deviantART: gallery:kinjamin/15616498

The Dark Knight Rises: Gotham City Sirens

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:13:04 PDT

Ok for everyone that may not know, it was revealed in Jeph Loeb's 'Dark Victory'/'When in Rome' that Selina is actually the illegitimate daughter of Carmine Falcone. If there was anything I felt that was missing from The Dark Knight Rises, it was the nonmention of this fact. I feel it would of really brought things full circle rather nicely.

Wanted the 'Gotham sirens' do some kind of team-up in the context of TDKR.. and it makes sense for Selina to take advantage of the state of the city to exploit her dad who's locked up in Arkham.

I apologize for Ivy being shamelessly scantily clad. I know.. I know.. typical. But I really wanted to show off the tattoo designs I gave her. If anything, I didnt show any of her cleavage.. so that's something right?

These comic pages take place after the panel that I made for the Poison Ivy piece. Harley is actually the one that released Ivy... and the chaos allows Selina to break and make her way to her dad.

Anyway, hope you guys like it. Again, I feel like something's missing but I wanted to throw this out there so I can move on.

Scottpilgrim Vs. Community

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 21:19:04 PDT

Thanks to the beautiful Brie Larson I was finally FINALLY able to marry two of my favorite things ever.. Scott Pilgrim and Community!

If anyone is confused as to why this works, Brie Larson (Rachel in the Community 'Herstory of Dance' episode) also played Scott's ex Envy Adams.

For the past year I've been hurting my brain trying to figure out how to do a proper Community mashup... I had a Jeff=Scott/Annie=Knives/Britta=Ramona going on.. but then everyone else kind of didn't fit the other characters. So I held off. And good thing I did because I think this is a much better idea.

In my head movies where the Scott universe and the Greendale universe occupy the same space, Envy took a cue from Ramona and decided to start fresh and return to college in the States. She chose Greendale. (And who would blame her after her boyfriend was headbutted into coins?) Now, if this was a whole comic strip, the next scene would be Troy AND Jeff AND Shirley holding Scott down while Abed raises the Quantum Spammer above his head to strike. Because --let's face it-- Mr. Pilgrim is massively powerful.

Batman-On-Film.com banner

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:18:53 PDT

Hey guys, Batman-On-Film.com asked me to do this banner awhile ago and it was featured on their Facebook site. I neglected to let you guys know that (sorry!!!!) But I'm way proud of it. I love the trilogy to death (as you guys can tell) and really wanted to do a tribute. I'm also posting this because I know there's been a lack of Batman stuff from me lately (and the next thing I'm doing is Community-related) Anyways, hope you guys dig it. Be sure to hit up [link] for all the newest Batman movie news.

P.S. If you're wondering why I did this and haven't gotten around to anyone else's requests.. CHILL. Jett asked me awhile ago to do this and it took me awhile to get it to BOF.

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogie: Poison Ivy redo

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:09:42 PDT

Hey guys, this is a redo of the older piece ([link]) << which I may eventually take down.

The reasons why I redid it..

- This really is my favorite of all the epilogue pieces. Because of which, I've been scrutinizing it more.
- I saw the new 'Bombshell Poison Ivy' from TKMiller and Ant Lucia.. and fell in love with it. It made me want to push Ivy's tattoos more. (Take a look at it here.. [link])
- I realized the 'raised skin' viney stuff was kinda..... gross. Haha so I removed them. Kept the green splotches though.
- Ivy is going to be featured in the next comic strip I do (which is coming eventually.. I swear I'll try to get it done-- I may get hung up on other projects which, to be frank, is highly possible) -- and I wanted to give her this new appearance. You'll get to see her back tattoo also in the strip.

Old notes:

- Wanted to avoid her having super magical plant powers. But still wanted to maintain that she's obssessed with botany. Also wanted to keep her look very flora-themed. There's the fungal infection symptoms, of course, that explain the green areas of her skin and the vine-like raises all over her body (REMOVED). The green dress is the same one she was captured in (from panel 1) - but it's tattered in a way where it looks leafy.
- Her kissing of victims is pretty much a Poison Ivy staple.. thus the 'infect-by-saliva' method of her killings.
- I was in debate on the tattoo because I thought it would take away from the vine-y skin (REMOVED). However, I really wanted to give her some Japanese floral tats. I kept it in another layer in case I wanted to get rid of it.. but discovered it gave her a nice dynamic aesthetically. After awhile, it became a must-keep. It also balances out her colors, since the flower is the color of her hair.
- I really wanted Harley to be featured too. Always felt they look great together and I love how their colors clash. It almost makes me regret not getting this piece done in time for Christmas because of the red/green theme going on.
- People may notice a special guest-star in the shadows. There's actually a specific purpose for her being there... which will be explained later in another comic strip I had in mind. I also like the idea that the 'Gotham City Sirens' happened at some point in the movie continuity.
- Try to add as many factors from her original appearance as possible. In Batman 181, Ivy wore green tights on her legs. So I made the fungal infection more spread on her legs so green is more prevalent there.
- It was hard to indicate, but in panel 1, she's wearing a lot of make-up on her body to hide the green blotches skin vines (REMOVED).

The Dark Knight Rises: Bane and The Joker

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:48:46 PST

Ok I've been sitting on this one for a couple weeks. Felt like something was missing in the design. But unfortunately I have to move on.. have other things to do.

