Detective Comics 15 out today!

Detective Comics issue 15 hits store shelves today.  The issue has the Greg Capullo Die-Cut Joker cover.  Sadly, my original cover wont make the first printing, BUT hopefully the book sells well and we can get a second printing with the original cover!...one can hope right?

Either way, this is one of my favorite issues.  Remember, this is the INTRO to our Death of the Family story arc which will go through issues 16 and 17 as well.  This issue is mostly about Poison Ivy, and Clayface with a bit of Joker splashed in.

Here is some inked pages from the previews to tide you over until I can upload a bunch of the interiors!

 

-JAY

Detective Comics 14 Pages

Here are some inked pages from Detective Comics 14.  Again, thank you for the amazing reception.  I can't wait for you guys to check out 15 next month.  I feel it has some of my best work.  Oh, and continue to read this arc all the way through, we have an INSANE ending that I just learned about this week!

 

 

Windsor's Merry Comic Book Christmas Con!

I will be appearing and signing at the Merry Comic Book Christmas Con in Windsor, Ontario, Canada on December 2nd.  You can find all the information here, on the facebook page:

Merry Comic Book Christmas Con

 

Also, I will have available three new prints!  Check them out! 

And lastly, I will be donating a percentage of my sales from pages, original art, ect. to Compassion Canada.  They are the number 1 child sponsorship program in the world that my wife and I support.  Compassion helps to feed, cloth, and educate the poorest of the poor children in the world to give them a hope of a future.  If you are interested in supporting a child, you can go here: www.compassion.com .  I love this charity and the children we support personally and this Christmas, I want to give back in order to give children around the world a very Merry Christmas! 

Come on out if you are in the area on December 2nd and have a great time at Windsor's first Comic Convention in 22 years!!

JAY

OurWindsor.ca Article

My friend, Mike Michalski, recently interviewed me for an article on OurWindsor.ca

Here is a little excerpt from the article:

"From the outside, the non-descript Essex County residence may seem like many others that surround it. A young married couple come-and-go, with surrounding neighbors, for the most part, blissfully unaware of what is really going on inside this undisclosed location . . .

Psst! Can you keep a secret? I mean really keep a secret?! Even if the fate of every man, woman and child in Gotham City depended on it? Batman lives here.

 

Yes, that Batman – courtesy of the imagination and craftsmanship of 27-year-old Jason Fabok who, each day, gives life to one of the most-famous characters in the world. It’s all part of his new “dream job” as the artist behind DC’s Detective Comics featuring everyone’s favorite Caped Crusader."

Check out the full article here!

Detective Comics 14 out Nov 7th!

Next week, Detective Comics 14 will hit the shelves.  I got my copies in the mail and it turned out looking pretty good!  Check out the two covers below.  Jeromy Cox totally killed it on the covers.

 

Also, here are some pictures from Fan Expo Canada that happened back in August!

Batman panel with David Finch and Gregory Capullo

Dave, myself and Greg

Signing and sketching at the DC booth

 

Drawing a sketch

Dan Didio and Myself

BAT LEGO!

 

Justice League 14 Variant

 

This is the variant for Justice League issue 14.  The description I was given was that I had to have Superman and Wonder Woman ready for battle, but flirting with each other. This is a tougher job than it seems. Sadly, I had so much on my plate that this cover was a little rushed and I didn't feel as confident in how it turned out in the end.  There are lots of things I'd change now looking back, but it's always good to learn from your mistakes and then work hard to fix them in the future. Alex Sinclair did some mighty sweet colors on this cover though. 

 

Pencils are for sale

More Pages from Detective Comics 13!

Layouts and some more pages from Detective 13!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detective Comics 13 Review Roundup!

Detective Comics hit with a bang on Wednesday and John Layman and Myself have been very happy with the response from reviewers, but MORE importantly, the fans themselves!  Here are some of the reviews that hit the web that caught my attention:

darkknightnews.com

IGN Review

iFanboy Review

Gotham Spoilers

Batman-News Review

Newsarama had a nice little blurb to say:

"Chew creator John Layman takes over Detective Comics, delivering an action-packed issue, driven by an intriguing plot, a strong script, great dialogue, and some insightful character work. Bruce Wayne and Batman's lives cross paths as the Penguin makes a move to seize control of Gotham aristocracy. The issue is well paced, filled with smart plot developments and packs a powerful cliffhanger ending that will guarantee fans will come back for more. Jason Fabok provides the visuals, with dynamic linework and tight inking, highlighted by great model work and facial expressions, and utilizing a slew of interesting perspectives and camera angles. This is everything you could want in a Batman comic and more, the best issue of Detective Comics in years."

But my favorite was this little forum post on a CBR forum topic from poster Retro315:

"Good issue. Bruce's gallows humor wasn't just a one-scene deal, his sarcasm, sense of irony and timing were the highlights of the issue, as well as his interaction with Nightwing over the phone which had Dick being as irreverent as ever and occupying the wonderful role of "the only guy in the world not in the slightest afraid of Batman".

Penguin having true motivation was very welcome and Fabok's depiction of him was the sort I prefer - far more human, less grotesque. It wasn't exactly what I'd choose but it was loads better than what we usually get. Layman truly follows through with the promise of kind of introducing us to the "people who orbit the personalities" of Gotham's underworld, as Penguin's affiliates are explored, as well as his style of crime, how he keeps Batman occupied and how he is not just a Batman villain but a reflection of Bruce Wayne (first time in a LONG time anyone has really used that aspect of him).

