Friday, June 4, 2010

Batman and Invincible



Invincible is a character I will have to read more of. I picked up his crossover with Spider-Man in Marvel Team-Up and got a kick out of it. Robert Kirkman is a pretty dependable writer and the relationship with his father, Omni-Man seems interesting to me. Once I finish my unread stack of Essentials and Showcases, I might just go out and pick up some of the Invincible collections.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Batman and Mogo


Here was a case where a good friend of mine tried to stump me with a request. However, the planet sized Green Lantern member was always a favorite concept for me (ever since the great Alan Moore tale, Mogo Doesn't Socialize), so I was happy to take up the challenge. One thing I am proud of on this cover is that it is one of the few ones where I had to create a logo for the guest star, and I think it came out well.

The Green Lantern Corps is a great concept in that they fully embrace the weirdness of sentient forms in the universe and have members of every shape and size. I am eagerly awaiting the Martin Campbell directed Green Lantern movie not only to see the main character in live action, but the more alien side characters such as Kilowog, Tomar Re, Abin Sur, and so forth. It should be great fun and hopefully turn a lot more people onto this cool property.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Batman and Mera



With so few female characters in comics that aren't simply feminine versions of pre-existing male characters, it has been a shame how under-utilized Mera has been, especially with her cool hard water powers. Fortunately, it seems that Geoff Johns agrees with that, because he gave Mera her biggest spotlight in decades in the Blackest Night mini-series. She is continuing to stay in focus with the current bi-weekly Brightest Day series as well. Hopefully a new Aquaman series will follow and she will be able to continue to shine.

Once again, I am glad to be able to provide a cover that is 100% Aparo artwork. His run on Aquaman is the best that character has ever looked, in my opinion.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Batman and Blade



I never paid much attention to Blade until the first Wesley Snipes film, which I quite liked. It's a great example of how a minor character can really break out if given the right script, director and actor. The Sequel was fun too, although I felt the third one lost a step. The success in films hasn't translated to more popularity in comics, however - perhaps this is a character that is better suited to live action, or maybe it is a matter of just not finding the creative team that clicks yet.

The B&B cover I used as a template here is by Nick Cardy, who for my money was the best DC cover artist in the Silver/Bronze Age (Gil Kane holds that honor for Marvel). Cardy, along with John Romita Sr. also drew some of the most beautiful women in comics.

Monday, May 31, 2010

Batman and Mephisto



One thing I like about Marvel's stable of villains is that they have a lot that are considered line-wide villains. At DC, once you get past Darkseid, there aren't too many villains that can make that claim. Dr. Doom started with the FF, but he has had major story lines with many other big guns (and not so big guns) of the Marvel Universe. Thanos, Kingpin and the Wrecking Crew will pop up in a wide variety of titles. Mephisto is in this group as well. I have read cool stories pitting him against the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, The Fantastic Four, even Daredevil. And of course one very notorious story with Spider-Man that is still quite controversial. So it was only a matter of time before he vexed Batman...

The Mephisto on this cover is by Marvel legend John Buscema - probably the artist I most relate to the company because of the How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way! book that I spent many many hours of my youth studying.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Batman and Lost



This one is truly a Lost issue! It was another request that I didn't think I could fulfill, but then inspiration hit. One of my more complicated covers as there are 19 separate images that went into it.

I know some people were disappointed with the finale of Lost but I found it to be very satisfying. I was more into the character arcs in the show than the scientific reasons for everything so the fact that every question was not answered did not bother me. It was enough for me to know that the island was the source for good and evil in the world, I did not need to know exactly why or how it was created. Kind of the way The Force was used in Star Wars, where I knew basically what it was and what it can do without knowing its origins - and once they tried to explain it with "midichlorians" in the prequels, almost nobody was satisfied anyway.

I look forward to future work by most of the cast of Lost, they have proven themselves to be talented and engaging actors. I am sure it will be some time before we see a series quite as engrossing.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Batman and Marvel Zombies



When I first heard of the Marvel Zombies mini-series, it sounded like a silly concept and I didn't bother to pick up the issues. I then read a bunch of positive reviews as well as some of Robert Kirkman's other comics work and decided to give it a shot. I am glad I did because I really got a kick out of it, as well as the sequel. It has a nice gallows humor to it and Sean Phillips knows how to draw gore without it having too much of a gross out factor. I haven't tried the later series with different creative teams, hopefully Marvel isn't stretching the concept too thin.

