
https://twitter.com/Sean_G_Murphy/status/577462448892076032
https://twitter.com/Sean_G_Murphy/status/577462655537004544
The illusion may not have gone quite as viral as that infamous dress, but it has still managed to cause some debate online. A few have said they can see the hourglass, including actor Nick Frost, while the majority just see the watch face. Others don’t think there’s an hourglass there to see at all.
https://twitter.com/nickjfrost/status/577422515359842304
@mrmarkmillar @Sean_G_Murphy all I can see is a broken clock face with no hands. This is like those magic eye pictures.I could never work em
— Stevie Robinson (@johnnyutah66) March 16, 2015
https://twitter.com/mattmattmaatt/status/577845793572388864
@mrmarkmillar @Sean_G_Murphy Definitely black and gold.
— David M Barnett (@davidmbarnett) March 16, 2015
No matter what you see in the watch face or think of the illusion, there’s no doubt it has succeeded in drawing attention to Millar and Murphy’s new series hitting shelves March 18.
H/T Digital Spy | Image via Mark Millar/Twitter