Batgirl – Christopher Jones Comic Art and Illustration Blog http://blog.christopherjonesart.com Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:20:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 42733131 Young Justice Invasion: Volume 1 coming in December http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/young-justice-invasion-volume-1-coming-in-december/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/young-justice-invasion-volume-1-coming-in-december/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 04:00:09 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=3619 Young Justice #20

Young Justice #20

Young Justice: Invasion – Volume One TP
Writers: Greg Weisman
Artists: Christopher Jones
Collects: Young Justice #20-25
$12.99 US, 160 pg

With Volumes 1-3 the collected tie-in comic for the Young Justice animated TV series in print, I had been hoping for some news on a Young Justice: Volume 4, but it seems instead that the last 6 issues will be collected as Young Justice Invasion: Volume 2.  It’s funny that they went that way – when we were talking about the comic making the jump to the timeframe from Season 2 of the show, there was talk of rebranding the comic as Young Justice: Invasion and getting a new #1 issue. But that didn’t happen – they just continued on with the existing title and numbering, just designating the “Invasion” storyline with a subtitle and numbering it as 1-6 of 6. I guess someone decided that Young Justice: Invasion Volume 1 was more marketable than Young Justice: Volume 4. Fair enough.

Young Justice #23

Young Justice #23
Young Justice #24

Young Justice #24
Young Justice #25

Young Justice #25


This was a fun run of issues to work on. Catching up with Season 2 of the show meant Dick Grayson as Nightwing and an influx of new characters such as Batgirl, Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, and Lagoon Boy. Plus, our big Invasion storyline featured a trio of villains I got to design for Young Justice continuity – Brainiac, Kylstar and Deadshot. Plus the mutation of Match into our version of Bizarro. This was easily the most epic storyline we ever tackled in the comic, and I’m so excited to finally have it collected into a squarebound edition!

The book won’t be out until December. I’m not sure why there’s such a delay, but better late than never! Young Justice recently aired its final episode earlier this month on Cartoon Network. The series is set to remain in reruns for at least a couple more weeks before being shuffled out of the DC Nation programming block. A lot of people are looking for ways to show their support for the Young Justice series right now, and pre-ordering this would definitely be one way to do so! Or, you could just pick it up when it comes out because it’ll be a good read!

Until then, Volumes 1-3 of the COLLECTED Young Justice are available NOW!
Look for them at your local comic shop or bookstore, or order a copy online!

1235243

VOLUME 1
Collecting #0-06! $12.99
1204269

VOL. 2 – Training Day
Collecting #07-13! $12.99
1290911

VOL. 3 – Creature Features
Collecting #14-19! $12.99

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/young-justice-invasion-volume-1-coming-in-december/feed/ 4 3619 Title Pages: The Batman Strikes #18 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/title-pages-the-batman-strikes-18/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/title-pages-the-batman-strikes-18/#respond Sat, 09 Mar 2013 18:00:28 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=3466 It’s time for another installment of Title Pages, featuring another title page from my run on The Batman Strikes! which was a tie-in comic for The Batman animated TV series. A Title Page is the page which features the story title and credits for the issue, and is often (but not always) a Splash Page, which is a full-page image, rather than a page broken up into multiple panels.

In The Batman Strikes! #17, Chief Angel Rojas was still the top cop in Gotham City. By issue #18, Police Commissioner James Gordon has arrived on the scene, and with him his daughter Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl!

Strikes #18 - pg 01 prev Batman_Strikes_18_Oroboros_ 002


Again the title page was page 2, so here’s the set up on page 1, where Commissioner Gordon  is working late an checking on the whereabouts of his daughter, who happens to be dealing out justice (with the help of a handy push broom) to some low-level street thugs trying to rip off a 24-hour laundromat. I’ve always seen Gordon as very blue-color and overworked, so I enjoyed drawing him illuminated only by his desk lamp in a darkened office. Seeing his name reversed and backlit in the window of his office door was another fun touch. The Gotham City Map seen on the finished page was not rendered by me, but was an existing map of Gotham I found online, and I sized and angled it to fit into the artwork and provided it separately to inker Terry Beatty for him to paste into place once the original art was inked. Note that we’re showing Batgirl on her cell phone here, but saving a good look at her for the big reveal on the next page.

