“Dear Batman: We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in Bat-detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is an archer, and a speedster, and a swimmer, a princess, and an acrobat. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Teen Titans.”

Thank you, John Hughes. Rest in peace.

Who doesn’t love Elektra:Assassin? Or Jennifer Beals, for that matter? Originally, this was going to be Elektra on a rooftop with dead ninja at her feet, but luckily I remembered that classic honeymoon suite scene, which allowed me to throw in some more comic references.

This was a blast to draw. After years of brush inking, it was liberating to grab a pen and just mess around. I think the brilliant source material inspired me to experiment and play with the look of the piece, and it turned out to be a great learning experience. I’ve still got a few more ideas for other album covers that I’ll get to soon.

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I had a lot of fun with this, especially since so many of the movie and tv show details lined up — the colors, the bike, the frilly lace.  I’m also pretty sure Batman played Prince’s father in Purple Rain, but it’s been 24 years since I saw it and I did a lot of drugs that night. Then I crashed my dad’s Porsche before taking my best friend to the prom and winning the All-Valley Championship.  That was quite a year, let me tell you.

So, out of the blue, my old friend Joey Nova asks me to draw some artwork for Shazam! — a new monthly party he’s throwing in NYC. If you haven’t guessed, its a superhero themed party.  The launch will be this Halloween and it’ll have burlesque dancers, a costume contest, and general mayhem.  Sounds good and trashy!  Joey wanted images of comic characters dancing, but I talked him into a series of 80’s record cover remixes to really push the music angle. I love the original Patrick Nagel illo, and I must admit it was nerve wracking to draw this thing.  Nagel’s design and line were so precise and just making these small changes required a lot of tweaking to look right. Kind of a tightrope act, but the next flyer is more “me.” I’ll post that in a week or so.