Batman & Robin (Vol. 1) 01 Original Variant Cover Painting

Batman & Robin (Vol. 1) #1 Original Variant Cover Painting (August 2009). Batman & Robin kicked off a major "Batman: Reborn" crossover event that featured the Batman Family establishing the status quo in Gotham post Battle for the Cowl, with the debut of many characters in new roles (e.g. Dick Grayson taking on the mantle of the Bat). It encompassed the first 3 issues of the new Batman & Robin series as well as multiple issues in the mainline Batman title, Batgirl, Batman: Streets of Gotham, Detective Comics (The Batwoman: Elegy arc), Gotham City Sirens, Outsiders, and Red Robin. This issue, titled "Batman Reborn, Part One: Domino Effect", is the first time appearance of Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin.



This "new" dynamic duo is prominently (and dynamically!) featured on this variant cover, fully painted by J.G. Jones. Batman & Robin are swinging into action, with the smaller and younger Robin in the foreground and Batman just behind. The details are simply stunning throughout this painting, and the picture really doesn't do it justice. The lighting and shading is extremely photorealistic, and Damien in particular looks like he is jumping off the page. Alex Ross has made a name for himself for his photorealistic paintings, and this definitely reminds me of that style while still having its own style and vibe. The details in the buildings, down to the flying doves, are also really nice. And though Hawk and Dove didn't officially appear in the story, the doves definitely make me think of those characters (and the Titans are alluded to in the story). It really is a stunning composition all around.



J.G. Jones is quite the accomplished cover artist, though his Batman cover work pretty much occurred only in this series, with this being the only painted cover that he did. I actually never understood why this wasn't the main cover for this issue, as the I find the Quitely main cover to be very stiff and, dare I say, boring? This one truly captures the essence of the Dynamic Duo in action and should have, in my opinion, been the primary kick off cover for this series and crossover event.



This painting resided for a long time in the collection of Chip Kidd, renowned author, graphic designer, and pop culture enthusiast. The painting was personalized and signed by Jones in pencil along the bottom margin "For The Inimitable Chip Kidd. Hoo-Ha Indeed!" A fun trivia fact is that Jones signed the painting in the lower right corner, but apparently DC was not a fan of this placement (or at least I assume this was the case) so moved it to the left middle just above Damien's foot for the published version.



Accomplished in watercolor and mixed media painting on an 11.5" X 17" artboard that was trimmed from a larger artboard. Has some stray watercolors along the top right from when Jones originally painted. Signed and dated "09" in the bottom right corner.