Strikes #18 - pg 02 prev Batman_Strikes_18_Oroboros_ 003


So here’s the title page and our reveal of Batgirl as she doesn’t let being outnumbered intimidate her in the slightest, even in these early days of her crime-fighting career. If you compare the pencils to the finished page, you can see that she disappears into her cape a little bit. This was again due to the dark, saturated colors in combination with the cheaper paper used on this series as I’ve lamented about before. Consider it part of my ongoing crusade for DC to make digital editions of all the issues of this series available. So far they’ve only released the first three issues digitally!

While not appearing in this scene, the villain of the issue was Poison Ivy, and given the title of the story, I tried to give the title logo a decorative, floral approach. I like how it turned out.

I’ll have more installments of Title Pages soon, but until then you can check out previous installments! As always, questions and comments are welcome!

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/title-pages-the-batman-strikes-18/feed/ 0 3466 Creating a Cover: Young Justice #24 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/creating-a-cover-young-justice-24/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/creating-a-cover-young-justice-24/#respond Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:53:17 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=3147 It’s time for another installment of my Creating a Cover series. As usual, this cover was being designed before I had seen the script for the issue in question, let alone had drawn it, so a suggestion from series writer Greg Weisman was key in figuring out a cover concept. Greg suggested Batgirl being grabbed by the throat by an arm belonging to the yet-to-be-revealed Match in his mutated “Bizarro” form. Behind them, would be Plastic Man, helpless to intervene behind the force-field barrier cutting off central Metropolis from the outside world.

Cover Sketch a

Cover Sketch a
Cover Sketch b

Cover Sketch b


We had wanted to hide Match’s identity/appearance on this cover, because while he was revealed in the previous issue, this cover would be made public as part of the solicitation for the issue before that had happened, so a shot from Match’s point of view seemed the most effective. My next priority was to get Plastic Man and Batgirl as large in the frame as possible, as we were more concerned with the characters and their expressions than the setting. The first sketch was well received, but Greg wanted Batgirl to look more aggressive and less victimized, so a second sketch with an angrier expression and a Batarang clutched in her hand as a weapon was added. I had to shrink the Batgirl figure down a bit to have room for her hand with the Batarang in the frame. I tweaked a few other things while I was redrawing, such as the pattern of lighting and shadows on Batgirl’s mask, and I realized that I hadn’t had Batgirl’s hair visible in the first version, so I rectified that as well.

Young Justice #24 cover pencils

Young Justice #24 cover pencils
Young Justice #24 cover inks

Young Justice #24 cover inks


The layout drawing was tight enough that progressing to pencils and then inks was pretty simple. It’s always nice when penciling to know you’ll be inking your own work. While my pencils are still pretty tight, I don’t have to much thought to line weight or texture at this stage, since I’ll be making those choices myself rather than having to indicated it for another artist in the pencils.

Young Justice #24 cover colors

Young Justice #24 cover colors
Young Justice #24 final cover

Young Justice #24 final cover


On the left is the first draft of color by Zac Atkinson. Zac did his usual great job, but we wanted Match’s arm to be a little more pale and chalky – not as completely bleached-white as a full-on Bizarro form, but far enough to be noticeably paler that Batgirl and to provide strong contrast with his original skin tone. On the right you can see the finished color as it appeared on the published cover, along with all the final logos and other trade dress.

You can find my previous Creating a Cover installments here.

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/creating-a-cover-young-justice-24/feed/ 0 3147 Coming in November: Young Justice #22 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-november-young-justice-22/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-november-young-justice-22/#comments Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:41:53 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=2497 Young Justice #22

Young Justice #22

YOUNG JUSTICE #22
Written by GREG WEISMAN
Art and cover by CHRISTOPHER JONES
Color by ZAC ATKINSON
On sale NOVEMBER 21 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

• The Invasion continues!
• Earth’s greatest heroes are kidnapped by Kylstar!
• Brainiac has Metropolis under glass and Lex Luthor’s secret weapon is on the loose!

