Batman vs. Penguin over Gotham City | Batman portfolio (3 of 5) by Michael D. Koch, c.1993-94/color 2017

Batman portfolio (Page 3 of 5)
c.1993-94. Colored in 2017. (w/color flats assist by Alice Ito)

Wordless Batman story where Batman chases the Penguin through the skies of Gotham City in 5 pages. Used this pen & ink version to apply to DC Comics in 1994. (not accepted) then colored it to apply to DC comics in 2017 (same story) so I make my own comics when time allows.

Always enjoyed how this came out. I was very influenced by what the Tim Burton movies started with revisualizing the city of Gotham. I was trying to keep the Gothic elements while making it somewhat realistic and lived in, much like the downtown LA area where the my art studio was in the early 90's.

The first 2 pages were finished right before the second Tim Burton/Michael Keaton movie came out with Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman and Danny DeVito's Penguin. So my Penguin leaned more on the Burgess Meredith side from the TV show. I still prefer the 60's Penguin visually. Finished the portfolio later and submitted when I moved back to Boston from LA the next year or so.

p.s. that's the history but a fun aside. I wasn't aware that 14 x 17 wasn't the correct American comic size (thought it was close enough, was coming more from the fine arts side) and only absorbed that dimension that after I did my first full comic issue in 2015 (The Cosmic Survivor), all in 14 x 17 by mistake and had to painstakingly fix everything in photoshop stage to fit the standard comic size before I published it.