Joker At 75

The Clown Prince of Crime or The Joker if you will has been messing around in the Batman universe 75 years now and he shows no signs of slowing down! Anyways I tend to like to create my takes on the Joker once and awhile so here are a few posted below. They were created in traditional and digital media. So keep the funny times coming Joker!

Tribute Images Of Batman And Hellboy

Batman and Hellboy are two favorite fictional comic book characters of mine. I grew up with Batman comics and the TV shows and started reading Hellboy when it started coming out in the early 90s. Batman celebrated 75 years this year and Hellboy celebrated 20 years and both are in many types of media from comics to films. I created my slightly 3D cardboard style imagery of both characters and created a digital illustration of both as well and all four images are below. So here is to Bob Kane/Bill Finger (Batman) and Mike Mignola (Hellboy) for their fun creations!

Batman Time!

Ever since I was little kid seeing the live action BATMAN and animated shows on TV, along with getting the comics I really got into the character of Batman. Heck it seems like at least once or twice a week I draw him or characters from his universe in my sketchbooks. The Batman character now has been around 75 years and is still going strong! So in tribute to that and in part I am going to be in major pop culture mode being at the San Diego Comic Convention in a day or so here are some more finished Batman images I have created over the last few years. Some even are in tribute to other artists takes on Batman. A couple of the images are even my take on a possible future Batman. The images below were created in Illustrator, Photoshop, ink pen and acrylic paint.

The Dark Knight Arrives!

I was a big fan of Frank Miller's twisted Batman tale THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and remember eagerly buying all four issues! With me being a big Batman fan it was one of those great comic book moments! It is not the ultimate Batman story to me, but I thought it was really an engaging one. Something about a bitter older Batman trying to work through some of his issues while dealing with a battered Gotham city of the future appealed to me at that time. Yes this Batman tale may seem a bit dated now with some of it's story elements and a bit over the top with other elements, yet I still like the Two-Face/Joker stories and how they wrapped up mixed in with the satire. As for the Batman/Superman conflict it was fun to see those two characters differences played out!  

Flash forward to the present an animated adaption of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS has been produced and the first part was released this week. This image below I had started to create for a contest connected to the release of the DVD. I got side tracked with work and did not make the deadline, but decided to finish it up anyways. The image was created by drawing over a pencil rough in Illustrator. I looked at many pages of THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS comics to get inspired when creating this and decided to create my own take on the scene from the junkyard where Batman and Robin take on some mutant gang members. So that is it in a long winded nutshell and I have heard rumors there was a sequel to THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS. I hope it is a rumor as I think the TDKR story ends just right, but that is just my opinion.

Batmite!

I saw the final episode today of one of my more recent favorite animated shows BATMAN THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD. It was a show that really had fun, was very creative and really hit the beats so well! I am one of those types that likes all types of Batman stories and this show went with the more cheerful and fun story lines with the Batman character. The final episode had Batmite manipulating things and it was a blast as usual! So adios to this version of Batman as it was a fun and interesting ride! In honor of this show and the Batmite character himself I creating this image posted below here in Illustrator today.