Men of the DCU Contest – All Entries
- Posted by Johanna on May 16, 2008 at 8:08 am
- Category: Meta
The contest to create a “Men of the DCU” fashion poster has closed. Here are all the entries I’ve received. However, I haven’t yet determined a winner; please see the end of this post for more on that.
From Philip Rice:
Left to right: Michael Jon Carter (Booster Gold), Jaime Reyes (Blue Beetle), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Michael Holt (Mister Terrific), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Clark Kent (Superman), Lex Luthor, Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), John Stewart (Green Lantern), Wally West (The Flash), and Black Adam.
From Bill Roundy:
Left to right: Lex Luthor, Aquaman, Robin (Tim Drake), Batman, Superman, Green Arrow, The Joker, Green Lantern (John Stewart), and the Flash (Jay Garrick).
From J. Caleb Mozzocco, who talks about his choices and analyzes the other entries at that link:
Left to right: King Orin/Arthur Curry, J’onn J’onnz, Hal Jordan, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Eel O’Brien/Plastic Man, Captain Marvel.
He also sent along a matching villain version:
Left to right: Bizarro, Dr. Psycho, Sinestro, Dr. Sivana, Lex Luthor, The Joker, Mr. Mxyzptlk, The Turtle, Black Manta, The Brain, and Monsieur Mallah.
And here are the other entries, previously posted:
From Johnny Zito (Black Cherry Bombshells):
Left to right: John Stewart (Green Lantern), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Ryan Choi (The Atom), Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Clark Kent (Superman), Krypto (the Super Dog), Barry Allen (The Flash), Dick Grayson (Robin), John Henry Irons (Steel), Arthur Curry (Aquaman)
From Paul Salvi (Action, Ohio):
Left to right:
Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Arthur Curry (Aquaman), Dick Grayson (Robin), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Clark Kent (Superman), Barry Allen (Flash), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Billy Batson (Captain Marvel), Barry Allen (Flash)
From Jeff Hebert (creator of HeroMachine), two versions:
Left to right:
Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), Hal Jordan (Green Lantern), Querl Dox (Brainiac 5), Clark Kent (Superman), Bruce Wayne (Batman), Jason Todd (Robin — says Jeff, “emo style”), Wally West (Flash), John Stewart (Green Lantern)
Now, as for selecting a winner: I’d like to know what my readers think. I’ll still make the final decision, but I can be swayed. Please feel free to choose your favorite in the comments, and spread the word as you wish — I’d love to get a diverse range of opinions. If you want to have influence, please respond by Monday, May 19, because I’ll be announcing a winner on Tuesday, May 20.
May 16, 2008 at 8:20 AM
Oh, sorry for sending that in so large. I have a more easily viewable version here…
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2229/2493974459_3b0d553b68_b.jpg
Thanks for the contest, by the way. It was a lot of fun.
Phil
May 16, 2008 at 8:50 AM
I like Paul Salvi’s the best.
May 16, 2008 at 9:04 AM
Man, it’s tough to pick between Johnny Zito and Jeff Herbert’s entries, but in the end I think the edge goes to Johnny Zito thanks to the shirtless Aquaman.
May 16, 2008 at 9:15 AM
Paul Salvi, followed by Phillip Rice, mostly because of the way they use stance and gestures to convey the personality. Although, are there really supposed to be two Barry Allens in Paul’s picture as per the caption? I read them as Wally and Barry.
May 16, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Or maybe the middle one is Booster Gold. He looks smug enough.
May 16, 2008 at 9:20 AM
Everyone’s entries are fantastic! I’m glad to see so many.
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Greg. Topless Aquaman just feels right.
PS – I love Boosters Tux. I’m jealous I didn’t get to include Plastic Man or Blue Beetle. Next time :)
May 16, 2008 at 9:30 AM
I really like Johnny Zito’s. Points for Clark Kent’s “aw, shucks” expression and Aquaman’s channeling of Brad Pitt.
May 16, 2008 at 9:57 AM
“. . . are there really supposed to be two Barry Allens in Paul’s picture as per the caption? I read them as Wally and Barry.”
It IS supposed to be two Barry Allens; any confusion is due entirely to my own ineptitude. But if you like the idea of it being Barry and Wally, then you’re right too. Art is whatever we want it to be!
Thanks for the vote though. Vote ACTION at Zuda!
