DC COMICS STYLE GUIDES

José Luis García-López. The celebrated artist has worked in the comic industry for more than 40 years, most prominently with DC Comics. Born in Spain in 1948, García-López’s earliest work in the United States was for Charlton Comics. He eventually moved to New York, where he met then DC Editor Joe Orlando. José Luis García-López’s greatest contribution to DC was the DC Comics Style Guide, a virtual master class in how to portray DC Comics’ iconic characters. First released in 1982, these images were originally intended to be used solely for marketing and licensing however his contributions to the visual style of several iconic DC characters, as well as his influence on artists who would follow him, is undeniable. The style guide taught many up-and-coming artists, and even some of García-López’s contemporaries, how to properly illustrate the major characters in the publisher’s canon. The guide's effect on the entire company — from the look of its comics to the production of its merchandise — cannot be overstated, and you could make a legitimate argument that its effects were still felt in some capacity up until the New 52.