This was an idea that's been sitting in my head since the movie came out. I 100% believe this is exactly where the Joker has been. I find it ridiculous that people feel like the Joker would of been one of the inmates from Black Gate that would of been released.

A.) He would of been in Arkham. NOT Black Gate.. Arkham=criminally insane, Black Gate=criminals not necessarily insane
B.) Why the hell would Bane release the one man in Gotham that -save for Batman himself- would of been the biggest monkey wrench in the plans. I don't think anyone would be dumb enough to release the most unpredictable person in Gotham (maybe the world)

I wanted to make a clear distinction between the Arkham hall and Joker's cell. Compared to Joker's dank, chaotic abode, the halls of Arkham are almost pristine. This is all relative of course... there's something horrifying about the antiseptic corridors of Arkham.

The other two players are indeed Dr. Crane (who is still given high-level access to Arkham) and Harley (who, as you can tell, is amused at the frustration her favorite patient causes on Bane)

(UPDATE: It didn't occur to me that the graffiti was going to take such a hit in the jpeg compression.. so here is all the text...)

Joker's graffiti has a lot of easter eggs.
- Left wall: The paragraph above Bane's arm is incoherent.. simply sentences I wrote that were lingering in the surface of my brain. Wanted to do an exercise in writing where I kept the "id" part of my mind free-flowing.. ignoring the "ego" and "super-ego" parts. Joker runs on Id. So don't sweat that one... buuuuut..
- Left wall: The sentence just below Bane's arm reads: 'Britta'd It' (it's from NBC's Community - it's an insult.)
- Left wall: That's the Bat symbol above the toilet.... Joker's ironic way to pay respects to his nemesis' icon
-Left wall: To the right of the toilet, the text reads: 'Help us oh BAT One.. you're our only hope!' --- Joker mock calling out to Batman in the wake of Gotham Occupation. But even he recognizes only Batman is going to save the day.
- Right wall: Bottom left corner, the text reads 'Found out today my doc's name was Dr. Perry' -- another Community reference. Implying that Harley's old name was Britta Perry
- Right wall: Scrawled in blood, near the top: "He will return" --- Joker knows that Bruce-Bat will return at some point from the pit.
- Right wall: Scrawled in blood, circle text: 'The Devil's in the details.. God's in Ambiguity' (not an attack on anyone's religion.. just something I'd imagine the Joker would say)
- Right wall: Scrawled in blood, text behind Joker's head (more visible in page 1) 'Roses are Dead, Corpses are Blue.. There's only One Demon Son.. is it YOU?' -- Joker is directly insulting Bane. Somehow the ever eerily aware Joker knows Bane's origins.. recognizes that Bane is NOT the attended prodigy of Ra's Al Ghul.. Batman is.
- Right wall: Black text above the insult... is a mock image of Bane's mask. Beneath it, it reads Morpheus (from Neil Gaiman's Sandman) -- Joker eerily recognizes that Bane's mask looks like a strange distorted version of the Dream King's
- Right wall: It's a hangman game that reads: 'Hav_ You M_t Harv_ys Twin'

(UPDATE: Adding a PSA)
P.S. Wanted to point out (which I do in the comments) that I 100% agreed with Nolan that the Joker was not referenced in TDKR. I find that kind of stuff distateful. When Christopher Reeve died, and they made some ridiculous reference in Smallville that his character was killed, I found it grotesque. Or if Batman said something like 'Good thing the Joker is still locked up!' -- it would of felt forced.

(UPDATE: Adding a second P.S.)
P.P.S.S I'm glad no one called me out on the fact that Arkham cell doors swing OUT. Ha.. you'll notice it in Batman Begins. That being said, I took creative freedom to make Joker's cell unique. Reason being.. I felt it was more ominous for the viewer (and Bane) to open the door INTO Joker's cell.. as if to briefly try to enter Joker's mind.

Community Justice

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:12:08 PST

Made this in time for the season 4 premiere! YES! Six Seasons And A Movie!!!!

Some notes:

(From left to right, top row)
Chang as the Martian Manhunter - Honestly, the only reason I made him J'onn is so I can name him Ch'ang Ch'angzz the Martian Changhunter
Shirley as Hawkgirl - Or, more appropriately, Shirleyra Hol. I really wanted her to be something fierce and war-like. Hawkgirl is perfect for that (particularly to those who followed the animated series) Part of me wanted to go the New 52 route and deck her out with all the ridiculous armor Hawkman currently wears. But alas, consistency won out.
Jeff as Superman - Just to show the world I don't hate Jeff. Because I really don't. But previously he's always been the secondary hero (he was Harvey Dent and Guile) - and that's only an artifact of the fact Troy and Abed rule the land of imagination. that being said, something would of felt amiss if I didn't cast the primary alpha male of the show as the primary alpha male of the JLA
Troy as Green Lantern - Speaking of imagination, Troy is second only to Abed.. and therefore was a shoe-in for Green Lantern. And having him conjure up plumber tools? Couldn't resist. I'd like to note I do try not to race cast characters, as Troy is essentially taking the role of the Green Lantern John Stewart.. but it happened to fall into place.

