Iconic Titans Poster Recreation & Expansion

Thanks to Bill for finding time to talk about this on the 12/11 CAF Update.

Connect with artist Rich Bernatovech on Instagram

The 1983 George Pérez Teen Titans poster has hung somewhere in my life (bedroom, dorm room, or home) for more than forty years. Featuring characters and moments from the 1980–1983 Wolfman/Pérez run, it still holds my attention every time I look at it. The day I discovered CAF, I stumbled on Michael Lovitz’s post of the original painted art and couldn’t believe someone actually owned it.

A few years ago, I met artist Rich Bernatovech at a Chicago con after spotting his “toon style” Titans prints. Turns out, we both had memorial entries in the final issue of George’s Pacesetter magazine. Rich was also a huge fan of that 1983 poster. When Rich was a kid, George called him at home about a letter he’d written to a Titans fanzine. They became friends, and George later became a fan of Rich’s work.

Every show I would see Rick since we met, I’d ask if him when he was going to do that poster recreation. Earlier this year, he finally said yes, and the result was fantastic, but once it was done, we couldn’t help asking, “What would a poster for the years after 1983 look like?”

So we started collaborating on a follow-up extension of the original, picking up with New Teen Titans #37 and runs forward through the era’s biggest moments: The Judas Contract (including slutty Terra), the Evil Titans, the Titans of Myth, and all the way to Tim Drake’s introduction in “The Lonely Place of Dying.”

The end result was better than either of us imagined. The level of detail Rich poured into it reflects the same diligence George put into the original and all his work.

Collaborating with Rich on this was a blast. I’m sure George would be thrilled.

(Accompanying image is of Rich's pencils and inks before his magnificent digital colors.)

Rich on Deviant Art