Batman 156 Cover Redux

Here's a fun commission from my old chief (don't call him that!), Michael Eury, editor emeritus of BACK ISSUE MAGAZINE... Michael asked me to do a version of Shelly Moldoff's cover to BATMAN #156 (recently given a facsimile edition by DC Comics) in which instead of Robin "dying at dawn," it's the Caped Crusader who kicks the bucket (forcing the Boy Wonder to struggle to carry his heavy corpse across the alien planet). I did it (as I do most things these days) using a lot of fluorescent inks, which are always tricky to convey in photography. 

 

Betty and Veronica Fashion Pages Variant Cover

My friend Steve Leach commissioned me to work with him on doing a variant cover for one of Archie Comics' 85th Anniversary one-shots, this one being BETTY AND VERONICA FASHION PAGES. For the cover (conceived by Steve), I adapted something I've riffed on before: DC's ADVENTURE COMICS #397 from 1970 by Mike Sekowsky, in which Supergirl tries to choose a new outfit from selections sent in by readers (Katy Keene-style!). I decided to have Betty and Ronnie dig through the closets of a bunch of old Archie Comics characters (popular and obscure). While the layout is based on Sekowsky's, the images are mostly swipes of works by the great Dan DeCarlo (steal from the best), with (hopefully) some of my own touches making them unique. 

You can order the book from Steve directly via the SteveLikesComics Instagram page. I will be setting up a way to get them from me shortly, at which point I'll update this post. But here's the cover, details of the individual drawings, the inspiration, the page from my sketchbook, and the last time I adapted this cover (with the help of some cartoonist chums of mine).