THE NEW MID-SPRING issue of Houston CityBook hits newsstands today, with a special cover.

A vibrantly colorful painting of Astro superstar Jeremy Peña by popular artist Israel Rodriguez heralds the first “Cool 100” issue of Houston’s premier city and lifestyle magazine. Both Peña and Rodriguez are among the 100.

“I wanted to create this portrait of Jeremy Peña with his signature heart hands,” says Rodriguez, “because I found his relationship with his mother relatable to my mother and her support of my career as an artist.”

The painting, acrylic on canvas, commissioned by CityBook, “turned out amazing,” adds the artist. “I received a lot of great feedback from local Astros fans. It has also opened doors for me to be able to support local youth groups by creating a similar larger scale mural of Peña.”

Rodriguez was pleased he made the Cool 100 list. “It’s an honor to be named one of the 100 coolest people in Houston because it validates my effort in placing a larger focus on expanding awareness of the art community in Houston, which all too often is overlooked.”

The Cool 100 is a new concept for the magazine, in which the coolest people in the city are ranked from one to 100. This list — and who made the No. 1 spot — won’t be revealed until the magazine reaches newsstands later today.

“We’ve been contemplating this for a while,” says CityBook Editor Jeff Gremillion of the list. “It’s a lot of work, and we open ourselves to criticism from folks who might not have made the list this year, or those who question the rankings. Ultimately, we just hope to start a conversation about how cool a city Houston itself is, because of the contributions of so many interesting and engaged people.”