Showing posts with label Marvel Comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marvel Comics. Show all posts

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Batman and Aunt May



This was a relatively simple one. I didn't even need to change the word balloons, just adding in the figure of May gave the cover scene a whole new meaning. I have to admit that I was in kind of a cruel mood when I created this.

Aunt May really is one of the most enduring and unique supporting characters. She always made such a nice juxtaposition with the nasty antagonists in Spider-Man's stories. I quite enjoyed all that Rosemary Harris brought to the role in the movies, hopefully the rebooted franchise will find someone equally skilled at the role.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Batman and Machine Man



This was an early cover, and I think it is pretty rough around the edges. I really like the guest star though - Machine Man is one of my favorite C-List Marvel characters. His self titled series may not have lasted long but at least through his guest appearances with Spider-Man, the Hulk and The Thing, he maintained a presence through the bronze age, and I always sought out his appearances. His 4-Issue mini series is a gem, and my first introduction to the work of Barry Windsor Smith. I haven't followed any of his recent adventures since Warren Ellis got his hands on him in Nextwave, but from what I have seen he doesn't even seem like the same character I loved back in the day.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Batman and Kitty Pryde



Kitty Pryde has always been an interesting character in that she was always depicted as a "regular girl" in the midst of so many statuesque glamor gal superheroes. We met her as an insecure kid in the pages of Uncanny X-Men and have been able to watch her mature in her emotions and abilities over the years.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Batman and Ka-Zar



Ka-Zar was basically a Tarzan Knock of at first glance, but the twist of his locale, the Savage Land - set in the present day with Dinosaurs alongside the usual jungle denizens - was enough to make him stand out. I liked that he could appear alongside all of the more traditional Marvel heroes one minute, and have a lone jungle story in the next. His guest appearances were my main exposure to his adventures, I loved his tales with the X-Men and Spider-Man.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Batman and Jonah Hex



Jonah Hex was always my favorite of the various western stars. I was looking forward to the upcoming film adaptation, but after watching the trailer I am not filled with confidence. They only went half way with the make-up (perhaps trying to avoid comparisons with Two-Face) and Hex seems to have the ability to speak with the dead.

I think a better bet will be the Jonah Hex short feature included as an extra on the forthcoming Batman: Under the Red Hood DVD. The Spectre short on the last JLA DVD was awesome so I have high hopes for this one.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Batman and J. Jonah Jameson



You guessed it, I was in a goofy mood again and came up with this one. You have to admit though, if you saw this issue on the stands, you would have to pick it up and leaf through it!

J. Jonah Jameson is one of the greatest supporting characters ever in comics. While being a constant thorn in Spider-Man's side, Stan Lee also gave him an underlying decency and strong journalistic code beneath all his bombast and bluster. You never know if you are going to be rooting for him or against him when a story starts, and that makes for a great character.

J.K. Simmons portrayal of the Daily Bugle Publisher remains one of the most faithful comic characters ever brought to screen. Whoever takes on the role in the rebooted film franchise has big shoes to fill!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Batman and Iron Man



Here's a timely cover with the big sequel opening up this past weekend. I featured Iron Man wearing my all time favorite armor here, the classic red & gold with the widow's peak helmet. As much as I love the cool armor that Jon Favreau has been using for his films, I was really hoping that we would get a suit closer to this classic look for a scene or two.

I liked Iron Man 2 a lot - maybe not as much as the first one, but that was a nearly perfect superhero film so that doesn't surprise me. The acting across the board was well done and the action scenes were great. I did feel that the villains could have posed a bit more of a threat, they seemed to get dispatched relatively easily. Anyway, I can't wait for the next few Marvel movies and then the eventual ensemble piece, The Avengers!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Batman and Iceman



Iceman was a no brainer with all the Mr. Freeze related covers to work from. As it happens, I am a big fan of the character so I was happy to work on this one. He has such a pure and simple look and concept, it was easy for me as a kid to get into his stories and imagine myself in his adventures during some of those cold New England winter weekends.

Iceman gained a little more notoriety with his inclusion in the Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoon back the early 80's. There's another reason that I was a fan of the character - that show was appointment television for me. As cheesy as it was, it was still the best you could get for animated superheroes at the time.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Batman and Beta Ray Bill



Beta Ray Bill has one of the coolest character designs ever. It doesn't seem like it would work, but it does. Walt Simonson did a great job with him and gave him a great introduction - literally smashing on to the scene in that Iconic cover from his first appearance in Thor. I was happy as a reader that despite initial appearances he turned out to be a god guy, and that he stayed on as a supporting character for a while.

One of the nice surprises in the Planet Hulk Direct to DVD Animated flick was that due to rights issues, the Silver Surfer was replaced with Beta Ray Bill. It was very cool to finally see him animated, and his scenes are my favorite part of the movie.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Batman and Howard The Duck



This was the first cover I made featuring a non DC character. I figured if I was going to try for a team up nobody would expect to see in B&B, that I might as well go for broke. Besides, a good friend made the request and I didn't want to disappoint him. Howard started as Steve Gerber's commentary on, well whatever he felt like tackling from month to month and was definitely a product of his times. What I liked was the the series was set firmly in the Marvel Universe, it was interesting to see this funny animal character hobnob with the likes of Spider-Man, Man-Thing and the Defenders.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Batman and Hercules



Hercules has always been a fun character and I am happy to see that he has gotten a higher profile over the past couple of years. He is appealing in that he is one of the few superheroes that seems to truly enjoy his line of work, and that is refreshing as a reader. I think it was a good idea to give him a sidekick in Amadeus Cho, as he is the most effective when he has a straight man to work off of.