(from left to right, bottom row)
Pierce as Aquaman - Interestingly enough, I actually wanted to put Britta in the Aquaman role, since he's considered 'the worst' of the Justice League. And I would of had her trying to talk to a fish in a bowl, and the fish would be replying back "you are the worst!" -- However, adding word balloons and having to convey that kind of exposition disrupts the whole pin-up feel of the image. In any case, Pierce makes an excellent Arthur Curry. Or rather, he fittingly makes the most awful kind of Aquaman as is evident in his actions in this piece.
Britta as Black Canary - So I had the lyrics to her Christmas song from the episode "Regional Holiday Music" spiraling around her to emulate Dinah's canary cry. But it kind of made Britta too much of a focal point, so I regrettably got rid of it. People familiar with that episode will recognize Britta's pose here.
Annie as Wonder Woman - Annie being the third able to maneuver the Dreamatorium of course gets the primary lead female role. And she fills the costume out nicely, too.
Abed as Batman - I mean, really.. was there any question?
Dean as the Flash - So I wanted to avoid doing the 'Dean in drag' bit again. The dean is also notorious for taking some costume that's typically butch, and completely feminizing it. (Is that a real word?) In any case, the Flash was a perfect candidate for that. In addition, I really envision him changing into different costumes anyway at light speeds.

Anyway, hope you guys like it. I apologize to Community fans that follow me for taking so long to do a piece.

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: Poison Ivy

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:27:02 PST

This just might be my favorite TDK Epilogue piece. Somehow, everything came together really easily and it got done faster than I thought it would. Plus, I really like the concept I came up with for her. Her and Harley are like the Thelma and Louise of Gotham (I would lose my mind if they were paired up as the villains in a future Batman movie)

Some notes:

- Wanted to avoid her having super magical plant powers. But still wanted to maintain that she's obssessed with botany. Also wanted to keep her look very flora-themed. There's the fungal infection symptoms, of course, that explain the green areas of her skin and the vine-like raises all over her body. The green dress is the same one she was captured in (from panel 1) - but it's tattered in a way where it looks leafy.
- Her kissing of victims is pretty much a Poison Ivy staple.. thus the 'infect-by-saliva' method of her killings.
- I was in debate on the tattoo because I thought it would take away from the vine-y skin. However, I really wanted to give her some Japanese floral tats. I kept it in another layer in case I wanted to get rid of it.. but discovered it gave her a nice dynamic aesthetically. After awhile, it became a must-keep. It also balances out her colors, since the flower is the color of her hair.
- I really wanted Harley to be featured too. Always felt they look great together and I love how their colors clash. It almost makes me regret not getting this piece done in time for Christmas because of the red/green theme going on.
- People may notice a special guest-star in the shadows. There's actually a specific purpose for her being there... which will be explained later in another comic strip I had in mind. I also like the idea that the 'Gotham City Sirens' happened at some point in the movie continuity.
- Try to add as many factors from her original appearance as possible. In Batman 181, Ivy wore green tights on her legs. So I made the fungal infection more spread on her legs so green is more prevalent there.
- It was hard to indicate, but in panel 1, she's wearing a lot of make-up on her body to hide the green blotches skin vines.

Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: A Life In The Family

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 00:14:59 PST

- This is kind of the Christmas special of the Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue pieces I've done. I think it's amazing how many artworks there are of the Bat family together. It's kind of a testament how much love people have for the characters.. and the fact they really want them all to be one big happy family. So while John Blake/Grayson here alludes to trouble back in Gotham, this really is my version of a happy ending for Bruce and Selina. They really do grow old together, have kids, and leave a path for the next generation.

- Doing the Poison Ivy character study next, but wanted to do something a little more fun before I tackled her darker story.

- In love with the idea that Bruce and Selina no longer wearing black symbolizes they were able to leave their former lives behind. So I followed suit.

- I realize it's really irresponsible for the Bat kids to be wearing Summer clothes that correspond to their respective hero suits.. but I really just wanted to avoid any confusion. (In case you still don't know who's who, from left to right, that's Damian, Helena, Terry, Blake, Barbara, Stephanie (bottom), Jason, Tim, and Cassie

- Speaking of, a piece for Tim and Jason will happen sometime in the future. This isn't an accurate full interpretation here since they're out of costume.

- My idea is that Robin-John and Barbara take some of the more talented kids at the orphanage and form something of a Bat academy. So Tim, Steph, and Cassie train under them.

- Cassie's snorkel is similar to her Black Bat mask.

- Contrary to what you may think, my math is NOT off. When this occurs, here are the approximate ages:
- Bruce: 57 (Tom Hank's age.. also my Dad's age. My Dad is actually in better shape than I am)
- Selina: 47 (Around Halle Berry's age... who, as you know, still looks fantastic. She had Helena right away, and Terry way later.)
- Terry is around 5 here.
- Helena: 18
- Damian: 19 (Has been fighting crime way longer than his sister.. for about a decade. Unfortunately for him, he inherits his mother's height. Helena towers over him.)
- John: 38 (Has been Batman for a decade and a half)
- Barb: 34

And the other kids are college years like Helena and Damian.

(As an aside, and for people's information, Harley is in her 40s around this time. She fights Batman II while in her 30s. She didn't take over Arkham Asylum right away -- the position Crane left was vacant for years because no one wanted to take the job)

- I hope no one tries to call me out to tell me Terry's parents are Warren and Mary McGinnis. Because in an episode of Justice League, it was revealed Bruce is actually his biological father. The explanation is super ridiculous, so for the sake of streamlining, just wanted to call out he is straight-up the son of Batman and Catwoman.

