Batman Belated
My adventures with the Caped Crusader
I know what you guys are thinking — where is Sirens of the City?? Well, Sirens is taking a short little hiatus this week, but fret not! It’ll be back next week, and better than ever. While Joanne and I were off galivanting in Europe (more on that later) the internet celebrated Batman Day 2022. Since we weren’t around for that, I figured we could use this week to talk about Gotham’s #1 son, and my history with him. In some ways, Sirens of the City wouldn’t exist without Batman.
First off, I love Batman (I mean duh, who doesn’t?). Tim Burton’s Batman movies had a huge effect on me as a child, and without question nudged me along this path of doing what I do for a living. The Dark Knight, by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley is hands down one of my favorite comic books of all time. And don’t even get me started on The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale. I could go on and on, but you get the idea.
I’ve always wanted to draw a Batman book. But even though I’ve worked in this industry for close to two decades, it took a while for editors to give me a shot at drawing Batman. If I were to guess I think it’s because I am an artist that is known for drawing bright, colorful comics, and let’s face it —Batman is the antithesis of that. Grim and gritty is not natural to me. At some point I decided to lean all the way into my strengths it and draw the most colorful, energetic Batman image I could!
This image really struck a cord with fans, and it quickly became one of my best selling convention prints of all time. I’ve seen a number of copies signed by Adam West and Burt Ward, which is an absolute thrill. It also got the attention of many editors and as a result wound up getting me a number of jobs.
So then I got to draw Batman, right? Nah. It’s a fickle industry, this comics biz. Sometimes you can do everything right but still things don’t work out in your favor.
Fast forward to 2020, and DC editorial asked me to do a Batman inventory pinup. For those wondering, inventory art doesn’t have an issue or a home it belongs to, it’s just artwork they have lying around to use at their disposal in the future. I jumped at the chance, and decided to go as Batman-y as I possibly could, because who knew when I’d get the chance to draw this guy again.
This time around something must have clicked, because I was then asked to do a cover for Batman: Black and White #3, and soon after a short story with my Excellence co-creator Brandon Thomas in Batman: Black and White #6.
You’ll no doubt have noticed that each project has a completely different style from the previous, which is a bit of a trademark of mine. I like to let the project dictate how I approach it artistically, not the other way around. You’ll also note that the style I used for Batman: Black & White was me trying to push out of my comfort zone and into a new style that I would ultimately wind up perfecting and using for Sirens of the City. So good looking out, Bats!
Since then I’ve had the opportunity to draw a number of covers for various Bat-projects at DC, with more on the way.
I’m still chasing the dream of one day doing a full Batman project, and I’m sure it will happen in the future. But currently Sirens keeps me so busy, DC will now have to wait for my schedule to open up. It’s a fickle industry, this comics biz. Y’all know how it goes.
I'd LOVE to see you handle a full Batman project! Your take feels so timeless and unique all at once.
Man that Batman/Catwoman ...something special!
Here's to your future in the world of Gotham!!!