Human Bomb#2 from cover sketch to finished color

 Here's how this cover process worked-- I read the script, and, not wanting to give away any major reveals, I was left with a kind of a lead-in to page one of this issue.

This was rejected.

This one was also rejected

I was told to give them multiple ideas in hopes of them liking one.

They ultimately chose the first of the four-on-one-sheet, the sketch I was LEAST invested in:) At this point, NO logo existed, so I was worried about how or where a logo would fit, which just hung over my head through the rest of the process. Little things like this always affect me more than they should, but I worry about the final printed cover, not just my part of the process.

I did the pencils and inks, trying to create a big enough gap between the upper figures to accommodate a cover logo, and hoped for the best.

 I played with the color scheme, and settled on how to imply the gore without bloody spatters, by just making it all warm color, and contrasting it with the blue background. Clarity is important, and I was trying to anticipate the copy over that area. This allows the price info and DC logo to "pop" in white, or any light value color.

The Human Bomb is trademark and copyright 2013 by DC Entertainment, and used here for promotional purposes.