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: Mr. Freeze

Tue, 04 Dec 2012 11:17:54 PST

So some people on on the internets criticized me for straying from the Nolan "formula".. (because you know, they're friends with him or something.) So in good faith, I decided to take that input and completely throw it out the window. Ha - they're reeeeeeaaaally going to hate this piece. I presented both the past Victor (that faced Bruce), and the future Victor that will eventually face the new Batman..

Some notes..

- All jokes aside, high-end robotics are not that far off. We live in an age where drones and Big Dogs exist. Robotics to assist the disabled is not just some pipe dream. That being said, all my reference to the robotic bits were from actual current day robot armatures. I didnt want to go the more sci-fi route and have pretty glowy panels everywhere (although theres nothing wrong with that)

- Took a lot of cues from the animated series. Notably the 'Cold Comfort' episode where eventually, Victor isn't even human anymore.

- I know Nora survives in all her current incarnations, but I felt the tragedy of 'Heart of Ice' was that the viewer assumed Nora was dead (or was doomed regardless) - plus taking her out of the equation puts Victor on a spiraling downward path.

- Those are plastic prosthetics on Victor's jaw and ear. Took another cue from the concept art of Arkham City where pieces of Victor had fallen off from frostbite. They didn't go that route, but I liked the idea. And since this is a colder almost lifeless version of Freeze, I found it fitting.

- The 'nine' unconfirmed sightings of Batman is not some arbitrary number. I wanted to parallel the Twelve Labors of Heracles. (I'm counting the trilogy as three Labors.. hence there being nine Labors left).

- Really like the concept of the 2nd flashback panel where Bane is eerily looking at an almost mirror- image of himself in a deteriorating Fries. I ALMOST wanted to imply that future Mr. Freeze is not Victor - and is actually a preserved Bane using Victor's cryogenic tech. Oh I guess I just did. Ha! Kidding! Or am I?

Wanted to put this out on the day of the Blu-ray release of TDKR. But this is also kind of a holiday piece.. but I believe I have another one for Christmas next. Hopefully.

EDIT: I should also note that although I didn't realize it at first, I may have been inspired by ChasingArtwork's Gears version of Freeze.. [link]

Bulbasaur / Swamp Thing mashup

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:58:49 PST

This is easily the geekiest thing I've ever drawn.

The mashup no one's been waiting for!!!!
If you get this, then man you're pretty geeky too.

This is a complete homage to Yanick Paquette's cover to Swamp Thing#14

BTW, if you haven't read Scott Snyder and YP's Swamp Thing, you really should.

Sorry to do this to Cubone... that dude is my ish. But he was a perfect representation of the Rot.

(P.S. just needed to take a Batman break.. but working on the next one now)

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: The Gordons

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:03:40 PST

Really wanted a beautifully tragic Shakespearean dynamic with the fate of the Gordon family. Where one becomes an embodiment of the weight of guilt and trauma his father carries erupting. The other is the embodiment of her father's hope and goodness. Note that both sides of this piece are imperfect mirrors of eachother.

Some notes..

James Jr. / Two-Face II

- I felt a little bad about this. The actor that portrayed Little James Projected a sweet kind of innocence in TDK. That being said, that's what makes this all the more tragic.
- The "death" of Dent really leaves a Two-Face void in the Nolan universe. People that follow my ish will remember I had Det. Ramirez as the next Two-Face, but I felt this was way more impactful.
- He's wearing an actual Cleveland State University sweater (notice the mascot is slashed)
- There's been several points in the comics where Harvey Dent scars himself to become Two-Face... something that really resonated in me so wanted it to happen in this universe.
- This is heavily influenced by the Batman story 'The Black Mirror' by Scott Snyder. Except little James here is far less psychotic. But I really wanted to push that it's more trauma that drives him here, and not born psychosis.

Barb Gordon Jr. / Batgirl

- I'm assuming some will complain I didn't put Barbara in her usual skin-tight outfit. But I strongly believe that the heart of her story is that she made the Batgirl suit herself. It wasn't until later did she have any kind of Wayne funded equipment. She made do with what she had at her disposal. And logically, she'd have access to police-related equipment. So, being the clever girl she is, she spliced some riot gear with a wing suit. Sure you could say I super "Nolanized" her look, but above all of the Bat family she really had to do it all alone.
- For people still not happy, they'll notice in the last panel she eventually does get a more hi-tech suit once she hooks up with the new Batman.
- Heavily influenced by Gail Simone's Batgirl#0.

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: Harley Quinn

Sun, 28 Oct 2012 12:58:47 PDT

Just in time for Halloween!

With a Nolanized Harley Quinn I wanted to do a couple things:

- To keep as much of her original design as possible. I'm not sure what drives people to redesign her. Don't get me wrong - I dig her look in Arkham City. But there's something very pure and elegant about her O.G. Bruce Timm look. (Note I just said Arkham City. The Arkham Asylum look is bearable. The New 52 look is horrid.) Plus in TDK they kept the Joker's outfit pretty much intact, so I figured this would be a nice parallel. It's not exact, of course (circus tights might be a stretch) - but I kept the major shapes and where the reds and blacks go.

- Make her outfit something you can feasibly buy at any goth store. I guarantee you can go to Melrose or the Haight and buy something far more outlandish then what I've presented here. In her origin from the animated series, she literally goes to a store and grabs all the necessary pieces for her costume in one swoop.

