Batman and Robin #1 Sketch Cover Prelim 01

Another WIP, this one focusing on the current Dynamic Duo. While coming up with the central figures wasn't a problem, the background was. I didn't want to do something busy like another cityscape, so I opted for something else. Then I realized that this is the fourth iteration of DC's iconic team, and this time it's a father and son who have more in common than Bruce Wayne had with his son Damian's three predecessors. Acknowledging that legacy became key, so I decided on a Batcave trophy that perhaps Alfred had framed and hung up while he was alive. I found a classic Dick Sprang image of the original Batman and Robin and used the composition but with my own sketching style. I also then found a classy-looking frame to put around it. But I did not want to draw the entire image, which would have been behind the main title and look messy. So I decided that the title and everything at the top would remain in white, which would then be filled in by the image I created as the eye travelled downward. I also put in a similar black stripe at the bottom to frame this composition in its entirety. This current scan is entirely in 2H Staedtler graphite, and is finally ready for the inking stage. More as it develops. Tune in next time...Same Bat-time, same Bat-Channel.