Jamal Igle's Blog, page 14

The Ray # 2 preview

From the vaults. Supergirl #56

Supergirl #56 picks up immediately after the last issue, with Kara using Bizarrogirl's escape ship to return to Bizzaro world, The cube shaped home planet of Bizarro.Jon Sibal returned to ink this issue and we were joined by new colorist. the man simply known as  "Blond"




The destruction.. sort of... of Bizarro world. thematically i wanted to replicate what I did with the destruction of New krypton.



The bizarro in the baseballcap? Geoff Johns. the female behind him, Jill Thompson.


once again bizarro Geoff and Jill along with a lovelorn Bizarro Sterling Gates. Again I was using a very thick and chunky line to draw the Bizarros to make them visually different from Supergirl.

the supplicants, design-wise came first.
I just liked the idea of them being like giant insects that were all teeth, but sleek, like killer whale.  










The "Orror" was the original name we were going to use for what would eventually become "the Godship".




Thumbnails for Supergirl#56

From the vaults. Supergirl #55

This was  a fun couple of pages because I began experimenting with how I would draw the Bizarro's in the next issue. instead of using sharpened pencils and leadholders, I used all blunt tips tp create the sharp angles of their features.

This is an example of why I became a visual artist:Creative problem solving. However... it's also an example of my occasional frustration with being a commercial artist. If you look back at the post for the previous issue, you'll see that I tried to create a lead like finish to Supergirl's body. So I was taken aback a bit when i got the script for this issue and read this:
Here's the problem. Lead statues aren't reflective.So I decided to go with a chrome finish and instead of a single reflective image, I would do multiple variations within the reflections. it took time to figure it all out, but is really a great image in the end.




The first part of the issue was inked by Richard Friend, a really talented guy who I hope to work with again at some point.





Yes, I based my Perry on Lane Smith from "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman"






Yes I did really research the type of break indicated in the script.

These pages were inked by frequent collaborator Marc Deering









the rest of the issue was inked by John Dell and I wish I had scans of his beautiful inks because Johni s one of the finest inkers in this business.
Thumbnails for Supergirl #55

From the vaults. Supergirl #54

Supergirl # 54  was a beast of an issue. Going on my whole "Go out of top" plan for the end of my run. I did more work with the backgrounds on this issue to try and create a more "believable" version of Metropolis. 

The opening panel of page 1 was a monster. Pete Woods "He who will always be awesome" designed an entire movable legend of metropolis that he built in Sketch up. I used that as the base for my placements. I then went in and built the actual buildings using the base as a layout.



Mr. Action to the rescue! I love Jimmy Olsen, but I've thought that for the most part over the last 20 years with the exception of James Robinson and Kurt Busiek, no one has really used him to his potential.  It's easier for a lot of writers to use Jimmy as comic relief. To me, Jimmy should be a mix between Tin Tin and MacGyver. Smart,brave, resourceful and inventive. Which is why I loved drawing this sequence. DC would never do it, but I think you could do a "Jimmy Olsen Adventures" series without Superman being involved.



I based the Daily Planet bullpen on the Bullpen at the New York Times.

the kid in the glasses (Norrie) was intended to be a new reoccurring character. I also tried to throw in some little geeky easter eggs, some were removed though. Jimmy's Camera was supposed to be a "Ditkoh", and the Daily Planet uses "Kord" (As in Ted Kord , the former Blue Beetle) Computers. In the former DCU, Kord was purchased by Waynetech when Ted went bankrupt (Bruce gave the money to Ted, I believe). Wayne enterprises also owned the Daily Planet as well.
You people have no idea how much of a comic book geek I am.. LOL.






the "Closet of Solitude"Items include: The Blood petal from Supergirl Annual #1, the framed photo of herself and Wondergirl (Cassie Sandsmark) from Supergirl # 43, the Newspaper from Supergirl #34, A piece of her mothers, Alura, S-sheild, Her fathers, Zor-el, headband, her wig from Her "Claire Conners" identity (Supergirl #10), An Amazonian spear, her  Flamebird helmet, and a Superman action figure from World's finest #3

Definitely a homage moment
  The first clue to the last arc we did. Note the evil, terse smile.












These were my initial concepts for Bizarro Supergirl. Initially I wanted her to be a complete opposite of Supergil and be covered almost completely. the costume would be a homage to her mother's outfit from the New krypton story. when that was turned down  I decided to go with an outfit closer to the Silver Age Supergirl. You'll notice that the faces are more of a traditional Bizarro style. However when I saw Amy Reeder's cover for Supergirl #55, I changed the head to match her design.






Layouts for Supergirl #54

Supergirl #53, the beginning of the end

After the end of War of the Supermen, I was looking for a creative change. I decided  that I was going to leave the book. At that point I had been on Supergirl for almost 18 months, creatively for some of us that's a very long time to be on a single project. I knew I wanted to go out on a high point, while I was still into drawing the book and didn't want thew work to slack or look uninteresting. So I decided that if I was going out, it was going to be in style. I'm exceedingly proud of the work Sterling Gates I did on Supergirl and I think that this issue, which began the Bizzarogirl story arc is the best work we did.


The initial change in hair sketch for Kara and the original Gangbuster redesign.

The idea was to harken back to the original version of the character, but make it slicker and more streamlined.




