Let me start by saying what a total pleasure it was connecting with Jay as he worked on this commission for me. Not only is he an incredibly talented person, but also a great guy.

So as he was giving me a chance to see the work-in-progress, I took the opportunity to ask him few things. I don't know if anyone else is like this, but I love learning from professionals. I'm not an artist in any way, shape, or form. But I do find it SO interesting to get a peek under the hood to try understanding the process and thoughts of this community of immensely talented people. So here it goes....

Q1) The top-right corner trees…did you make that like a cosmic or mystic portal? On purpose or not, I think it’s wickedly cool!.

A1) Compositionally that large mass of black in the background trees overpowered the forward figures, so I added a splatter effect to simulate a fogginess to the overall scene, concentrating it more densely as it went into the distance. If you were to have it colored then the colorist could apply a color screen to that which would enhance that further.

Q2) The left side of Flash’s face has a particularly heavy dark line. Was that to imply a thick shadow? In general, your version of his mask looks loose and almost too large. And he’s got more of a sorrowful look…on purpose?

A2) I'm looking back on the pencils to see how that developed. The shadow appears to be there, but after being inked, it plays with your eyes a bit. That’s something that I may tweak before putting it in the mail to you, even if it’s just adding a line to lower the edge a bit so you can see that shape is part of a shadow on the mask & the other is the sunken area of the cheek. The sadness in general was just something I picked up on over the course of working on it. If it helps to understand, I started inking Superman, and then moved to Kyle as they were the 2 mid-ground figures. After that I worked the foreground to the background. I wanted to start with the mid-level figures so as to set a standard for Bernie's-weights, thinner behind & thicker ahead.

Q3) You added a very humanistic look to Supes’ face…but Batman’s is less so. As I look at all versions (yours, Joe’s and Bob’s) as well as the published color cover, Batman’s face just doesn’t seem to play as well as the others. I’m assuming it’s the way Bernie penciled him but I can’t pinpoint the specific reason why. Does it seem that way to you?

A3) Part of 2 helps explain this question, but also I do see less excitement in Bernie's approach with Bats & M. Manhunter. Those 2 seem less passionate, I dont know if that was in Bernie's approach as they are the 2 coldest figures personality wise?

Q4) Was there a part of this scene you found more difficult than the rest?

A4) I would say that Supers face & WW's face were the toughest. There was a small amount of anatomy correction at play on supes face. One eye was slightly higher than the other in the pencils, so I re-worked that a little. Also trying to keep the masculine jaw-line that Bernie had on WW while still making a more feminine curve to it was a bit of a trick.

Q5) Is there someone you have historically admired? Or someone that influenced you to get into this business?

A5) Old School guys in the Williamson, Wood, Frazetta, Krenkel & Orlando club really had a big impact on me. The EC books are some of my favorite books of all time.