Those are the things DC chose to plug in the solicitation, but the online Dick/Babs “shippers” are already geeking out over the Nightwing/Batgirl moment captured on the cover!

I’m having a great time drawing all the new Season 2 Young Justice characters, plus all the amazing guest heroes and villains! Young Justice #18 is still on the stands, and #19 will be out soon. You can find Young Justice at your local comics shop or in digital form!

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-november-young-justice-22/feed/ 6 2497 Coming in September: Young Justice INVASION! http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-september-young-justice-invasion/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-september-young-justice-invasion/#comments Tue, 12 Jun 2012 14:44:11 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=1951 Young Justice #20

Young Justice #20

Starting in September, the Season Two events of the Young Justice TV series will catch up with the comic!

YOUNG JUSTICE #20

Written by GREG WEISMAN
Art and cover by CHRISTOPHER JONES
On sale SEPTEMBER 19 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED E

• Following the animated series, it’s now five years later!
• ALIENS have infiltrated the Earth!
• NIGHTWING’s new team includes BATGIRL, BLUE BEETLE, WONDER GIRL and BEAST BOY!

Issues #17 of Young Justice comes out later this month! Pick an issue up in digital form or at your local comic shop!

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/coming-in-september-young-justice-invasion/feed/ 4 1951 Happy Halloween semi-decapitation! http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/happy-halloween-semi-decapitation/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/happy-halloween-semi-decapitation/#respond Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:06:25 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=685 CHOK!

CHOK!

I was always a little surprised that we got away with that one in a Johnny DC title. Granted, it’s a plant simulacrum of Poison Ivy and not the real flesh and blood original, but STILL!

Here’s the full page for context from The Batman Strikes #33:

Strikes #33 pg 02 color

Strikes #33 pg 02 color

Inks by Terry Beatty. Colors by Heroic Age Studio.

]]> http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/happy-halloween-semi-decapitation/feed/ 0 685 Title Pages: Batman Strikes 18 & 33 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/title-pages-batman-strikes-18-33/ http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/title-pages-batman-strikes-18-33/#respond Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:05:36 +0000 http://blog.christopherjonesart.com/?p=666 Whenever possible, I always preferred hand-drawing my own sound effects and story titles during my run on The Batman Strikes! I especially liked incorporating the logo into the background art in some way, probably because of all those great Will Eisner titles for The Spirit. But I always had to work with what I was given. Sometimes I didn’t have a lot of room. Sometimes the story title didn’t lend itself as well to graphic treatment. But it almost always was more pleaseing to my eye than having it left to be typeset by the letterer.

Let’s kick this off with a pair of logos from Poison Ivy stories (boy we had a lot of Poison Ivy stories on The Batman Strikes!).

First up, from Batman Strikes #18:

Batman Strikes #18 - Title Logo

Batman Strikes #18 - Title Logo

Here’s an example of a title that lent itself to graphic treatment nicely, but as part of a 4-panel page there wasn’t much room to work it into the background art. Still, I was able to give the title something of a flowery flourish, and that was fun.

Strikes #18 Title Page pencils

Strikes #18 Title Page pencils

Strikes #18 Title Page color

Strikes #18 Title Page color

Here’s a view of the full page, so you can see how the logo works in context. Inks are by Terry Beatty and colors are by Heroic Age. Which I guess you could read for yourself in the credits if you click on the image to see it full-size!

Strikes #33 - logo

Strikes #33 - logo

In The Batman Strikes #33 we had the reverse scenario: A big splashy full page shot, but kind of a simple title. I opted to just create really organic character shapes and try to make it look as though it were wrapped around the side of this giant vine structure.

Strikes #33 Title Page pencils

Strikes #33 Title Page pencils

Strikes #33 Title Page color

Strikes #33 Title Page color

I was quite happy with this page overall. BTW – those are plant simulacrums of Poison Ivy that Batman, Robin and Batgirl are fighting. I like the dizzying quality to this shot, and the way the vine wraps through the image. The credits were colored a bit darkly, but I suppose no-one really cared except for the seven people who’s names are listed there!

More to come, stay tuned!

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