Thumbnails for the issue
This was also the first and only cover that I had drawn for the series after being on for so long. they went from Josh Middleton to Amy Reeder but needed a cover for this issue.


Sketch and pencils
inks and solicited version (colors by Tom Chu)
Later Mark Chiarello would me to add a background element to the cover.So I drew a new background, cleaned up the original speed lines and superimposed them in photoshop


Final published cover.
Layouts for pages 17,18 and 22
 





This would also be the last issue colored by Nei Ruffino, who did a magnificent job. Inked by the always awesome Jon Sibal.
















 
 

From the Vaults. Supergirl #51

An awesome cover by Joshua Middleton (His final cover from our run) adorns Supergirl #51. It was the last official part of "Last Stand on New Krypton". I didn't mean to neglect this issue but because at the time, it was a bit of a rush job. i'm not a 100% happy with how it came out but I wanted to show you guys the process from the issue.the book was inked by Marc Deering and Jon Sibal

The Future.... is now

Greetings Brethren,

I know that I've been very cryptic about my post-The Ray work and there's a reason for this.
For the last seven years I've enjoyed an exclusive arrangement with DC Entertainment, one that was mutually beneficial. I wanted to wait until I could officially make this announcement.

As of last Saturday, I am no longer exclusive to DC Entertainment/ Warner Bros.

Frankly, this has been a long time coming,While I was very happy for many years to be exclusive, There comes a time when you're ready to move on. There's no animosity, in fact just the opposite. I've never been calmer or more centered than I have since I made this decision. I was forced to turn down a lot of outside opportunities while I was exclusive because I was so busy that I couldn't take them on or contractually unable to do them.

So what does this mean?

Well, for one I already have a some comics work coming up, which will be announced soon, as well as securing other work in and out of the industry. I'm also available for work as well. I'll be taking private commissions and developing some projects and pitching some of the creator owned concepts I've been working on over the last few years.

I aslo have a plan that I'm formulating for product. I'll be revamping the website from the ground up, so stay tuned for that as well.
Does this mean I'll never work for DC Comics again, far from it. It may be sometime before you see my name on  DC book however, since there have not been any conversations about future work.

This is a big deal for me. A lot of my identity for the better part of a decade was tied up into being a part of DC's internal talent pool.  Hell, I started working at DC when I was a teenager. I've done more work for DC than any other publisher.  However, it became clear to me that I needed to be more than that again, not just "DC Exclusive Artist Jamal Igle".  I remain a DC Comics fan, I'm exceedingly proud of the work I've done.  Still, I'm a different person now, and hopefully a better artist, than I was seven years ago. I will always be thankful for the trust the DCE placed in me for so long.

I'm looking forward to what's coming and the potential of what lies down the road.

The countdown is on!

COUNTDOWN CLOCKS

Raging Bullets takes aim at The Ray!

Sean Whelan and Jim "Sensei of the What-Not" Segulin give a really nice and in depth review of issue one ofn their podcast "Raging Bullets"
Glad you guys liked it so much.
You can check their show at here.

From the Vaults: War of The Supermen #1

There's a lot to be said about War of the Supermen. Whether you liked it or hated it, It did have an impact for awhile with Superman fans.War of the Supermen (or The 100 minute war) as DC described it was supposed to read in real time, each issue taking place over 20 minutes of time. It was a massive undertaking. For myself, it was daunting. I wasn't supposed to be the artist of Issue #1( Issue #0 was drawn by Eddy Barrows), it was supposed to be Aaron Lopresti. I was scheduled to draw issue  #3 because i had scheduled a family vacation to Orlando. Suddenly, I get a call from Matt Idelson, saying they needed me to draw the first issue.Are you fucking kidding me???
As usual I, I knuckled down and found a way, drawing the first half before i went on vacation for 10 days ,coming home and finishing the book at warp speed so that it shipped on time. Which wasn't easy...

This page alone took two days to finish.

It was  also my first real opportunity to draw Superman, I mean really draw Superman, So I think i made myself much more nervous that I probably should have.

At the same time we were putting a very definitive ending on the New Krypton story of Alura and Kara's rather rocky relationship.





It was also a rather finite ending for Reactron as well, going out like the son of a bitch he was. I think it's a really strong scene. In the end, no matter what their differences, Alura did what any good parent would do and protecter her daughter at the cost of her life.




I wish I hadn't draw such a derp face on Superman in panel 4


My Kirby moment.

one of things you might notice is that the shape of the rocks on this page were changed in the inks. While I was on vacation, I get an email  from Idelson, again. he thought the original drawing I did made the asteroids look too much like potatoes. So he wanted something more crystal like. So I told him to let jon Sibal change them. I did a quick sketch of what they should look like, and had to scramble to find a Kinkos so that I could scan and email the sketch to Jon.The other thing you'll notice is the change in the last panel from the pencils. Apparently DC frowns on crotch shots of the Junk of Steel.







James Robinson, one of my all time favorite comic book writers wrote this sequence and when I sent him the pencils, he paid me the best compliment I could have gotten:"This is exactly how I saw it in my head"




The space fleet were laid out using Pete woods designs in Sketchup and then hand drawn.






Layouts for War of the Supermen #1
So that's the end of "From the Vaults" this week. I'm going to take tomorrow off from posting and enjoy the NewYears Eve celebrations. I have a big announcement coming on Monday, and from the Vaults will continue on Tuesday, January 3rd with Supergirl # 53Happy New Year.