The first time I saw Rick Burchett's art was in the 1991 Justice Society of America series, where he impressed me with both his pencils and his inks. I've since followed him onto numerous books, like Batman Adventures, Batman/Huntress, Queen & Country, She-Hulk, and more recently Lady Sabre and Gravedigger. Rick works in multiple styles and all of them are gorgeous. So yeah, I'm a huge fan of his work, and I was really happy when he opened his commission list this year. I wanted a "Karate Kid vs." commission from Rick and when thinking about an opponent, I remembered an excellent Batman & Batgirl vs. Sensei fight Rick drew in Batman: Gotham Adventures #9. I've wanted a Karate Kid vs. Sensei commission for a while, so this seemed like a match made in heaven. And then when I saw the finished product, I knew I had made the right decision. This piece is gorgeous! The fight choreography, the tones, the shadows, the fantastic background, it's all just perfect! Huge thanks to Rick for his fantastic work and to Don Secrease for helping to arrange this commission!

Sensei is one of the best fighters in the DCU. He is the former leader of the League of Assassins and either Ra's al Ghul's father or son, depending on which story you read. The only reason he ever seems to lose is because his body is so aged that his endurance is weak. Sensei has been shown to only be able to fight at peak efficiently for about two minutes. In his prime, Sensei might just have been unbeatable. Unless he fought Val Armorr. Young or old, I think Karate Kid would win, but it would not be easy. Sensei has been practicing martial arts for centuries, and is a master of hundreds of styles. But Val has an advantage of knowing styles not yet created in Sensei's time, and fighting styles from alien worlds. But without that advantage, Val would be in a world of trouble.

If you like this piece, then please do go buy some comics featuring Rick's work in physical or digital format. If you'd like a commission from Rick for yourself, you can e-mail Don Secrease at donsecrease@sbcglobal.net.

Social/Sharing