May 16, 2008 at 10:04 AM
Oh, these are all awesome. I think my favorite is Philip Rice’s, partially because there’s Booster and Jaime in it, and partially because I love everyone’s expressions. They’ve got distinct personalities that you can see just from how they’re standing and how their clothes are.
I also love J. Caleb Mozzocco’s. Mostly because Dick, Bruce, and Tim’s positions and expressions are amusing. And Aquaman with water bottles!
May 16, 2008 at 1:28 PM
Wow, I was really happy with my drawing until I looked at all these other entries. Nice job, guys! There are elements I really like in all of them, though I especially like Jeff’s casual Wally West and Jason Todd in a t-shirt.
I’ve also posted a large version of my entry on over here
http://www.billroundy.com/images/MenofDC.gif.
May 16, 2008 at 2:09 PM
Jeff Hebert’s all-black version rocks. Tied together but with obvious personality, a good off-set of the original DC Women poster. Plus his art style just works best for me.
May 16, 2008 at 6:49 PM
I really Like Jeff’s entry. it’s great. =)
P.S. Honorable mention to phillip’s entry. (thumbs up)
May 16, 2008 at 8:16 PM
Well, I’m a big fan of Jeff Hebert, and the HeroMachine, but I think Phil Rice actually has the best entry, with Jeff’s being a close second…
May 16, 2008 at 8:40 PM
All so very close, but I’m going with Phillip Rice’s one. Because it has the most characters I like on it.
May 16, 2008 at 8:47 PM
I like Jeff H’s the most but I gotta give points to Johnny Zito for his portrayal of Bruce and Clark and to J. Caleb for putting Bizarro in a barrel!
May 16, 2008 at 10:19 PM
Well, since I can’t vote for myself…
Jeff Herbert’s “Black Period” best matches the parameters. Everyone differentiates well between the men, using facial expresions, body type, and body language. But the black is a stronger counterpoint to the white of the Hughes poster. And the poses and character choice are more like the Vogue/Vanity Fair source material.
Johnny Zito comes in a close second, having lost points for being too lifelike…
May 17, 2008 at 8:34 AM
I’ve got to go with Zito, on the strength of the Clark, Aquaman, and Steel.
Love both of Caleb’s.
Rice’s Booster and Lex are great, and so’s his use of Clark’s glasses; but I don’t ‘see’ Dick Grayson or Wally West in those faces, for whatever reason, or Clark Kent or Bruce Wayne in those poses.
Hm. An interesting difference from the Hughes poster of women. Until the reintroduction of Diana Prince (and she barely qualifies), really none of the women in that poster has strong secret-identity characters. They have civilian names, and some of them are secret, but they’re not well-developed masquerade personalities. Karen Starr just isn’t much different from Power Girl; Black Canary’s ID is functionally public, and her life is pretty continuous in and out of costume; Kathy Kane is a cipher; Zatanna’s secret ID is using her own name and costume but pretending that her super-hero powers are just tricks; etc.
For the poster of men, it makes a big difference– are you portraying Superman in a tux, or Clark Kent? Batman or Bruce Wayne? etc. The appearance of the tux immediately makes me *think* it’s Bruce Wayne, no matter what, so I expect to see the ginger-ale-filled champagne glass and a lounge lizard smile. Rice went with Superman (the pose is heroic, and the glasses are coming off), but it seems off to me, whereas Zito went with Clark and it seems right.
May 17, 2008 at 8:36 AM
Philip Rice’s Bruce looks like a greasy pasty paedo… ouch.
May 17, 2008 at 9:33 AM
I vote for Jeff Herbert’s It’s the most Now and It’s not all black and white people… and more relevant to what people think is attractive…
May 17, 2008 at 10:51 AM
Jacob: I really screwed up on the inking (it’s not my strong suit) and I think Wally and Dick suffered the most in translation. Wally was initially based on the elongated face of the Justice League cartoon’s design. I think it worked better in my sketch than in the final one. Here’s a quick one I did this morning of him in costume.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2044/2498649627_6c855c257a_o.jpg
I think it could work, potentially.
As for Dick, I know the high-cheekbone look isn’t a common one for him, but I have seen it (most recently http://www.dccomics.com/media/product/9/3/9312_400x600.jpg) and I thought it would be distinctive. But again, I was off in the execution.
And as for Batman and Superman, they’re supposed to be a combination of Batman/Bruce and Superman/Clark, rather than one or the other. Batman has the tux, but he also has the morose attitude and a cape (of sorts); Superman is striking a heroic pose and he has the “s curl”, but he’s also in civilian clothing and holding his glasses.
