streets of gotham | DC Comics

GOTHAM CITY SIRENS artist Guillem March's cover creation process

It's not a stretch to say Guillem March is one of the most talented artists in the Batman group. Doubly talented when it comes to creating compelling and great-looking covers. So, it was a no-brainer to suggest having him chat on the blog about just what his process is. Especially when the very talented Bat-editors Mike Marts and Janelle Siegel send me some pretty art to post. So, here's his take on the creation of GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #8. Take it away, Guillem:

When I was thinking about a concept for this cover, I focused on Poison Ivy since the issue is about her. I had the idea of a frontal closeup of the face. I like face close-ups and I´ve drawn others, like the covers to Oracle #2 or Gotham City Sirens #2. In this case I went further and the face is so big that it´s only shown partially. It´s a very simple idea, but I don´t remember many covers like this, and that´s the point--making something new and eye catching! I made some layouts of this idea, some of them with additional elements to make the other Sirens appear in the final image.

Once editor Mike Marts and Artistic Director Mark Chiarello had selected one of the layouts, I decided the technique I´d use for it. Sometimes I do painted covers, and sometimes I follow the typical process of penciling, inking and coloring by computer. For this cover I did the same as for the Gotham City Sirens #3 cover, a painted illustration in gray wash, with a plain color applied on it by computer. I drew the face on the back of the DC regular paper so I don´t have any blue guides on it. It was a little bit of a challenge for me, as I´m not used to painting such an oversized view of something that is usually only a few millimeters in the interior art, and it´s easy to lose the sense of proportion. The leaves falling were drawn separately so I could then compose the whole image better by computer.

The last step of coloring had no complications, but has a vital importance for the final result. While coloring I noticed the huge iconic content that the colors of Poison Ivy have. The gray wash shows a woman´s face, but green skin and red hair means Poison Ivy with no doubt, without needing to put the leaves on it.

Tags:

Batman, batman reborn, guillem march, janelle siegel, Michael Marts, paul dini, streets of gotham

Take a look at Dustin Nguyen’s SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #10 cover

STREETS OF GOTHAM artist Dustin Nguyen gets downright pastoral on the variant cover to SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #10, from writers James Robinson and Greg Rucka with artist Pete Woods. Nothing I write here can really do it much justice, beyond saying it’s a fine piece of work. So why not scroll down and see for yourself?

SUPERMAN: WORLD OF NEW KRYPTON #10 hits in December.

Tags:

Batman, batman reborn, dustin nguyen, Greg Rucka, James Robinson, new krypton, paul dini, streets of gotham, Superman, Superman: World of New Krypton

Start your day off with two Bat-covers

Yesterday we showed off some pages from tomorrow's issue of BATMAN STREETS OF GOTHAM. But why stop there? We've got a double dose of Dini-penned Bat-books for you today, including the cover to GOTHAM CITY SIRENS #8 by Guillem March and BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM #7, featuring artist Dustin Nguyen's take on Manhunter.

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Tags:

Batman, batman reborn, dustin nguyen, gotham city sirens, guillem march, manhunter, marc andreyko, paul dini, streets of gotham

Happy Monday. Have some cool Dustin Nguyen art

Yeah, yeah. Back to the grind. What could make starting the working week again a bit better? How about a STREETS OF GOTHAM cover by Dustin Nguyen? Sure, it won't teleport you back home to bed, but it sure is pretty to look at.

Tags:

Batman, dustin nguyen, paul dini, streets of gotham

Some notes from the Bat-office

Hello there, Bat Nation! As BATMAN REBORN kicks into high gear, I just wanted to send a quick note to you all--a friendly reminder--to run (don’t walk!) to your local comic shop this coming Wednesday for two spectacular debuts!

First up we have DETECTIVE COMICS STARRING BATWOMAN. Writer Greg Rucka and artist JH Williams III have been pouring their hearts and souls into this comic over the past several months--from the very first page you’ll see what we mean. You won’t want to miss this first adventure, which unveils a new villain for Batwoman to face.

And if one story isn’t enough for you, fret not--we have not one, but (count ‘em!) TWO stories in DETECTIVE COMICS each month. Following the lead feature is THE QUESTION, written by the very busy Greg Rucka and illustrated by Cully Hamner. Renee Montoya and her inquisitive alter ego take center stage each month in this second feature.

Next up we have the series debut of GOTHAM CITY SIRENS, featuring Catwoman, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn! This new series is written by a guy named Paul Dini--perhaps you’ve read his work in DETECTIVE or BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM. And this series is beautifully illustrated by Guillem March, whose work you may have seen in GOTHAM GAZETTE, or in last year’s BATMAN/DETECTIVE “Last Days of Gotham” two-part crossover.