- Kind of predictable, but I did give her half of a cut smile. But I wanted her to be more surgical about it so I had her use a scalpel (Which is what she's holding in this image. Those aren't butter knives.)

The idea came to me because in Nolan's world, Batman's sorta sidekick took over the job. So why not Joker's sorta sidekick also do the same?

I can't take any credit for the story beats here. It's really a mish-mash of Paul Dini's Mad Love, The Dark Knight Returns (Joker's state of mind) and a bit of David Mack's Kabuki: Metamorphosis (which is an excellent read, btw)

Anyway, hope you guys like it. Initially I was going to do Barbara Gordon next but with Oct. 31st coming up and some requests for a villain, I figured it would be a good time to break the monotony of Bat heroes.

In the near future ill do an Ivy piece so I can touch up on their partnership (wanted to do it here but didn't have enough room)

By the way, I really hated putting the 'kinjamin.deviantart.com' link on the bottom left. I'm not a fan of watermarks or artist stamps. I feel like they offset the whole piece. But I've seen my stuff on various parts of the web without quoting me as a source and it's getting me really annoyed.

Imma Die By Werewolf

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:54:38 PDT

In honor of today (Oct. 19th), went back and did some Community art.

Seriously NBC.. ya killin us.

Before any of you young artists want to tell me that the design and the fonts break every design rule, you have to look up some of the older rap album covers. They REALLY looked like this. Sh*t was on fire... there were diamonds everywhere inexplicably.. dogs and cats.. living together.. mass hysteria!

Anyone that doesn't get this.. check out the blooper reels from season 3.

TDK Trilogy Epilogue: Robin (Damian Wayne)

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 01:50:21 PDT

Ok this is probably where I lose some people. A.) Because there's a lot of Damian haters out there.. and B.) Because what I propose in this particular piece is a little outlandish. Namely, Talia being pregnant AND her baby somehow miraculously surviving.

But Little D is a personal favorite of mine, and I also like to entertain the idea that once the credits rolled on TDKR, the audience can continue the story no matter what. And the potential that Damian poses in the Nolanverse was just too juicy of a subject to not explore.

Some notes:

- At first I regretted that Bruce isn't represented in the piece. But then I found the fact of his absence kind of fitting. If Damian was going to break free from his programming, he'd be doing it either on his own or with the help of John Blake Batman. Plus, it makes this piece a kind of polar opposite of the Huntress piece, who is very much a product of being Bruce's daughter
- Purposely kept Talia's possible survival kind of vague. For people that hope for it, then she probably did. For people that don't buy it, then fine.
- Die-hards will probably recognize the remaining members of the League of Shadows
- Shiva is again being played by the wifey
- The sword Damian is carrying is a Philippine blade called the Kampilan. It looks crazy, but it's very real.
- Oh, and for those who are bigger fans of Jason and Tim, don't worry, I have plans for them, too. (Later)

More coming. Stay tuned.

Also if this is the first time seeing this, the first two character one-sheets with Huntress & JGL Batman are here:
[link]
[link]

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: The New Batman

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 15:38:26 PDT

First off, I have no problem with the fact John Blake (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an amalgamated version of all the Robins. It makes sense. If Tim Drake is someone's favorite, for example, then they can see the qualities they like in Tim in Blake. Same goes for Dick or Jason. Maybe not Damian. Ha.. or Stephanie or Carrie for that matter.

But in my extended head movies, I have the various versions of the Robins and, to me, only Dick has dibs on inheriting the Batman name upon the immediate resignation (or faked death) of Bruce. So I chose to reconcile all of that.

I also noted a lot of people are in debate as to whether he should be Nightwing or Batman. It kind of doesn't make sense for him to change the name of the mantle.. but I didn't see anything wrong with adding in Nightwing elements WHILE he was proving himself worthy (hence the suit)

There was a whole lot more backstory planned for this piece but I couldn't fit it all into one page. I wanted to get more than a mention of Lucius in there, but couldn't squeeze it in. Also wanted to mention that Robin was interacting with the orphanage just upstairs from his headquarters. In any case, it is a 'to be continued' into the next character study of my extended Nolanverse story.

Also, have to give credit where credit is due.. I was heavily influenced by the stunning CG render of Batman Beyond by Mark Vick - [link] -- when I first saw it, I thought holy crap.. someone HAS to make a movie out of this design.

P.S. Loosely used the wifey as reference for Shiva

Batman#291 Tribute

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 02:29:50 PDT

An homage to Batman#291 (vol. 1)

(The original cover -- [link])

So I'm going to assume anyone that hasn't seen The Dark Knight Rises would not be looking at this image. If you haven't, then get off the internet. Also... what's wrong with you?

In any case, during the course of the film, Batman "dies". And it got me thinking... what would the remaining villains think about that? Would they celebrate? Would they regret they didn't have a part in it? I also wanted to do a villain ensemble piece. So paying tribute to classic artist Jim Aparo's cover was a perfect oppurtunity to address all of that.