As I see it, Superman is neither Superman, nor Clark Kent. Both are merely facades that he shows to the world. He’s not a perfect, stoic ubermensch or a flawed and clumsy oaf, his real self lies somewhere in between.
It’s the same with Batman. I first got an inkling of this from watching the animated series as a kid. Conroy gave Bruce and Batman very distinct voices, but when he was in the cave talking to Alfred, his voice was sort of a hybrid. He lost some of the gravel, but without going into the uptight phoniness of his Wayne voice.
Anyway, that’s what I was going for, but I guess it didn’t work out too well.
Kev: Okay.
I want to pay my compliments to the others. My personal favourite is Johnny Zito’s. I love Steel and Aquaman, and Clark’s whole getup is awesome. He fits that old-timey reporter look to a t. The drawing is just fantastic. It’s stylized, but without loosing an ounce of the character’s humanity. It may just be me, but I’m getting some Al Hirschfeld vibes.
May 17, 2008 at 11:21 AM
i like jeff’s 2nd one
May 17, 2008 at 11:49 AM
Were we supposed to make it “Now”? ‘Cause I was, y’know, going for the exact opposite of “Now.”
May 17, 2008 at 12:52 PM
[...] then Joanna, comic book journalist and blogger at Comics Worth Reading, had this great idea. She asked her readers what a male version of that poster might look [...]
May 17, 2008 at 11:26 PM
My favorite is definitely Johnny Zito’s. The artistry is great and it really stands out.
May 18, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Johnny, Paul, and Jeff did really great layouts and character touches. I think Jeff best transposes the attitude of the original, and Johnny carried the dress-whites over very well. Paul’s seems to have a nice vintage feel, like something in the New Yorker.
If I had to choose, I would go with Jeff’s colour-coded version. I could see that on a comic shop wall right next to the Hughes poster.
May 19, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Jeff Herbert’s is nice. I like the style, although I think the real reason in my case is his use of a semi-unknown character; I think most people choosing ‘Brainiac’ would have gone for the original.
May 20, 2008 at 9:37 AM
I’ve got to say, all really great entries, however, the one that stands out and, to me, the characters were most recognizable is the entry from Jeff Herbert.
May 20, 2008 at 10:30 AM
[...] reviewing the entries and reading your comments (thank you!), here are the [...]
May 21, 2008 at 8:46 AM
Gotta go with Jeff’s, particularly the more colorful version. Clean artwork, and Brainiac’s utility belt is a nice humorous (and stylish!) touch.
May 21, 2008 at 8:47 AM
Aw, man… that’ll teach me to not read all the posts first! At least I picked a winner…
May 30, 2008 at 1:01 PM
[...] “Women in DC” poster, Comics Worth Reading decided to hold a contest asking people to enter a poster of the men in DC. I’ve got to say that this is my [...]
June 14, 2008 at 10:13 PM
as much as I love krypto in a bow tie and a shirtless aquadude I feel pulled by loyalty to Brainiac 5. jeff gets my vote for having the initiative to include him instead of someone like Dick Grayson. (not that he wouldn’t have been welcome as well)
June 15, 2008 at 4:13 AM
I like the little touches like the ones where Hal and John are wearing the dress uniforms of the USAF and USMC, respectively. Exactly what a serviceman would wear to a black-tie affair.
November 30, 2008 at 2:50 AM
Jason Todd is SO the most emo Robin, lol !
January 13, 2010 at 12:02 AM
Hebert’s for the win, even though this is a super old post. Definitely the best (both versions).
February 8, 2010 at 12:46 AM
I’m trying to figure out the references Zito used for each character. Aquaman is Brad Pitt; I would assume Steel is Laurence Fishburne; Bruce looks like he could be Humphrey Bogart, but that’s more of a wild guess. Hal and Ryan look familiar but I can’t place them.
June 15, 2010 at 10:14 PM
I gotta go with Johnny Zito’s. But I love all of them, and props for the inclusion of Booster, Jaime, Jay, and J’onn!
July 2, 2012 at 11:18 AM
They were all great. I have to go with either J. Caleb Mozzocco’s or Johnny Zoto’s. In Caleb’s, I like the way Dick has his arms around Bruce and Tim like they’re his buddies and they’re both like “get off me man!” And Bruce is giving him a dirty look just like the grumpy Batman I know from the Animated Series. Johnny defiantly gets points for open shirted Aquaman and Krypton the super dog though.