Some of the work I do for DC Comics-Part II

As I stated in Part I, the best part of my job is when I get to actually contribute to the art in a book, and do significant corrections to a freelancers work that they either don't have time to do, or just don't want to do. A lot of the time, a freelancer is already working on the next issue or two of their book, and it's very difficult to backtrack, and do a revision asked of them by their editors.

Such was the case with the upcoming issue of House of Mystery #12. Drawn by Luca Rossi, the book is a new favorite of mine, and a pleasure to work on. Very nice figure work, and shadows, and Luca really captures the mood of the book. The page above is pg.21 of the issue, and the editor informed me that she needed corrections. At first, she asked the inker, one very talented Jose Marzan Jr., but he was just too busy. So it fell to me.

The editor needed the main character of the page to not be wearing his button-down shirt, and instead still be wearing his t-shirt, like all the previous pages of the issue. I was told to remove the long-sleeve button-down, and replace it with the t-shirt in all panels of the page.

Using my Wacom tablet, I went in, erased the button-down in all the panels, and carefully re-drew, in the style of Luca, the t-shirt that was needed. I had to redraw some of his arms, back and neck, as well as add some detail and shadows on the figure and new t-shirt.

Above is the final colored image, used off my new revised file, by the master himself, Lee Loughridge!

Above is yet another page of the same House of Mystery #12 issue. This is page 21 and 22. Again, my job was to remove his button-down shirt and replace with his t-shirt. Here I had to also fix most of his right leg, and detail in his pants that the button-down was covering, that is now shown, once I drew the t-shirt on. That was tough, because the figures are small, and sometimes that's harder because the shadows can become awkward looking. In that case, you have to keep zooming out to make sure it is working within the entire image like the artist had before the correction.

Above is the final, approved revision that was sent to Lee to color.

Above is the final color by Lee Loughridge. I think he did a great job with this spread. I think it looks amazing, and really creates quiet the depth and atmosphere the page needed. All because of my art correction. LOL Just kidding... GREAT job Lee!

So there you have it. Another example of some of the work I do on a daily basis here at DC. I really enjoy working on these books, and doing this type of work. Otherwise I would not be doing it going on nine years now. I like to tell people who come to visit on tours or demonstrations, that my job is to not exist. And by that I mean, if I do my job correctly, and good enough, the reader is not supposed to know that I changed anything. What they see is the final page of the comic, and what they think the artist of the book had drawn. If I did my job correctly, you should not notice that I actually did go in there, and make art changes.

Whether it be redrawing Superman's chest emblem (which everyone draws wrong), or changing a character's clothing, my job is to not know I changed anything. Hopefully, I matched the style of the artist well enough, so you, the reader can not tell when and where I made changes to the art. But in reality, on pages I do art revisions, it is actually a combination of the freelance artist, and myself.

I hope you enjoyed this little two-parter. I will get back to some of my originally artwork now. Every once in a while, I will post some cool things like this House of Mystery stuff, to show you what it is I'm working on. Unfortunately, since we are not like Marvel, I do not get credit in the book for doing the work I do. Marvel credits their production artists, we do not. That is something I hope will change one day, but for now, is what it is. I do understand why they don't though (so many people work on a book in various aspects, that it would be too hard to credit everyone).

For now, I think it will be nice to share on my blog from time to time. Let people have a "behind the scenes", sneak peak into the DC Bullpen. And I will do it to remind my friends that I don't just surf the internet all day, I actually work my butt off too. In closing, this is what it is I do here all day, and hopefully, the next time you pick up a DC book, know that I will be in there somewhere...

See ya in the funny books, and I'll have a new piece posted to the blog by the end of the week! Thinking about doing a Cylon pic, to celebrate my favorite TV show of all time coming to an end this past weekend Yes, it was the best. Followed closely by Rome, Band of Brothers and Lost. Til next time,

Corey