I figured since the first issue of Smallville:Detective has already hit the populace… and it’s doing really well!… and i think it’s time to shed some light on some things.  Firstly, I’ve seen some blogs and some video reviews that think that Cat Staggs, the great and amazing painter, created the look for the Batman costume. Not only did i do that, but i created the different color mockups that would eventually be the born identitly of the Smallville Batman.  Kinda proud of that too. 😀

I will post those as i go.  Not only did i create Bat’s look but i created NightWing’s as well.  Had fun with that one.  Although, It was Bryan Q. Miller’s thought that Barbara Gordon as Nightwing… then it was indeed Stephanie Brown.. was to have purple hair.  And since i didn’t want any Hit-Girl vibes, i opted for different color schemes… even if it won’t be shown on the pice i’ll post soon.  But you’ll like the effort. I promise. Stay tuned.

I’m posting the penciled pages of the first issue. All ten. So you can get a feel for what it is i do on a page. What my process is.  Some hand-drawn, some photoshop effects, some other stuff with other programs i’d rather keep as my Mother Sauce and out of prying eyes.  Hey, we all gotta have our secrets!  I want to post those ten pages and then post those in color without the dialogue in the next blog.  

Now to answer a burning question… why doesn’t ChrisCross draw the characters of Smallville to look EXACTLY like the Smallville actors in the Teevee series?  Good Question. It was what i was asking when they kept sending the pages back to retool because it looked EXACTLY like them.  

And the best way to explain is this… i’m guessing there’s some contractual clause on the legalese of the Smallville actors and the WB’s/Time Warner contracts that alot for a certain stipend or royalties or  some kind of permissive process that needs to be okayed in advance before anyone can draw the exact images of the actors themselves.  SO drawing them without permission may cause some kind of legal action somewhere.   

Don’t tell anyone,… that doesn’t stop me from getting one close-to-exact likeness in a panel here and there somewhere….

BUt when you read this, i hope that answered a ton concerning the “why Tom Welling isn’t being made to look like he does in Smallville.”  i really want to, but i have to also explain how HARD it really is to maintain a character that’s patterned directly from a living being.  And the amount of reference that has to be CONTINUOUSLY compiled.  Gigs, man.  GIIIIGZ…. 😀

Well, you can see from my images what fun i was having on the first ten pages.  For you, Strictly in pencil in the grayscale format that’s monochromed the blue line in the original penciled pages.  Also, if you notice, i have this thing about putting images between and behind panels as a psychological component.  Give your mind something to see even when you’re not focusing on it. 😀  Yes. Your mind IS INDEED that smart.  I like doing things like that. It’s art within art. 

Hope you enjoy and i welcome any and all questions and comments about the process. Or just pop by to say hi. 

I dont bite. 😀