Batman and G.I. Joe



I did not follow the G.I. Joe comics or the cartoon, but I have a fond memory of the action figures from my childhood. The real ones from the 70's, not those tiny ones that came out later on. I liked all the cool accessories like scuba gear and of course was a fan of the kung-fu grip!

Not having followed the newer version I don't know how faithful the movie last summer was. It kind of surprised me. I guess I went in with low expectations because even though the acting was pretty weak and the plot preposterous, I found the film to be big dumb fun. I think I could go along with is because it didn't seem to take itself very seriously. Sometimes its OK to just turn your brain off and watch things go splodey.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Batman and Mary Marvel



A pretty simple one this time out, but I love both of the images so much that I didn't want to mess with this cover too much. I believe they are both originally from covers to Amazing Heroes, one of the earlier comic-themed magazines.

Mary Marvel, along with the rest of the Marvel Family has seen better days. For some reason DC seems intent on corrupting her and frankly that is a plot element that I am quite tired of. Currently, Shazam has taken away Mary and Billy's powers and the characters are getting a bit of a rest. When they do return, I hope it will be in their more traditional appearances and personalities.

Mary in this cover was illustrated by the late, great Don Newton - a stellar artist taken far too young. I loved his work on the Shazam characters in World's Finest. He was also known for his rendition of Batman.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Batman and Mar-Vell



Captain Marvel was a character that I discovered in a somewhat backwards manner. The first story of his that I read was The Death of Captain Marvel Graphic Novel. I then sought out his solo series as well as his guest appearances. I always liked his look, he has one of those simple silver age style costumes that really appeal to me.

Marvel recently brought the character back, only to later reveal that it was a Skrull impostor, which is just as well since the stories he was given were less than memorable. Mar-Vell had one of the great send-offs in comics, and a full return would probably dilute that. Still, it would be nice to see him return in some "untold stories".

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Batman and Man-Thing



Man-Thing actually gave me the chills as a kid. First of all, the fact that he looked so darn freaky! Sure, he had "Man" on his name, but of all the various swamp monsters in comicdom, Ted Sallis' alter ego looked the most inhuman. Also his hook - whosoever knows fear will burn at his touch - was a great one in that it affected the good guys just as much as the bad guys.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Batman and Magnus: Robot Fighter



Another old-school cover here. Magnus is a character that has seen many different iterations over the years. I went with his more classic look because those old covers of his with their pulpy look made a real impression on me. Magnus, Like Doctor Doom, is so cool that even the fact that he wears a skirt does not diminish his awesomeness.

Batman and Bucky



You have to admit, Bucky is better protected than Robin, at least. Bucky is of course back now and in the role of Captain America. Steve Rogers has also returned and while he hasn't taken his mantle back yet, with a movie on the horizon it is only a matter of time. Hopefully Marvel will find a purpose for Bucky Barnes that will allow him to continue to flourish.

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.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Batman and Green Lantern (Alan Scott)



I always thought that it was a neat fact that the original Green Lantern also had Gotham City as his base of operations. I wished that there would have been a golden age story building upon that concept. Alan Scott has one of those costumes that shouldn't work, but somehow does. The other reason I always like this character is that because of where he wears his ring, I know he is a fellow southpaw - not too many confirmed left handed superheroes out there!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Batman and Madman



I am a huge Mike Allred fan, his art style is at once modern and retro. I knew that any cover with his most popular creation would have to be reflective of the innovation that he brings to his stories. This was one of the most fun times I have had making one of these.

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.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Batman and KISS


This was another request that was well off of the beaten path, but when I remembered the great tabloid cover featuring Batman and his four greatest villains, I figured I would give it a shot. It's a simple cover, but the oddity of the team up makes up for that hopefully.

I remember being entranced by Kiss as a kid - they seemed kind of like superheroes to me with their makeup, outfits, and over the top attitude. I was at the perfect age for all of that stuff to really resonate. It didn't hurt that they had a bunch of catchy hits as well.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Batman and Kid Flash



This one is admittedly a less than successful attempt, It was an early try and in retrospect, I should have looked for better source material. Still, I do like the concept of the team up and it would have been fun to see for real.

DC has been all about legacy characters and passing iconic names from one character to another. I usually prefer the guys I grew up with to retain their titles, but with The Flash it was a different story - instead of a new character, only recently introduced for the purpose of taking on the mantle, we had in Wally West a - sidekick who had been there all along with the same powers and ready to step in. It felt a lot more natural.

Now, in this post-CSI world, Barry Allen is relevant again and back to life, so where does that leave Wally? I hate to see him treated as a lame duck after so many years of great chracter growth, even though I am a big Barry Allen fan as well.

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