Special thanks for this creation goes out to Kelvin Mao. Kelvin helped contact Kelley Jones for me to see if he'd be interested in contributing to the next Gerhard project. Kelley took a look at the CAF gallery and decided he was game for the challenge. But, he wanted to create an image that would challenge Gerhard and allow him some creativity in completing the image.

Only a few short weeks later, Kelley delivered this wonderful image of Batman. But, it came with a few challenges. Where was Batman's other leg? What was he holding onto? Why was his cape flapping in the wind?

Gerhard and I both stared at this for awhile not quite sure how to solve the puzzle that Kelley laid out. We both thought gargoyles had to be part of the solution, but after the first iteration, I realized that there can be too many gargoyles. So, for round two, I asked Gerhard to focus on 1-2 gargoyles and focus on defining where he was.

To solve the puzzle, Gerhard experimented by trying to draw Batman's missing legs while sitting in a tree (an homage to Gerhard's Wish book). But, Bats aren't meant for trees (no gargoyles there. Shel (Gerhard's partner in crime) suggested that Batman should be coming out of a window. A moment of light shined and it finally became clear - turn the building on its side (like they did in the old 60's TV show) and everything works!

Gerhard made some tweaks to the 2nd layout, adding the gaslamp (speaking of things that shine) that not only balanced out the composition, but added an interesting light source.

So, the debate came once again to color or leave B&W. Although Gerhard is a fantastic colorist, he also does such a nice job with the B&W art, it sometimes seems a shame to cover up the line work with color. So, Gerhard worked up a mock-up of how he would color it, but we've left it as in its B&W state (at least for now) similar to the Kraven.

So, there you have it... a true test of Gerhard's problem solving skills. I think everyone would agree (including Kelley), I think he passed the test.

Now, after seeing this, if you'd like Gerhard to do a commission for you, feel free to ask... contact him through his website at http://www.gerhardart.com/ or I'd be happy to help get you in touch with him. I can't tell you how talented and collaborative he really is.

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