CSBG Archive
The Line it is Drawn #97 – Comic Book Characters, Noir-Style
Go follow Comics Should Be Good on Twitter (if you have Twitter, that is – if you don’t, you can go sign up). Here is our Twitter page… http://twitter.com/csbg. And here are the Comics Should Be Good writers who are on Twitter (the links go to the person’s Twitter account) – myself, Greg Hatcher, Chad Nevett, Kelly Thompson, Sonia Harris Danielle Leigh, Melinda Beasi, Michelle Smith, Bill Reed and Scott!
I update the blog’s Twitter account updates whenever a new post is put up on the blog, so it’s an easy way to keep up with the blog. In addition, I post new content on the blog’s Twitter account.
Now on to the bit!
So every week, I ask a question here. You reply to it on our Twitter page (just write @csbg with your reply) and our blog sketch artists will each pick one of your suggestions and I will post them here every week. So every week you will have a new question and you will see the choices picked from the previous week. Here is an archive of all the previous editions of The Line It Is Drawn!
To qualify, you have to be following us when you reply – so go follow us and then give your answer to the following question/challenge (All suggestions due by 6:00 AM Pacific this Friday).
The topic is…
Team-up or mash-up comic book characters with characters from Star Trek.
Read on for the sketches that came about courtesy of the last question/challenge!
Noir-ify ‘em! Pick a comic book character and our artists will do a noir take on them.
Enjoy!
I’ll put them in alphabetical order based on the name of the Twitter user who made the suggestion.
All copyright and trademarks of the following characters are held by their respective owners!
BigMike20X6 suggested:
Hulk Noir
Sean McFarland is the artist for this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
BigMike20X6 suggested:
Nick Fury Noir
Chaz Folgar is the artist for this one. Here is his website.
dc2omniverse suggested:
Plastic Man
Nick Perks is the artist for this one. Here is his website.
dc2omniverse suggested:
Transformers
Marco D’Alfonso drew this one. Here is his website.
dc2omniverse suggested:
Godzilla
Axel Medellin drew this one. His website is
dc2omniverse suggested:
Doom Patrol
Bill Walko drew this one. His website is here.
(click on the image to enlarge)
dc2omniverse suggested:
Batgirl
Josh Gowdy drew this one. His website is here.
(click on the image to enlarge)
MechanisticMoth suggested:
Supergirl noir
Nick Perks is also the artist for this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
phillipsevy suggested:
Batman villains
Cynthia “Thea” Rodgers drew this one. Her website is here.
(click on the image to enlarge)
Some guy suggested:
Spawn
Phillip Sevy drew this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
Some guy also suggested:
Wildcats
Phillip Sevy also drew this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
The same guy suggested:
Cloak and Dagger
Phillip Sevy drew this one, as well. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
rodtownsend suggested:
The Search for Zatanna’s Mother
Xum Yukinori drew this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
samscenarist suggested:
Brainiac Noir.
Nick Perks is the artist for this one, as well. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
therealAstrozac suggested:
Noir Atom and Hawkman
John Trumbull drew this one. Here is his website.
(click on the image to enlarge)
Great stuff, everyone!
Now everybody go make suggestions for next week!
40 Comments
MikeTheRed
July 5, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Holy cow, that Cloak & Dagger is gorgeous. I would love to have that piece hanging on the wall.
Jessie Kutzopolios
July 5, 2012 at 12:48 pm
the last 3 are the best
Dave
July 5, 2012 at 12:51 pm
Atom and Hawkman and Brainiac won the show IMO. Fantastic stuff.
Squashua
July 5, 2012 at 1:21 pm
The Maltese Hawkman has me rolling.
John Trumbull
July 5, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Great work, folks!
Nick and Phil, I officially hate you both for having the time to draw multiple entries.
Mike Ja
July 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Spawn and Cloak & Dagger were hot.
David Oakes
July 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm
Zatanna wins, hands down.
But Atom/Hawkman was what Identity Crisis wanted so desperately to be, and never suceeded.
Acer
July 5, 2012 at 2:29 pm
Okay, my absolute faves are the following (in order from top to bottom):
1. Godzilla
2. Transformers
3. Doom Patrol
4. Cloak and Dagger
5. Wild CATS
Jase
July 5, 2012 at 2:56 pm
I want more of Atom/Hawkman Noir.
bairdduvessa
July 5, 2012 at 3:12 pm
amazing works
Chaz
July 5, 2012 at 3:43 pm
I like what I sees here, people! Downright awesome work from everybody!
I really dig Bill’s Doom Patrol (A-ha! Beast Boy! Noted!) and Axel’s Godzilla (Haha! Where does he get a trench coat and fedora that large!?).
Acer
July 5, 2012 at 4:18 pm
@Chaz
Maybe at Toshio’s Big and Tall…..
Bill Walko
July 5, 2012 at 5:32 pm
Great work, Liners!
This week, I’m especially digging Phillip Sevy’s nicely designed Spawn and Nick Perks’ Pulp-ish Brainiac. But my favorite this week is Trumbull’s Maltese Hawkman…. a perfect pastiche to old Detective Magazines and beautifully rendered to boot!
Axel Medellin
July 5, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Who would have thought Thea had all that gore in her mind?
AdamYJ
July 5, 2012 at 5:58 pm
What I love is that I think that text is taken straight from Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon”, with some changes of course. I’ve never read the book, but it sounds an awful lot like what Bogey said at the end of the movie.
John Trumbull
July 5, 2012 at 6:37 pm
What I love is that I think that text is taken straight from Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon”, with some changes of course. I’ve never read the book, but it sounds an awful lot like what Bogey said at the end of the movie.