And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg…Phase Two of BATMAN REBORN kicks in later this year, with the return of two long-time favorites--the all-new BATGIRL series in August, and the all-new AZRAEL series in October!

Thanks for reading!

Tags:

azrael, batgirl, batman reborn, batwoman, cully hamner, detective comics, dustin nguyen, gotham city sirens, Greg Rucka, guillem march, j.h. williams, Michael Marts, paul dini, streets of gotham, the question

A few Batman links of note for Thursday

June is a pretty Bat-centric month, so why not tailor one of these handy link-blog posts to the Dark Knight?

• In addition to picking up The Source's very own GOTHAM CITY SIRENS and STREETS OF GOTHAM previews, IGN also debuted paged from the first issue of Chris Yost and Ramon Bach's RED ROBIN and Judd Winick and Ed Benes' BATTLE FOR THE COWL epilogue in BATMAN #687. That'll eat up a chunk of time today, huh?

• And, in case you missed it, Chip Kidd announced plans for an upcoming Batman project. We'll have more details on the project as we get closer to launch.

Tags:

Batman, Battle for the Cowl, chip kidd, chris yost, dustin nguyen, ed benes, gotham city sirens, guillem march, judd winick, paul dini, ramon bachs, red robin, streets of gotham, Tony Daniel

A first look at the MANHUNTER co-feature

One of the co-features announced recently was MANHUNTER, from writer Marc Andreyko and the very talented Georges Jeanty. The new series, appearing monthly in the new BATMAN: STREETS OF GOTHAM title hitting in July, finds Kate Spencer in Gotham City, now the District Attorney of Batman's city. How will that play out? Unclear. But we do have a first look at Jeanty's art for the series, from pencils to finished colors, for you to take a look at.

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Tags:

georges jeanty, kate spencer, manhunter, marc andreyko, streets of gotham

A day in the life of the BATMAN Group Editor...

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Computer’s on, the day begins… 45 emails overnight, argh. Start with the easy ones first. No, wait—Executive Editor Dan DiDio is pulling the Bat Group down into his office for an urgent meeting. Topic: BATGIRL.

Just emerged from Dan’s office. Decided the fate of several characters. As usual, we created more questions then we set out to answer, but hey—that’s the fun part of the job. I’m surprised we ended up where we did, but WOW. Can’t wait to actually start on the title.

Back to the emails… confirmation that BATTLE FOR THE COWL #2 made it safely to the printer. Phew. That’s a relief. We just made it in time. Tony Daniel drew twelve pages in five days! Issue looks great… Jeremy Haun completed his final page of BATTLE FOR THE COWL: ARKHAM ASYLUM—and he saved the best page for last—readers will think of the LOST map when they see this page… Heard from that New York Times best-selling fantasy author I’ve been speaking to. She wanted to check in on the artwork of the hardcover we’re doing… Oh yeah—also received new artwork from Frank Quitely on BATMAN & ROBIN #2. Truly amazing artwork.

Got through emails… on to the phone calls. Andy Kubert to run over DETECTIVE #853 balloon placements. Pete Tomasi to talk about the OUTSIDERS roster issues. Tony Daniel to discuss plot notes on BFTC #3 and his AMAZING cover to BATMAN #688… DCU Publicity Manager Alex Segura and Senior Story Editor Ian Sattler stop in for meeting with IGN.com to discuss “the wall”… have Neil Gaiman’s lettering corrections come in yet? Must check with Janelle.

Have to push back color deadlines for SGT. ROCK #5 and ARKHAM ASYLUM… more BATGIRL discussions… have I eaten lunch yet?

Received RED ROBIN cover sketches from Francis Manapul—three great designs to choose from…should we have the camera looking down at the grave or up from inside it? Also received final colors on Freddie Williams RED ROBIN cover… talked to Paul Dini and Dustin Nguyen about cover to STREETS OF GOTHAM #3—too risky to put Tommy Elliot on the cover?

Ate lunch, finally… Email from Grant Morrison, checking to make sure correct tombstone reference was used… plot discussions, more plot discussions, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, Misfit…

Just realized three phone calls will have to wait till tomorrow… Frazer Irving’s final colors on AZRAEL #2 just came in…breathtaking. Script in from Fabian Nicieza, script in from David Hine…do quick balloon placements on both and send down to lettering.

Wait—is the day over? Still so much to do… ah, tomorrow’s another day.