Fabok has quickly moved to the top of the heap. Here's a guy who certainly comes from the same school as your Finch and Daniel (The Jim Lee school, basically), but who never leaves thing looking scratchy, who really puts his time into a clean line and looks like he researches the hell out of where shadows fall for that "Film Noir/Detective Pulp" vibe. But he doesn't overkill himself or his deadlines with it - some of the dynamic angles (that shot of Batman, his shadow and a bunch of laid out hoodlums on a rooftop sticks in my mind) are more of the cartoonist strength, where Batman's shadow is important to the image but frankly all the myriad little "realistic" bits of shadow and highlight are less important and therefore the linework is left clean and not overpowered.

So Fabok's a pretty great get, here. He's got a real strong grasp of not just anatomy but different anatomies and facial shapes (although I found the Hospital Exec guy to be kind of oddly grotesque, especially near Penguin), and the fact that I can see a few shifty perspectives affecting anatomy here indicates to me not that he's got a bad eye, but that he won't drive himself crazy on every panel to meet deadlines, he works quickly, and what looks to be confidently, and moves on.

Pretty much my only gripe is that Penguin didn't drop any trademark "Waughs" or slight bird noises. I find that some of those Golden Age quirks, used sparingly help keep a consistency to a character, add a little eccentricity that makes them more memorable (and likable). Not the end of the world, but I like my Bat-Rogues to keep just a little bit of the camp."

Now that is a great critique from a fan who understands art and storytelling.  Looking forward to showcasing some of the line art once people have had a chance to get the book.  But just for kicks, I'll post the line art for the first few pages here for you to see as a bonus!!!  Thanks all for the strong support and belief that we could do a great new story!

-Jason Fabok

Detective Comics 13 Out Tomorrow , Oct 3rd!

The time has come!  Issue 13 of Detective Comics written by John Layman (Chew) and illustrated by myself with colors by Jeromy Cox hits shelves tomorrow!  Make sure you grab a copy!

 

Also, here are a few links to some interviews online about the book:

John Layman's interview with USA Today

 

Also here is a quote from myself for an interview I did with Project Fanboy:

 

TZ:What do hope fans will take away from your run on the book?

JF: "John and I really want to make sure these books are accessible to a large volume of readers. To me, these stories feel a lot like the Batman: The Animated Series episodes I grew up with as a kid and that’s what I’ve always wanted to work on with Batman.
  
The first issue is really just a intro to the story as a whole. It’s a fun, race against time issue featuring some cool gadgets, some great action and introduces some of the characters in the plot. From there, things start to ramp up and lead into some great “Layman-esque” stories starting in 14.

Each issue has its own story, it’s own core mystery that Batman must solve, but each part plays into a larger tale. Every issue I get from John really makes me want to ramp things up. I hope that fans will give us a try with issue 13, 14 and 15 because John really has some killer stories brewing in his head."

Hope you all enjoy the first issue and continue to see what we have in store as we ramp up the series in the coming months!

-JAY

Batman Annual Process PART 2

Part 2 of my little look into the Batman Annual.  I wanted to really make this a detailed explanation, but sadly, time isn't on my side.  Instead here are some of the remaining pages, and layouts so you can see the transition between the two.

 

 

 

 

Again, we play with the whole "circles" theme with Freeze's googles in panel 1.  Originally I had freeze in panel 3 but felt a big open room, with the sky showing through the glass and a solitary shot of Nora in the tube would be better.  I wanted it to look like a trap.  I based the room off Bruce Wayne's penthouse in The Dark Knight film. 

Again, notice how Peter's color make this simple page sing.  Adding some fog over the line art gives it more depth.  Color artists, take note and DO THIS.  Seperate your foreground, middle and background.

 

Here is the layout for the two pages.  This is how my page layouts look.  They are quick and messy but get the point across.

 

 

Big batman shot.  In the script, it simply called for a shot of batman breaking through glass as a splash.  I didn't really have a great idea for it, but thought more of a hunched over Batman ready for battle would look better.

 

Excellent colors again.

 

Fight sequence activate! This was a fun page. I redrew batman 3 times in the final panel. I finally got what I want and I feel the pose flowed well into the next page.

 

 

Layouts.  Notice the pose in panel 3 is different.

 

The Ice effect Peter uses here really makes the page glow.  Also note the colors he is using.  Blues, as the cool, and reds/purples for the warms.  Really makes the blue color pop.

 

 

 

 

Biff bam Boom!

 

 

 

You'll notice I changed the layout a bit here on this page.  I wanted you, the reader, to get the sense that Freeze walks past Batman's frozen body toward Nora's pod.  It didn't work in the layout, so I made panel 4 bigger, and did two smaller panels at the bottom. These are the kinds of things you need to think of when you are layout out pages.  Will the audience get lost?   I saved panel 6 for another page.

 

Love how Peter uses the RED on Freeze's face here.  Most colorists wouldnt do something like that, but his face REALLY pops because of it and looks angry.

 

 

 

This page is one of my fav's.  I love the final panel with Batman fighting freeze from the past.

 

 

 

My fav panel of the entire book is panel 5 here with Batman looking back.  Peter also uses yellow here.  Look at how that pops!!

 

 

 

This was one of the toughest pages of the book.  Making Freeze look sad was tough.  Again, having a fellow like Peter on colors gave me a ton of confidence.  You can see I left alot of his face white.  I simply used lines and allowed him to paint the shadows.   The finished product looks excellent.

 

Well, thats it!  If you want to see the end of the book you'll need to go an get yourself a copy!  This book was a blast to work on and I was so thankful to get this opportunity.  Hope you all enjoyed this little look into the Batman Annual!  I hope to do something similar in the months ahead when DETECTIVE COMICS 13 and so on are released!