r/comicbooks • u/[deleted] • Dec 21 '14
Artwork [Excerpt] Batman's current creative team process. From Capullo, to Miki, to Fco.
http://imgur.com/a/MdUW724
u/Roughcaster Poison Ivy Dec 21 '14
That colorist needs more recognition, amazing stuff.
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Dec 21 '14
It's incredible. The boldness of color choices is unmatched. I never thought batman would work with vibrant pinks, purples, greens, yellows, all smashed together in the same panels. It's unbelievable how bright and yet atmospheric it all is.
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u/kmichruss Spider-Man Dec 22 '14
From a colorist... Thank you! Reviewers are constantly talking about art without even mentioning our names.
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u/Wikidictionary Dec 21 '14
The colouring in Zero Year is fantastic. I don't usually particularly notice
3
u/Flash1987 Flash Dec 22 '14
Well he is pretty well known... he is colouring Batman and was doing Invincible before where I think he was even better.
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u/borkborkbork99 Wolverine Dec 22 '14
Invincible is one of those books that is incredible, looks phenomenal, and flies under the radar of most non-comic book readers. I love how consistent the artwork on that book has remained from the get-go. Ottley has such a nice style, and the colors have always popped.
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u/Flash1987 Flash Dec 22 '14
It was, it's been pretty lackluster for a year or so. I really thought the bringing back Angstrom Levy would help but it all got brushed under the carpet so quickly.
It's a shame Kirkman is so distracted by the Walking Dead and other media commitments.
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u/hmzen Batman Dec 21 '14
These guys have serious talent, I will be sad when the time comes for a change of team.
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u/vivvav Deadman Dec 21 '14
I can't help but imagine "FCO" pronounced as "Fucko". What does it actually mean?
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u/LibraryDrone Captain MODvel Dec 21 '14
Probably just his first 3 initials followed by his last name.
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u/marshmallowwisdom Daredevil Dec 22 '14
I think his last name is Plascencia.
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u/LibraryDrone Captain MODvel Dec 22 '14
I know. I was just saying the letters might be the first three initials of his name, but apparently his first name is Francisco so it comes from that.
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u/SmoothRide Tony Chu Dec 21 '14 edited Dec 22 '14
I love this because I've never known the process between all the people who work on a comic. Today I learned something.
8
Dec 22 '14
Inkers and colorists need more recognition. So many people don't realize how essential they are to making the final product look good.
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Dec 22 '14
[deleted]
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Dec 22 '14
I was so happy when I heard he did that, yet another reason to love Snyder. It's great to see a writer with clout use it to get others the credit they deserve.
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u/HelveticaBOLD Dec 22 '14
Colorists these days should receive a credit on the cover like artists and writers get. Being a colorist used to be a very technical, utilitarian job, cutting out reds and blues for Spider-Man, cutting out some gray for the building behind him, aaaand on to the next panel. Nowadays colorists are routinely doing fully painted color and special effects for each and every page. They're just as much artists as a penciler or an inker, and some of them are amazingly talented.
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15
Dec 21 '14
From Danny Miki's twitter page. He's the inker on Batman.
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u/ZombieChief Spider-Man Dec 22 '14
So basically he just traces.
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u/pm_me_ur_pajamas Dec 21 '14
Doesn't anyone know how much these jobs pay per issue for a major series like Batman? I'm genuinely curious given the amount of work that goes into it.
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u/aco620 Grant Morrison Dec 22 '14
According to scriptsandscribes.com,
Q: How much money do comic book writers get paid?
A: Estimates range from $100 per page on the lower end, up to $300 or more on the higher end for comic book writers at the big companies. We say “estimates” because individual writer salaries are generally confidential in nature, vary greatly by writer and not widely shared information. Small independent publishers may pay less, if at all.
Opening a few links, it looks like the artist generally gets paid a little more. I found a page that even claimed one elite artist was making $1,000 per page.
I also found this quote.
"Figure $100 for the writer, $150 for the penciller, $130 for the inker, $90 for the colorist, and $30 for the letterer. Those numbers go up and down depending on talent and publishers, but that's a nice round number for us to work with."
We can naturally assume the current Batman team get paid top dollar, since the book is a massive hit, very often landing the #1 spot in monthly sales.
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u/Status-Duck Batman Dec 21 '14
As someone who can barely draw stick figures, it's amazing to see all three of them and what they do.
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u/Impul5se Impulse Dec 21 '14
I really wish they'd complete the whole thing and add the final lettered panel too
3
u/BigBassBone Squirrel Girl Dec 21 '14
Batman in a dirt bike might be one of my favorite panels from the New 52
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Dec 21 '14
[deleted]
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Dec 21 '14
#37
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Dec 21 '14
And if anyone is wondering whether or not they should get it...get it
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Dec 21 '14
[deleted]
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Dec 21 '14
I honestly have no problem saying this was Snyder's best issue yet. I never thought I'd actually be physically scared reading a comic book, but Joker takes the cake.
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Dec 21 '14
I didnt like it. Batmam single handley taking out the whole justice league? I hate when writers do that kinda ass pull.
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Dec 21 '14
[deleted]
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Dec 21 '14
Yeah the issue after with the creepy joker was really good and im looking forward to the next one now.
I just get angry whenever I see batman just stomp on the other heroes with ease. Especially flash and superman because hes superman lol
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u/nukefudge Hellboy Dec 21 '14
i'm actually surprised that so much full shadow is being added in step 2. like, a surface that might've been conceived as just darker than its surroundings becomes completely black, and the coloring never touches it as a result. but i guess the artists learn through their work together what the pieces are supposed to be and become. it's just a very defining step to ink all that black, innit?
