This is the fifth entry in a series of commissions titled "Arkham Clashes", scenes depicting Batman facing off against a rogue or rogues inspired by the Arkham series of video games created by Rocksteady. This piece is lifted right out of the third game, "Arkham Knight", which gets its name from the mysterious new villain that appeared for the first time (and later appeared in the main continuity for the first time in Detective Comics 1000). This is inspired by the final battle in the game in which Bats faces off against Arkham Knight atop the roofs of Gotham, with rain pouring around. It is a great ending to a great game, and I thought a scene from this battle was fitting for this series.
This piece, like the others in the series, was done by the amazing Eranga Devasurendra. I wanted this to have a more classic faceoff feel, and though it is not an homage to Molina's Batman 119, I did show this as a reference when planning this piece with Eranga. Also, unlike previous entries in the series, Eranga was unfamiliar with this villain, so he toiled over the concept for awhile before he was happy with it. As always Eranga's attention to detail is extremely present, down to ensuring the poses were just right. He toiled over the double guns by Arkham Knight, the ready to strike pose of Bats. And he summoned his inner JRJR with the amazing rain throughout! Even the slightly off kilter perspective of the background really emphasizes the dynamics mid-battle. You almost feel off balance and soaked to the bone above the cityscape.
Like the others, I worked with Dennis Lehmann to get it colored. The second image shows the output of that, and he knocked it out of the park. With the coloring it looks like it was lifted right out of the game, capturing the ambiance perfectly, and it makes the rain punch even more! I love Dennis's work, and he continues to bring it on these pieces!
Original art is accomplished in ink over graphite on an 11" X 17" piece of art paper. Colors were done digitally but are printed on archival paper as a 11" X 17" giclee print (which Eranga signed / denoted as PP 1/1). This was picked up in person at Heroes 2023.