(From Left to Right)
Riddler - is the best hacker in all of Gotham (and probably the Nolanverse Earth) In all of his comic and television history, he kinda has been anyway. He hijacks billboards. He manages to re-write newspapers. He broadcasts his puzzles and conundrums to the general population. I imagining him always connected to some digital device.. hence his depiction of being 'jacked' into his phone here. I also kept his face in shadow more than the others because he generally doesn't want people knowing who the famous R1DLL3R is. If you're asking why he looks like a hipster, it's because he's the most hipster villain there is. For real.. walk around Williamsburg. They all look like the Edward Nygma.

Poison Ivy - I disagree that Pamela Isley is too sci-fi to have in the Nolan-Bat universe. In order to explain some of the more fantastical characteristics, I gave her a kind of new fungal disease. It causes her skin to be a sickly green. It also causes raised skin rashes that look like vines all over her body. The disease is infectious, and it proves fatal for her victims if she manages to spread it through her saliva (by lip-locking) As patient zero, her body has developed into a safe host for the disease to thrive. Modelled her after Keira Knightley at first.

Scarecrow - Is probably the only villain in this lineup that can claim to have even a small part in the Batman's seeming demise. Had to give him the slight touch of the torn jacket shoulder.

Lex Luthor - Not odd that he's here. In recent decades, Lex Luthor has been a business rival of Bruce Wayne's in the comics. If I could look into the future to see what actor was going to play Lex in an upcoming Man of steel sequel, I would of planted him here. Unfortunately I can't, so I used Hugh Jackman because he played an excellent foil to Christian Bale in the Prestige.

Catwoman - Hardly a villain. But she's on the original cover. And I love the character a whole lot. I especially love Anne Hathaway's interpretation of her.

Joker - I always love drawing the Joker, especially Heath's version. Originally I wanted to make it more modern and give him a spray can instead of the paint bucket. But for whatever reason, it threw off the dynamic of the entire drawing.

The Dark Knight Trilogy Epilogue: The Huntress

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:04:23 PDT

Ok first thing -- I heartily agree that The Dark Knight Rises was it. I would be highly upset if WB decided to take the continuity Nolan established and made another movie with John Blake as Batman. The Batman story was meant to end in TDKR. Otherwise you lessen the impact of the trilogy as a whole.

BUT that doesn't mean the story couldn't continue in my mind movies.

Some notes:

- One thing I refused to include was the idea that tragedy seems to be Helena's drive in all her incarnations (even the BoP TV show!) And I'm adamant that I retain Bruce and Selina's happy ending. So if there is some kind tragedy that occurs in Helena's life, it will not involve her parents who will continue to live on in post-movie bliss.
- Bruce and Selina being in Italy at the end of TDKR really paved the way for them to adopt the 'Bertinelli' guise. Thus the nice amalgamation of Helena W. and Helena B.
- I dig the idea that she took her Mom and Pop's costume and essentially mashed them together. She took the Bat belt, somehow melded it to the Cat belt, and painted it purple. She nabbed her mom's thief suit because she didn't want to be weighed down by her father's armor. But she did adopt his Memory Cloth cape.
- Helena improved her mother's goggles (notice the new hotness infrared visor rotates up to shape her bat ears)
- NBC Community fans may recognize the audience members in panel 2.
- Helena, like her parents, has brown hair.
- Helena has way more facial features from her mom. (Admittedly because Christian Bale's sharp features may be dashing - but don't make for a very pretty girl)
- I like the idea Linda Hemming presented in an interview concering Bruce and Selina wearing colorful clothing. This signified they had made it.. that they had let go of their former lives. So in order to keep with that theme, Helena is going in the opposite direction. So in each panel, her outfit is getting darker.
- I kind of regret I didn't give her a more youthful body build. But I wanted to give her a physique that's somewhere between Catwoman and Batwoman. Plus I was watching the Olympics and was inspired a bit by the ever bad-ass Hope Solo..

In any case... have more post TDKR character takes. More to come. Hope you guys like this one.

Catwoman Stealin' Movies

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 14:15:47 PDT

Ok, I apologize if this is just juvenile of me, but I really feel wanted to convey my vindication for sticking up for the Hathaway casting choice. I recognize that a lot of naysayers are now confessing they were wrong about bashing her so prematurely.. and this piece is not directed at you at all. It's more directed to people that still want to be stubborn and claim she was terrible. I mean seriously?!?!? Even the negative reviews out there praise Anne!

Since there doesn't seem to be any celebratory pieces praising the praise, I decided to make one in the vein of all those newspaper ads that plaster critics quotes.

So for those who love Anne's portrayal as I did, this is for you.

(Also have to plug Bobby Rubio's Cat/Hathaway piece.. that shit is the hit - [link])

Dungeons and Dragons and It Was Advanced

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 11:14:07 PDT

This was up at the Six Seasons & A Movie Art Show this past weekend. I didn't want to have it up until the show is over.

.. THANKS AGAIN PIXELDRIP FOR AN AWESOME SHOW !!!

This is completely going to date me. You'd have to be familiar with Community and it's D&D episode AND the old 80's D&D cartoon to fully get this. It's kind of a mash-up in a mash-up in a mash-up.

Starring...