There are certain characters in which I hear a particular voice in my mind when I read their dialogue. With Hercules, the voice of John Rhys-Davies (Gimli in The Lord of the Rings and Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark) seems to fit perfectly.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Batman and Hawkeye



Hawkeye has always been a great character, but he has had a rough go of it for the past several years. Killed off, brought back to life but in another identity, then watching a villain take over his persona... It's been a frustrating time to be a Hawkeye fan. This looks to be changing as he is about to begin a new self titled series, finally back in costume and alongside Mockingbird. I am not that familiar with the artist or writer, but I do like the character, so I will give it a try and hope for the best.

I heard a rumor that actor Jeremy Renner may be playing the role of Hawkeye in the upcoming Avengers film. I don't know how true that is, but after seeing him in The Hurt Locker, I think it is a pretty solid choice for the role.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Batman and Doc Samson



This one I made just today and since we have already passed the appropriate spot in the alphabet, up it goes. Doc Samson was another of Marvel's C-listers that I always liked as a kid. I thought his job as a psychologist was a nice juxtaposition with his gamma produced strength and that he had a cool costume. There have been redesigns of his outfit over the years, but nothing tops his original look.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Batman and Godzilla



When I got this request I though that there was no way I would be able to fulfill it. But then I checked around and I found an issue of the 70's Marvel Godzilla series that would work by mixing it with a B&B cover that originally co-starred Swamp Thing. I was glad to do the hunting because is reminded me what a wonderfully offbeat series it was.

I have read that Godzilla is about to be Americanized and updated once again. I hope the filmmakers learned from the last attempt. They strayed too far from the original design and the monster spent too much of the movie hiding, giving up screen time to less interesting smaller versions of himself. The film Cloverfield showed that you can have an effective giant monster movie with a reasonable budget, so I have hope that we could still see Godzilla done right.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Batman and Ghost Rider



There was a lot of cleanup with this one so it took a while. There are certain characters that I think Jim Aparo could have really excelled on if given the chance, and Ghost Rider is one of them. I have alway's loved Aparo's versions of DC's more monstrous characters like Swamp Thing, the Demon and Two-Face, and I bet he could have offered up a nice dark moody version of Johnny Blaze.

The Ghost Rider flick was crippled by a weak script, laughable villains and a hammy performance by Nicholas Cage, but I have to admit I get a kick out of the scenes featuring the title character in action. That's a testament to how great the design of the character is. It's hard to make a flaming skull with a leather jacket and motorcycle not look cool!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Batman and Galactus



Galactus is yet another great creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. I loved the fact that he was not described as good or evil, but a force of nature. My young mind thought that the concept of this world-devourer was just about the coolest thing ever. When I heard thet the second FF film was going to tell the Silver Surfer/Galactus saga, I was more than pumped... and then all we got was a cloud in place of the majestic villain. I really don't know what the filmmakers were thinking with that one.

This is a very lopsided team up, but it's the very oddity of the pairing that made me want to give it a shot. I know I would surely like to read a tale inspired from this cover.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Batman and Elektra



Everybody wonders who would win in a fight between Batman and Captain America, but here is a battle that I would really like to see. Both a great fighters, Batman has better gadgets, but Elektra is willing to be more lethal.

It's too bad that the vast majority of people only know Elektra from the mis-cast performances of Jennifer Garner in her two film outings. Hopefully folks who had a little interest from Daredevil and her self titled film checked out the comics and got a chance to see the correct portrayal.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Batman and Doctor Strange



I was glad to be able to use a Paul Smith version of Dr. Strange here, as he is my favorite artist to work on the character. This was one of the easier covers to come up with - as soon as I saw the Batman cover, I knew exactly which character to use with it, it was just a matter of finding the right picture.

Dr. Strange has been somewhat quiet as of late, even giving up the Sorcerer Supreme title to Brother Voodoo. Hopefully a creative team will find a new approach on him soon and he will rise in prominence again. I did love the Marcos Martin illustrated mini series of a few years back.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Batman and Doctor Doom



This one took a very long time, but it was worth it. It was hard replacing Doom's former victims with Batman's buddies but fortunately a little cloud placement covered many a flaw.

If I had only a few of my covers that could be made into actual stories, this is one I would pick. I would love to see this match-up! Doctor Doom is my favorite Marvel villain, hands down! His diplomatic status, his relationship to Reed Richards, his look and especially his attitude serve to make him one of the most interesting characters ever in comics, a creation as great as the FF itself.

Of course, this is why I was so annoyed with the portrayal of Doom in the FF movies. All that great stuff to work from, and they turn him into a Donald Trump type. The actor didn't even bother to put on an accent! Hopefully there will be a more faithful version in the upcoming reboot.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Batman and Devil Dinosaur



This request had me stumped because I just couldn't fit the Jack Kirby artwork with a Batman cover to my satisfaction. Then I decided to see if I could find a Kirby Batman on the web. This turned out to be a lot harder than I though it would be. Kirby illustrated the two Super Powers minis series for DC in the 80's, but Batman was not featured prominently on the covers and I could not find many scans of the interiors. Finally I found a decent copy of the promotional ad to the series and was able to pull the Batman image off of there.

I never read the short lived Devil Dinosaur series, but from the covers it looks like a fun Kamandi style romp. Regardless of how much sense the stories might make, you gotta love the inventive visuals Kirby gave them.

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