Comic Book Brain | The Detritus of Pop Culture | Artwork

2-Page spread, Detective Comics 870

Scott McDaniel artwork from Detective Comics 870, 2 page spread with enough Batmen to form an army.

Dark Knight Rices

Dark Knight Rices - funny Batman image

Superman gets the 'Go By' circa 1944

Man of Steel - 52 Reasons Promo

Update: Man of Steel at 200.3 million for the weekend opening (only Iron Man 3 has had a better opening in 2013, so far).

World's Finest #10

Kevin Maguire spread from World's Finest - see the artwork much larger.

[Below] The Powergirl costume soon reverted back to the 'chest window' version.

Neal Adams doing the variant cover for Walking Dead

Neal Adams Variant Walking Dead Cover

The art is for the limited-edition Wizard World release for the convention June 28-30 in Manhatten.

Superhero prints by Cosmosnail

"Lonely God" prints by Cosmosnail. Prints are being sold at behance.net

Lonely Gods

Lonely Gods Cosmosnail

First Robin the Boy Wonder, Detective Comics #38, 1940

See the Bob Kane, Jerry Robinson artwork enlarged.

Avengers Unassembled, so far

Joss Whedon says he won't do Avengers 2 without Downey. Downey isn't signed for Avengers 2. Marvel Studios has some problem-solving to perform.

When the artist and writer include themselves in the story

Brave and the Bold #124, January 1976

Artist Jim Aparo and writer Bob Haney join the tale to save Batman.

Just another team-up between Sgt Rock and Batman turns into the surreal tale of comic book terrorists leaving the comic pages and holding artist Jim Aparo captive so that the story will end the way they want it: with Batman dead.

Frank Cho - Savage Wolverine and Shanna the She Devil

Savage Wolverine #5, July 2013, Marvel Comics

Frank Cho issue 5 of Savage Wolverine has Hulk on hand to be confronted by Shanna and Wolverine, and contretemps follow.

Frank Cho's series features his artwork, of course, but also on hand is his light-hearted adventure story-writing. The expected hero-combat occurs, but is often a set-up for one-liners or actual slapstick comedy (Hulk flying through the air, catching on fire, and getting grabbed by a whale before landing.) Instead of the heavy-handed sturm-und-drang of many superhero books, Cho's tale seems to have one foot in classic action movies and the other in classic Marvel Comics bravura writing, both of which are about not taking the violence and threats of death too seriously.

Also unique in this series is the actual placement of Cho (as the character 'Amadeus') inside the story, rendering commentary (sometimes insulting) and saving the characters from time to time (reminds me of Brave and the Bold #124 in which artist Jim Aparo and writer Bob Haney are 'inside' the story and are called upon to save Batman, who is otherwise doomed. Artist Aparo is caputured by terrorists and must escape and contact writer Bob Haney in order to coordinate a script that thwarts the evildoers and keeps Sgt Rock from being made to gun down Batman.)

Cho excels at drawing the human physique, and on view are the muscles of Shanna the She-Devil, Wolverine and Hulk. Colors are by Json Keith.

In the story, there is some silly friction between Wolverine and Shanna in which both characters, used to taking charge in tense situations, (of which this series is loaded) are thus frequently butting-heads over who should be bringing the fight against whatever threat is before them (of which there is plenty).