Note: Sometimes it takes a second set of eyes to fully understand something. Take for instance this Ross Campbell-tweaked design on Alopex, a new character in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. Originally introduced just a few months back, I didn’t pay much mind to her then but when I saw Ross’ take on her here I had to stand back and take notice. Ross is working with writer Brian Lynch on a solo issue about her due out later this year. – Chris A.
Note: Kris Anka makes a Black Manta that’ll make you scared to go swimming in the ocean ever again. – Chris A.
Note: When Tony Aros won our Shadowman: In A New Light redesign contest, it wasn’t the first time his work has graced our site. Aros’ work has been featured on nine separate occasions, including earning an honorable mention in three of our redesign contests. Today I wanted to bring his work to light once more and show off the excellent pieces Aros’ has done so far. – Chris A.
Note: Ilias Kyriazis is back after a long absence, redesigning the Avengers from the ground up– including the membership. Some of the designs stay the same from their 616 counterparts, while others like U.S. Agent and Zero (The 2099 Ghost Rider) go to some very new places. Look below the pin-up for descriptions from Ilias about the team’s makeup. – Chris A.
It’s always very fun to come up with rosters for superhero teams. I thought I’d draw my own take on the Avengers (or the Defenders?) I limited my choices to B-list and C-list characters so it’d feel more personal. A team for a hypothetical book I could make my own.
She-Hulk
Team Leader and co-founder. Her experience makes her the best choice for the role even if leading is not her style. I always enjoy “fun” and seemingly carefree characters thrown in situations that require a lot of responsibility. At first I went with a pink costume and it looked cool but it clashed with everyone else on the team.U.S.Agent
The other founder. I enjoy a jerk in a team and he’s one of the biggest jerks Marvel has. I stepped away from the Captain America look a little. I armed him with John Wayne’s actual handgun, cause what’s more American than that?Torgo
Alien robot gladiator! What’s not to love? Why isn’t he more popular?
I wanted him to look a little retro, something that could be a Masters Of The Universe or M.U.S.C.L.E figure. Thus the simple design and the high waist. Also the less “real” his technology looks, the more alien he looks.Zero
Kenshiro “Zero” Cochrane was (will be) the Ghost Rider of the year 2099. His self ended uploaded online and it somehow got transported back in our time. He created a new mechanical body and fights to prevent his dark future. I see him as a very political, very anti-corporation character. He dropped the Ghost Rider name out of respect to the current one.Nekra
Villains join superhero teams all the time, right? She-Hulk was her lawyer so when she saw she was serious about going straight she gave her a chance. She still a very angry and very dangerous person though. I wanted her costume to reflect her original hyper-sexualised one (I’ve never seen Nekra clothed) but I think she also needs a more practical version. She can wear this one at parties.Ruby Thursday
Another former villain. Ruby and Nekra became lovers in prison and Nekra brought her with her on this team. She’s now having “sex” with Zero (the kind of cyberspace sex only people with computer brains can have) and there’s a weird love triangle between themCloak and Dagger
Underused characters I always wanted to see as part of a larger team. I also wanna see how will cute and naive Dagger fare in a team of former villains and psychos and weirdos like this.
Note: When a celebrated animation artist shows you a doodle he has for a redesigned Batman and Robin, you stop what you’re doing. And this design by animator Thomas Perkins (The Batman, Ben 10, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) takes the dynamic duo to a throwback era that really kickstarts my imagination. Where was this Batman when Grant Morrison had Bruce Wayne skipping through time? And what kind of shenanigans would they be up to? And what does their Batmobile look like?. – Chris A.
Note: Back-to-back features on the same character? I wouldn’t normally advise that, but once I saw how great Chris Copeland‘s take on Nightwing was I couldn’t help myself. Copeland’s design sticks closer to the Brian Stelfreeze designs from the comics, but accentuates them by adding the Batman-logo to it and also by making it glow. That, along with the segmented armor look that works better here than what we see at DC’s New 52, gives me shivers imagining this in use in comics. – Chris A.
Note: The best redesigns come about when an artist takes on a character he loves and critically takes apart the design and makes something fresh but true to the character. Pixar story artist Bobby Rubio did just that when he gave a second look to DC’s Dick Grayson — aka Nightwing — with this excellent mature design. Thistakes the character back to his original blue-tinged color scheme with a helmet riffing slightly off of Wingman that makes him as dangerous as his mentor. – Chris A.
Last week we announced the winners of our latest redesign contest, Shadowman: In A New Light. And in the end, only one could be the winner, and it was frequent P:R artist Tony Aros who beat out over 80 other entries to claim the prize. Aros, who works at the Kentucky comic store Collector’s Universe, spoke with us after the dust settled about the design choices he made that ultimately built up to be the winning design. We talked about classic Shadowman imagery going back to the comics and video games, as well as other dark heroes in comics lore, and even a James Bond villain or two.
Here, once again, is Aros’ winning image:
Chris Arrant: First off – when you heard about the Shadowman: In A New Light redesign contest, what were the first thing that came into your mind for the visual of Shadowman?
Tony Aros: I really wanted the design to be sleek and ominous, with an other-worldly quality. I also wanted to include the white skull face, glowing eyes, and glowing logo belt so that it would make for a very striking, unique image whenever he emerges from shadows. Batman doesn’t have to be the only hero that can strike fear at first sight!
Note: Heath Ledger made the Joker scary again, and then Greg Capullo doubled that. Now Rafael Grampá has gone and tripled it with this stunning illustration. Now admittedly part of what makes this excellent is Grampá’s style, but there is a redesign here — showing how just the smallest iterations of a design can improve them vastly. – Chris A.
Note: Like the dawning of a new day, Cliff Chiang and Brian Azzarello’s Wonder Woman series signaled a new era for fans of DC’s Amazon princess. With a bold new design that makes her equal parts warrior and woman, it’s been one of the shining lights of the New 52. And that’s why we’re celebrating it with our next Fan-Art Friday. Artists of all stripes are encouraged to draw their rendition of Wonder Woman; the deadline for submissions is Friday, March 29 at 1pm Eastern time. Email them to us at projectrooftop@gmail.com with your full name, a link to your website/portfolio (if you have one). Make sure the images are under 1000 pixels wide, and are in either JPG, GIF or PNG formats. – Chris A.
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