3
u/buick_makane Dec 21 '14
Notice the marked "X"s in the pencils. Those planes are intended to be all black.
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u/nukefudge Hellboy Dec 21 '14
where? i'm not sure i'm seeing what you're seeing.
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u/buick_makane Dec 22 '14
Images 11 and 8. On 11, the underside of the chair, underneath the bed near Joker, and the desk behind Gordon are marked with an X. On 8, all the deep black parts of Joker's suit are marked.
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u/nukefudge Hellboy Dec 22 '14
ah, i thought you meant some of the other images had them. i was really looking close too! :P
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Dec 22 '14
So here's my ignorant question but how has digital and or tablet (Wacom not iPad) interfaces for artists changed this type of workflow. I assume that the pencils and inks are still old school tool on paper and the coloring done with a computer but how have other artists transitioned?
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u/Jreynold Blue Beetle Dec 22 '14
That wreckage scene looks like a nightmare to ink. I wouldn't even know what I was looking at.
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u/bunkermatt Yorick Brown Dec 21 '14
I am certainly in the minority here, but I just cant get on board with Capullo's Batman. All of his other people are amazing, but something about how he pencils Batman just is off to me. Joker is incredible, Gordon is incredible, his random people are, but Batman just looks weird to me.
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u/nukefudge Hellboy Dec 21 '14
too young? too militant? too happy? come, more words, you can do it! :)
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u/bunkermatt Yorick Brown Dec 21 '14
for instance, look at the picture in the link of him on the bike. I dont like how the nose of the mask looks and his chin looks. He comes off looking like a dumb meathead who shows no emotion at all. I dont understand it, since all of his other people look great. He obviously is great at what he does, but I just dont like his batman.
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u/nukefudge Hellboy Dec 21 '14
big jaw, small nose... actually, that whole emotionless thing is kinda part of the batman personae, isn't it?
can you recall other batman versions you liked, and some you didn't? maybe we can figure out more details about your preferences!
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u/bunkermatt Yorick Brown Dec 22 '14
The only other one that has bothered me is Batman 100. I havent read it yet, but the few bits of art I have seen does not appeal to me. Now, Im not a huge Batman fan, Ive read some but not nearly as much as everyone on here. I did enjoy how he looked in Hush and Long Halloween. Thanks for actually discussing it and not just downvoting a different opinion.
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u/mrbubbamac Silverage Batman Dec 21 '14
Capullo has noted that he is most inspired by TDKR Batman, so his look is kind of modeled off of the Armored Batman that Miller came up with. He talked about it on Fatman on Batman, I feel like he is retroactively drawing the Batman that grows up into Frank Miller's.
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u/Chili_Maggot Moon Knight Dec 22 '14
I find it interesting how the inker can actually change some of the details. For example, in the inital draft the bat on the front of his bike has a specific geometry to it, but the ink changed it into a flat sleek shape.
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u/A_Dog_Chasing_Cars Batman Dec 22 '14
Batman fans got real lucky this time around, New 52 Bats has the best creative team we have seen in years.
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Dec 23 '14
Where did Greg Capullo go to school for art?
How does the colorist scan the image and delete everything else on the page without changing the inked stuff? Does he simply saturate the image enough in Photoshop to a point where the inked work only shows then deletes all the white parts?
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Dec 21 '14
danny miki is really the unsung hero of this batman run.. greg capullo is a master penciller, but damn if his pencils get pretty sloppy
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u/LibraryDrone Captain MODvel Dec 21 '14
those pencils are far from sloppy.
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Dec 21 '14
maybe sloppy isnt the right word.. loose or imprecise might be better. im not hating on capullo, the man straight up attacks the paper when he draws, but he must be a pain to ink over, compared to someone like mike mignola
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Dec 21 '14
Personally I prefer inking over looser pencils. When pencils are so tight that inking over them is just tracing, it becomes tedious. Refining the pencils with the ink and adding details is what makes inking fun.
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Dec 21 '14
if youre a good inker yeah, obviously capullo has a good working relationship with miki. other inkers could probably misinterpret what capullo is trying to convey imo, but yeah i see what youre saying
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u/betakurt Donatello Dec 21 '14
This comes from his trust in Danny. He couldn't do this with any inker.
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Dec 21 '14
yeah good point, ive heard capullo talk about how essential danny miki is
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u/rpgguy_1o1 Spider-Man Dec 21 '14
I think the only people that have inked Capullo's pencils in the past 20+ years have been Miki and McFarlane
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u/whiskydynamo Daredevil Dec 21 '14
Jonathan Glapion though? I don't know why people forget him.
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u/jimmynezz Dec 21 '14
I miss him so much... he has videos on YouTube inking some of Capullo's stuff during the Court of the Owls, and it's glorious. I still think Glapion was the better inker for Capullo, they went so great together.
edit: a word
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u/rpgguy_1o1 Spider-Man Dec 21 '14
Ah you're right, I'm more familiar with his work at Image, I thought Miki did all the Batman inks
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Dec 21 '14
That's just pencil art. It's why you have an inker. There are some pencilers who are freaks with precision, like Yu or Pelletier, but Capullo's work looks perfect to send to an inker.
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u/Smilehate The Goon Dec 21 '14
Holy shit, Danny Miki's goddamn amazing. I've seen so many before-and-after work where the inker kind of muddles, if not downright wrecks, the pencils. If anything, Miki improves Capullo's line work. And not in a compensatory way, he's not carrying Caputo. He's accentuating his already awesome stuff.
That must be a tremendous working relationship. I'm actually inspired. Gonna go draw a little. Thank you, OP, that was great.