Yep! I did a rewrite on a Sam Spade speech from Chapter 20: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/124639
Donna Elliott
July 5, 2012 at 7:17 pm
I….actually want to read some of these comics now….damn you…
MechanisticMoth
July 5, 2012 at 9:02 pm
I never knew my “Supergirl Noir” suggestion would take such an incredibly dark twist, but, Nick, I’m all the happy for it.
I also really enjoy Spawn and Cloak & Dagger. Though, Godzilla gave me quite the smirk.
The Mutt
July 5, 2012 at 9:04 pm
I would totally buy that version of Spawn.
Mary Warner
July 5, 2012 at 9:38 pm
I love the Cloak & Dagger.
Big Mike
July 5, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Tonight’s episode of Fury PI… Hell Hath No Fury or Fury Takes AIM
Eric Henry
July 6, 2012 at 4:56 am
I love the Zatanna piece. I want that for my wall.
The_Livewire
July 6, 2012 at 6:12 am
Lou “The Hulk” Bixby Wonderful!
JoeMac
July 6, 2012 at 6:39 am
Is there going to be anything special for TLIID #100?!?
Phillip Sevy
July 6, 2012 at 7:34 am
Thanks for all the comments, guys, I really appreciate it! I had a blast this week and would KILL to write/draw these titles. Man! Good stuff from everyone.
Brandin
July 6, 2012 at 7:50 am
I love that Batgirl’s purse and jacket pockets have a touch of the Bat symbol. Well done.
narcocomix
July 6, 2012 at 9:56 am
I love the last 3, but I love the Godzilla piece for originality.
SlightlyMad
July 6, 2012 at 10:54 am
For the first time ever, I actually see a Spawn I would like to read. Cloak & Dagger Noir looks like it would make an awesome series too!
Scot
July 6, 2012 at 11:04 am
Hulk (muscle) and Banner (brains) as a “fix it” team: now that’s worth buying!
Trumbull: nice capture of the verbose exposition of noir dialogue.
John Trumbull
July 6, 2012 at 12:34 pm
bull: nice capture of the verbose exposition of noir dialogue.
I can’t take too much credit for that, since it was just a minor rewrite on a Dashiell Hammett passage.
Fred Van Lente
July 6, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Believe it or not, CLOAK AND DAGGER NOIR got pretty far on the pitch stage at Marvel before the line was shut down. Hopefully it would have looked as cool as that!
(I was holding out for GHOST RIDER NOIR)
TJCoolguy
July 6, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Donna and others: That’s the constant bittersweetness of TLIID… every week, there are at least a handful that make you think, “Damn, I wish that were a real series!”
Axel Medellin
July 6, 2012 at 4:37 pm
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… anyone else misses Sijo?
NickP
July 6, 2012 at 4:49 pm
@Axel – Me too…!
Phillip Sevy
July 6, 2012 at 10:15 pm
@Fred – Thanks man! If it ever gets back around, you know who to call
I would KILL to draw that series…
@Axel – me too too!
Phillip Sevy
July 6, 2012 at 10:16 pm
And here’s the pitch that goes with Noir Spawn:
“When Albert Simmons, a corrupt Wall Street exec, dies, the last memory he has is of his wife – how they fell in love years ago. In hell, he makes a deal with the devil to return as his Hellspawn in order to see his wife. Now, back on earth, he acts as hell’s agent, collecting souls across business and politics for hell all while trying to reconnect with his former wife.”
Travis Pelkie
July 7, 2012 at 12:06 am
What I love about the Line lately is that I’ll scroll through, see one, and say to myself “that’s the best one”. Then I scroll down a little more…wait! No, wait!
Embarassment of riches. Thanks to all.
On the 4th of July, I saw that the famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was done by John Trumbull. I’m glad that in the 200+ years since, he’s discovered comics art
EVERYONE misses Sijo. A “Line” without Sijo is like a birthday without cake.
Yup
July 7, 2012 at 2:22 am
It seems to be more Sin City Inspired then real noir, but some very good pictures, I love the Spawn one!
Bill Walko
July 7, 2012 at 11:07 am
What’s interesting as is, as I draw many of these, they almost become pitch concepts in my mind. I had a phase when I started watched old noir movies, so I really wanted that “feel.” I toyed with Cloak & Dagger Noir, but landed on Doom Patrol Noir when I saw how those characters actually mirrored noir movie characters. And here’s what I came up with…
“Doom Patrol Noir”: What do we got now, see? It’s those freakish galoots from Caulder Investigations putting the pinch on “The Brain” in this noir-inspired reimaging… that is, if that femme fatale Madame Rouge doesn’t get in th’ way!
Here’s Rita Farr as the capable Gal Friday, Beast Boy as the “Dead-End Kid” Errand Boy, Larry Trainer as the shady partner, Cliff Steele as the muscle and Steve Dayton as the haunted alcoholic Private Dick.
So, yeah, I think these become more than “this week’s drawing” to us as we do ‘em!
John Trumbull
July 8, 2012 at 5:28 pm
On the 4th of July, I saw that the famous painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence was done by John Trumbull. I’m glad that in the 200+ years since, he’s discovered comics art
I actually collaborated with the “other” John Trumbull a couple of years back, Travis:
http://johntrumbull.deviantart.com/gallery/34487055#/d4kr7xu
And yes, Bill is absolutely right that your brain can create stories for these drawings as we work on them. For instance, I added the line in the Maltese Hawkman text about the femme fatale being committed to Arkham Asylum because it paralleled what happened to Jean Loring at the end of “Identity Crisis.”