Mr. Miracle & Big Barda, A Special Night

OK, so I honestly don't think I have ever read a New Gods story. I feel kind of bad because I love Kirby's work and as any comic fan would say, great work.  Any way, my exposure to Mr. Miracle and Barda is pretty limited and what I have seen is Barda is pretty straight forward and Scott, well he just doesn't always seem to get it. But here's my take.

Minions of Apokolips: Glorious Godfrey by Justin Zyduck

Of all the Fourth World villains, I find Glorious Godfrey the most fascinating. I mean, take a look at this page and all the wonderful richness it suggests. A salesman disguised as a televangelist, Godfrey isn't a total sham. He does believe in anti-life (or at least he tells Darkseid he does; I choose to believe that he's telling the truth), but only to a point. To him it's really just a marketing campaign for Darkseid. It's like if you were an adman for Apple, and you sincerely believed that Apple products are the computing solution for every man, woman, and child on Earth -- and then Darkseid comes in and is like, "You shortsighted fool, don't you realize? APPLE IS LIFE ITSELF!"

WWII: Captain America #1, Josh Lynch

This was the other concept I was developing for the Romantic  Kirby cover.  This WWII theme gave me the perfect opportunity to revisit the concept.

The Mighty Thor Annual #2 by Rich Flood

Who Dares?

The Mighty Thor Annual #2 by Justin Zyduck

Sketch!

Romantic Kirby Covers by Justin Zyduck

I had a little trouble with the composition, and then I ran short on time, but I went full-on airport romance novel.

Romantic Kirby Cover: "The Hammer And The Honeymoon" by Josh Purple

I didn't do this week's AWESOME theme justice, only had time for a very rough cartoony sketch.  Just a little twisted father & son action :D !  (made sure to move the cape just enough to reveal the mighty hammer)

Jack Kirby Romance: Daredevil by Mark Hurst

Ok, so I thought this was a great theme and have enjoyed them so far. So here's my take on it, while I'm not really sure what the hell is going on in the real cover... it kind goes that I'm really not sure what the hell is going on in my retake of the cover. I just love the idea of Daredevil fearing dancing and especially the samba.

Kirby Romance: Marvel Two-In-One #19 by Rich Flood

Ah, Romance...

Forbidden Love by Mike McMahon

Time was really against me this week and I knew I wouldn't be able to do a really extravagant piece so hopefully this drawing will do the theme justice.

Darth Vader (Kirby Style) by Justin Zyduck

If only you knew the power of the...Darkseid?

For whatever reason, it occurred to me that a 1970s Jack Kirby-style Darth Vader would be cool. I didn't want to do too much of a stylistic pastiche; I think when artists "do" Kirby, they should focus more on the dynamism in his work rather than his specific artistic quirks (although I couldn't resist putting in the Kirby squiggles on the metal bits). To that end, I went through some Kirby comics of that vintage looking for a pose to base this piece off of. My first instinct was to go OMAC or New Gods, but neither one had quite what I was looking for. I finally found the pose I was looking for in Mister Miracle #5...in a drawing of Big Barda, actually! I think using a "crouching Kirby" pose gives it an interesting effect, because most Vader images are vertical compositions.

Oh, by the way, I know I didn't draw Vader's...waist cape, or whatever you'd call it...but I couldn't figure out how to make it work in this drawing. NERD JOKE: Actually, I penciled it in, but Vince Colletta erased it in the inks.