SHAZAM! Sketch Cover!

 Here's a look at a recent SHAZAM! sketch cover commission! The final art was created using ink, colored pencil, and marker!

Lots of classic 1940s/50s comics art was used for the background panels!

1950 BATMAN Cover Recreation Painting!

  I always loved this famous action-packed BATMAN cover from 1950, as drawn by Win Mortimer.

I wanted to recreate it in a more realistic manner, so here it is, rendered in ink, marker, colored pencil, and crayon, with text elements added atop the art!

Click images below to enlarge!

 

New 1940 BATMAN #1 Sketch Cover! DC Comics!

 The folks at DC Comics have published an exciting facsimile reprint of BATMAN #1, from 1940, but this time fronted with a (mostly) blank sketch cover!

I couldn't resist the chance to create a sketch that evokes the "Golden Age" period and the feel of the BATMAN movie serials of the day...

Click images below to enlarge!

1948/1966 Riddler Sketch Cover! Batman!

Using a recent facsimile reprint of this famous comic book, I combined the cover to DETECTIVE COMICS #140 (which fronted the first 1948 comics appearance of the Riddler character), with a new sketch of the villain as he later appeared on the 1966 BATMAN TV show!

Yep, that's actor Frank Gorshin as the superfoe, in a wild reimagining of this famed Golden-Age comics cover!

All rendered in ink, marker, colored pencils, and crayon!

Click below to enlarge images!

1940s "Golden Age" Batman Sketch! DC Comics!

For this one, I was inspired by images from the first BATMAN stories, published in the late 1930s! Batman was first presented as a sleek, lithe, and "bare-bones" kinda character then, with a simple costume that was soon to evolve...

Below: The first apearance of "The Bat-Man," in a 1939 issue of DETECTIVE COMICS!

I also wanted a simple stance for the character, based on the panel above, so I stared doodling, as you can see in the sketches below:

Below: The final pencils, ready for transfer to the board! I looked at the simple style of Batman's "hood," the odd angle of the ears, the early utility belt, incorporating all...

Below: The final inks, with the border and shadows added to the background...I wanted to use some kind of logo in the composition, and chose a modified 1966 BATMAN TV show logo! It was simple, stark, bold, and had the most drama!

SHAZAM! It's the Original Captain Marvel! DC Comics!

Another fun illustration for my own amusement and education!  Here is the long-time fave, Captain Marvel, in a dramatic standing pose! I was inspired by the corner box illo of Marvel Comics' 70s sensation, THE HUMAN FLY, since both characters wear somewhat similar costumes, including that cool half-cape!

Using the FLY pose and cape as an inspiration, I next sketched out the CAPTAIN MARVEL figure in pencil, scanned that, made some notes and changes in PhotoShop, then printed the pencil art to size (below left). Once inked and finished (below right), I re-scanned into PhotoShop to begin the computer coloring!

And, here (below) is the colored version! Altho this does have some modeling and gradated coloring, I tried to keep the hues fairly simple and bright, to reflect the character's attitude! I found a logo, fiddled a bit with it's coloring, and added it as a final touch! Did you notice the minor changes I made to the good Captain's outfit? Maybe it's that FLY influence again! Click all images to enlarge!

Al Bigley "Doctor Occult" Illustration! DC Comics!

I really love this drawing! Done for a fan, this is a commissioned ink piece of a 1940s comic book character called "Dr. Occult," a two-fisted superhero who relied on his trusty guns as much as his other-worldly powers! Click to enlarge!