Action Comics 1000 Variant Cover

I was given the assignment to draw a cover for Action Comics' 1000th issue.  8 artists were chosen, and each was given an era of Action Comics to depict.  I got lucky and was given the 1940's - easy money, really, as it was an opportunity to draw Superman vs. the Nazis in WW2.  I even threw in a "buy bonds" blurb - something I'd wanted to draw on a cover for years.

Below, you can see the initial thumbnails for the cover as I worked out a couple of ideas.  The concept really came together very quickly.

More Batwoman Variant Covers

These were my final 4 Batwoman variant covers, and I was sad to see the series end.  I didn't know much about Batwoman before I started the year long run of covers, but I grew to really appreciate the character and her fans.

Batwoman Issue #14 Cover

 Batwoman Issue #16 Cover

 Batwoman Issue #17 Cover

Batwoman Issue #18 Cover

Columbia University Magazine

A portrait of Doug Morris, a storied music mogul.  Drawn for Columbia University Magazine.

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 12 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 11 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 10 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 9 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 8 Variant Cover

Occidental College Magazine Cover

A cover illustration for Occidental College's magazine, this one was on the theme of female alumni who had been pioneers in space-flight technologies.  The artwork was drawn digitally. 

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 6 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 5 Variant Cover

DC Comics Batwoman Issue 4 Variant Cover

I've been doing a run of variant covers for DC Comics Batwoman comic.  This was the first, for issue 4.

the New Yorker: Portrait of Taylor Swift

Blonde, attractive celebrities are hard to draw a likeness of since they tend to be a bit generic.  One missed line and you've gone from drawing Charlize Theron to Margot Robbie.   Luckily, Taylor Swift has a few more signature characteristics - like her bright red lipstick.  

You can read the article here.  

the New Yorker: Portrait of Rex Tillerson

A fun assignment, drawn digitally.  This illustration accompanied an article on current US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in the New Yorker.  You can read the article here. 

DC Young Animal: Cave Carson Issue #9 Variant Cover

It was fun to do all the typography by hand for this cover.

DC Young Animal: Mother Panic Issue #5 Variant Cover

This was fun, and a nice opportunity to do some pen-and-ink style rendering.

DC Comics Silver Age Teen Titans Vol 1 Cover

DC Comics Silver Age Green Lantern Vol 2 Cover

DC Comics Silver Age Supergirl Vol 1 Cover

DC Comics Golden Age Superman Vol. 3 Cover

Another fun cover for DC's collection of Golden and Silver Age reprints.

Marvel Comics Inhumans vs X-men Variant Covers

I drew 6 variant covers for Marvel's 2017 cross-over event, "Inhumans Vs X-men".  Editorial was gracious enough to give me complete freedom to design all the elements as I saw fit, so I approached these as if I was making film posters not comic covers.  All in all, a very fun assignment.

DC Comics Justice League of America: the Silver Age Vol. 3 Cover

DC Comics World's Finest Vol 1 Cover

DC Comics Golden Age Batman Vol 2 Cover

Marvel Comics Gamora Issue #3 Variant Cover

Civil War 2 Variant Covers - Part 2

These comprise the remaining 4 variant covers I drew for Marvel for their Civil War 2 crossover event.  Again, they loosely follow a "boxing poster" theme, with issues 5 and 7 being slightly different in concept.  The cover for issue 5 was inspired by propaganda posters from the 40's and 50's in keeping with the issue's themes of alienation and identity.  

I think the final issue, Issue 8 had my favourite cover of the batch, as I wanted to go out with a bang and go all out on the boxing angle.

These were all drawn in a mix of traditional and digital mediums.

Civil War 2 Variant Covers - Part 1

Last year, I asked to provide variant covers for Marvel's big crossover series, Civil War 2.  The editor suggested I might do them as an homage to classic boxing posters, with Marvel super-heroes squaring off against each other.  I thought it was a great idea, and decided to go all out on the concept, turning each of the covers into a fight poster design, complete with typography and other details.  My wife Claudia Davila, an award winning art director and designer, collaborated with me on the type treatment, and we shared credit on these covers.  I gotta say it was fun seeing both our names on the cover of a Marvel comic.

Here you can see the first 4 covers in the series.  There were 8 covers in all, and below you can see some of the rough sketches and layouts that lead to the final art.  Most of the covers were drawn in a mix of digital and traditional.  In some cases, even the lettering was done by hand and composited.

Darth Vader 25 Variant Cover

I was honoured to be asked to contribute a variant cover for Marvel's final issue of their Darth Vader comic series.  This was the first time I did a published Star Wars illustration (not counting the endless amounts of unpublished X-wing fighters and Han Solos I drew as a kid).  Marvel was very generous and gave me a lot of freedom with the art.  In keeping with Lucasfilm's policy, I was asked to submit 2 different roughs which you can see below.

The final art was drawn in ink, coloured dyes and wax crayon, and was purchased by Lucasfilm for their Star Wars archives.

Justice League of America: The Silver Age Vol. 2

Yet another in my continuing series of covers for DC's reprint collections, this is for the 2nd volume of JLA stories from the silver age.  DC's art directors suggested that I should feature Wonder Woman prominently, since she was the smallest figure in the previous cover.  Again, I enjoyed the opportunity to draw the "classic" versions of these heroes, especially Martian Manhunter, who is quickly becoming a a favourite to draw.

This was drawn in ink on board, with colours added digitally.  You can check out the initial pencil rough below.