(bottom row)
- Chang as Presto / Brutalitops (Magic User, Baby!)
- Britta as Sheila / Lavernica (with Boots... Belt...)
- Troy as Hank / Bing-Bong, the Archer and such
- Annie as Eric / Hector the Well Endowed
- Abed as Dungeon Master / Dungeon Master / Elf Maiden / Kyle the Gnome
- Jeff as Bobby / Marrrrrr
- Dean as Uni (or Deani the Deanicorn)
- Shirley as Diana / Zippedy-Doo

(top row)
- Pierce Hawthorne as Venger / Pierce Hawthorne (the dickish)
- Neil as StrongHeart (seriously, if you get that reference, you're a geek... like me.) / Ducane of the Clan Ducane (Edit: it's Dequesne... geez, calm down, reddit)
- Dan Harmon as Bahamut / Draconus

Abed Rises

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:50:22 PDT

Some notes:

- This will probably be shown on different format at the #sixseasonsandamovie art show

- No one seems to notice Britta's mask is on backwards

- Hard to notice, but Dreamatorium Abed is his usual Bat costume

- As someone noted online, the Dean's costume is actually MORE ridiculous in real life. Abed had to tone it down.

- E Pluribus Anus is on Abed's belt.. it's also the cracks behind the 'Abed Rises' logo. (Oh.. and some of the larger snowflakes.. but it's hard to see)

- Check out the tag on Abed's grappling hook

BrittAnnie

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 22:38:51 PDT

You're welcome, Internet.

Kept Posion'd Britta and Annie Quinn consistent with the AbedIsJoker image I did awhile ago. After the classic image by Bruce Timm, of course. Expect a more complex one for the art show.

Streets Ahead

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 20:39:48 PST

I was going to hit the pause button on NBC Community mash-up drawings... but this idea just crept up on me one day. The more it milled around in my head, the more I realized I kind of had to do it. I'm a huge Capcom/Street Fighter fan. And, being in the game industry myself, I found it was fitting. Without further ado, the character breakdowns (with some pre-established Q&A)

Clockwise, starting from the center:

Abed/Ryu - I mean really was there any question? Particularly when the show goes into genre-mode, Abed is undoubtedly the architect or the focal point. So why isn't Abed Dhalsim? Yeah, I realize Danny Pudi is actually of Indian heritage. But really, there was zero intention of breaking up the Abed/Troy bromance.. particularly if it perfectly mirrors the Ryu/Ken friendship. Additionally, ALL the characters in this piece, with the exception of Jeff, are playing the part of a character that is not their race or ethnicity.

Troy/Ken - Was the first one I drew. I figured if I couldn't represent him properly, then I should not bother with the entire drawing. Luckily I was really happy with it. Why isn't Troy Balrog or Dee-Jay? Same answer as above. Troy plays the perfect easier-going, happy Ken that plays off of the more stoic Abed/Ryu...

Pierce/Zangief - I found he was just the funniest thing on the page. I wish I found a clever way for him to do his gay gesture again. But alas, it never came to me. Why isn't Pierce Blanka? Him turning into a green, raging monster was dealt with in the very awesome Community/Avengers mash-up.

Britta/Cammy - Admittedly, her personality doesn't exactly line up with Cammy's. But aesthetically, Britta is just a shoe-in for her (moreso than any of the other cast to their respective characters)

Changka - I'm going to jump right into the inevitable questions. Why isn't Chang Fei-Long? I thought about this... but how boring would it be if I just made him shirtless and threw on some black pants. I felt it really wouldn't graze anyone's funny bones. Why isn't Chang E-Honda? Because as a Filipino-American, I get slightly annoyed at how Asians are just interchangably used for other Asian ethnicities. And the idea of making a Korean man playing a Chinese man play a Japanese man really just irritated me. And in the spirit of the show, it would mean I was as insane as the Dean. Hello? Why didn't you make him CHANGIEF!? Yeah, this might be my only regret because it sounds so dope. But really, when I drew Pierce as Zangief, I didn't want to reverse my initial decision. Besides, Changka sounds almost as cool.

Annie/Chun-Li - Really, I felt Annie embodies Sakura more. Especially since Abed is Ryu. But I quickly realized depriving the internet world of dressing Alison Brie as Chun-Li would be a complete disservice. So... you're welcome.

Dean-Li - Before the gag gets really old, I had to have him steal Annie's thunder this time. (Previously had him steal Shirley's Catwoman thunder. Then Britta's Poison Ivy thunder.) Why isn't Dean [Some other Street Fighter character that's a woman]? I didn't want to go past Street Fighter 2 Turbo Edition. So really, there were only two options.

Jeff/Guile - I felt this was kind of a no-brainer. Jeff, like Guile, is seemingly obsessed with his hair whenever there is downtime. Jeff's pretty vain... why isn't he Vega? With the exception of Shirley, this is more of a hero piece than a villain piece. Maybe if I was a glutton for punishment, I'll do a Dark Timeline version of this. But don't hold your breath for that.

Shirley/Akuma - This is actually my favorite in the whole drawing. I really really wanted to play off the 'Big Cheddar' persona that was introduced in the foosball episode. And what better character displays such an inherent evil than Akuma? Also, I had to pat myself on the back for the large beads leading into a big purse. I neglected that aspect of Shirley previously.

Greendale Central

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 21:14:34 PST

To my fellow hardcore... this one is for you. Because you'd need to know the nuances of both the Batman Universe and the Community universe to really appreciate this.

Part of the show's charm is the breadth of characters that support the study group... so I really wanted to dedicate a piece to them. And if we're still working in the Batman universe, the Gotham Central books by Brubaker really breathes life in the background police force that has to work in a city where a crazy man in a batsuit takes all the headlines.

