Lady Death by Mike DeBalfo after Michael Turner

I had been on Mike's commission list for a couple of years when in November he emailed me that he had finally come to my slot and was ready to do something. Originally I had wanted to get a two character piece from him, but he emailed me back saying that the energy he has to put into commissions isn't as much as his professional covers and that I should consider getting a single character piece that he would be able to draw a better quality of. So, at the last minute looking around my room, I saw a Michael Turner "Shake Your Aspen" print that I have framed on my walls and asked him to do an homage piece to it in the form of Lady Death. The Lady Death idea came because Mike has done two great covers for her that he posted on DeviantArt, and I figured he would do another great piece if I asked for him to do a third - and boy did he ever!

(on a side note, what a great coincidence that AspenMLT has just signed Mike on to be a cover artist for their company)

Mike was able to finish this in a couple days time and really hit it out of the park! I've had to sit on the image for six months now because he submitted the piece to Brian Pulido (Lady Death's owner and creator) who liked it enough to have it solicited as a cover to one of his comics! But now that Mike has released the pencil and colored images on his Facebook page, I guess I can finally post it here on CAF!

Mike (and I) are unsure as to who did the coloring for either/both covers, but they came out great as well! (turns out it was colored by the great Jason Jensen) =)


(update 11/05/20):

#1 - This image was used as three different 2012 Phoenix Comic Con variant covers, all under the title 'Lady Death Tribulation #1'. A colored edition, a second "risque edition," and a third reprint of the black and white pencils.

#2 - The colored image of this piece was printed in the 'Lady Death Masterpieces: The Art of Lady Death - Volume 1' hardcover book. This was offered in two formats - a standard slip with hardcover book and a special edition slip with hardcover book - through Brian Pulido's Scorched Earth Kickstarter.

#3 - The risque image was reprinted in May 2020 for the Lady Death online exclusive event 'Mike DeBalfo Artist Celebration - Merciless Onslaught #1 - Metallic Phoenix Edition'

#4 - I finally got this framed. The original art and a colored print share the same frame, with U/V anti-glare glass on front and U/V regular glass on the rear. The idea came from a cooking/art show I once watched where collectors were talking about the foods that famous painters were eating during their time of creation. One woman had a menu from a restaurant that Picasso ate at, and she framed it with double sided glass so you could read both sides. I've since taken that same concept and now frame my original art with the raw pencils on one side and its colored version on the reverse so future generations can see both by simply flipping it over.