By the way, before some smart-ass tells me this drawing is a complete rip-off... it is. It's the cover to first volume of Gotham Central. [link]

From left to right..
- Star Burns (Being creepy as ever)
- Garret (not sure what he's upset at)
- Quendra with a Q U
- Mike as Greendale S.W.A.T.
- Duncan
- Magnitude (pop! POP!)
- Leonard
- Neil (As Harvey Bullock... the only one here, by the way, that corresponds to a Bat Universe character)
- Vicki (Eying Neil)

And note the statue of alum Luiz Guzman

Apologies to fans of Rich from Pottery class, Red-headed guy, Drama Professor Garrity, Anthropology Professor Bauer, Meghan, Nurse Jackie, Micro-Nipples, Jeff's Turd of an ex girlfriend, Professor Whitman, Dean Spreck, the Black Rider, and countless others.

AbedIsJokerNow

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:45:57 PST

Well I said I'd do it and I did it... The mashup of NBC's Community and Batman's rogues gallery. I'm presupposing that the 'darkest, most terrible timeline' from the 'Remedial Chaos Theory' exists.

- Dean Pelton as Poison Ivy (And I had to have him be the God awful Uma Thurman version of Ivy, too.)
- Britta as Poison Ivy (YES EVERYONE - I KNEW I had to draw Britta as Poison Ivy.)
- Jeff as Two-Face (Naturally. This Jeff is missing his right arm. Didn't want to make a big deal about it in the drawing though so it's hidden behind Brita Ivy. Also note the ironic comment Joker Abed wrote)
- Annie as Harley Quinn (I love that this falls into place nicely. In the show Annie has a tendency to cling to Abed when he's in full character.)
- Abed as Joker
- Troy as Riddler (I'm a huge Troy fan and always had him planned to be the Riddler, particularly since it's a nice pair-up with Abed... to my horror, though, it's reminiscent of that horrible Eddie Murphy Riddler that was being passed around the internets when that ridiculous rumor was going around. Ah well.. maybe there's some comedy in that. Sorry Donald Glover!)
- Senor Chang as Bane (The only one I was conflicted with because I thought he'd be more of a Penguin type. But honestly, it was so much more visually ridiculous to have him as Bane. Plus he's SENOR Chang right?)
- Pierce as Mr. Freeze (Still going with bad timeline continuity, Pierce dies.. and I figure a good way to resurrect him is cryogenically.)
- Shirley as Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman (Went the Batman Returns route since THAT Catwoman is crazy.)

So anyway, hope you guys like it.

#sixseasonsandamovie !!!!

AbedIsBatmanNow

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 20:28:05 PST

Cast of NBC's COMMUNITY as BATMAN & co.

Took awhile to hash out who was going to be who.
- Britta as Batwoman (May be shortsighted of me... but felt it was appropriate with Britta's brief dabbling in the lesbian world)
- Jeff as Harvey Dent (Kind of boring, I know... however, I plan on a second Bat Villain piece, so it should play out well then)
- Chang as Robin (Originally he was going to be Commisioner Gordon since he's a figure of authority now... but visually I dont feel that would of been all that funny. His hair, though, made him perfect for the 60's TV version of Robin)
- Annie as Batgirl (I like this since she makes up a roommate triumvirate with Abed and Troy now... parallels Bruce/Dick/Barbara from the 60s)
- Abed as Batman (Duh)
- Troy as Nightwing (I completely refused to make Troy Robin... even though it probably would of made sense. But I felt since Donald Glover has been raised to Spider-Man caliber, he deserved to be someone bad-ass)
- Pierce as Alfred (If there was ever a Batman parody I would have no problem with Chevy Chase filling in Michael Caine's role)
- Shirley and Dean Pelton as Catwoman (Really wanted to do Yvette Brown as a tribute to Eartha Kitt. And similar to the beginning number of Seasn 3, ep. 1, wanted Dean Pelton to come and steal Shirley's diva thunder. Ironically, I had him choose the sluttier Halle Berry version)

Batman and Villains - from the Nolanverse

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 17:51:29 PST

Batman & co.

(from LEFT TO RIGHT: Ra's, Scarecrow, Two-Face, Joker, Bats, Catwoman, & Bane)

Yo Gabba Gabba

Mon, 02 May 2011 22:31:32 PDT

For all my little nieces and nephews because they're all crazy about Yo Gabba Gabba.

Two Face Two

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:47:16 PST

Anna Ramirez as the 2nd Two Face (traumatized by guilt over her part in the death of Rachel Dawes and the fate of Harvey Dent, she takes over the Two Face role, wiping out remaining mob with the flip of a coin)

Manisilat

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 14:09:48 PDT

Manisilat is an old Tagalog goddess that caused conflict between married couples -- I opted to broaden the concept and make her a goddess of generalized conflict

Jebuz

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 10:56:41 PST

it's weird.. no one thinks this would be a good game pitch.. what the heck?

Un-used sh-t

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:01:58 PST

Stuff I did that wasn't used

Zombie Mario Bros.

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:20:49 PDT

princess, bowser comin soon

Zombie Princess Peach

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 01:03:09 PDT

Zombie Peach & Bowser

Movie Shockwave

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:14:34 PDT

movie-version of Shockwave.. and the truth about the Autobot twins (Mudflap and Skids.. who I thoroughly detested if you couldn't tell from what I did to them)