After I had commissioned Gerhard to create a background and color the Herb Trimpe Hulk vs. Wolverine piece I had, I wanted to do another experiment teaming Gerhard with another favorite of mine. Over the years, there was one team up that I always wanted to see - Wrightson and Gerhard. I always thought that Gerhard's detailed line work followed in the same tradition as Franklin Booth and Wrightson's Frankenstein work.
When I met Bernie at the 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con, I took a look through his portfolio this piece, I knew instantly it was the one for this project. It was a nice bold image of Swamp Thing vs. Arcane (an homage to Wrightson's last Swamp Thing issue - #10) and followed in the theme of famous battles that I started with the Hulk vs. Wolverine piece.
I gave it to Gerhard along with a copy of Swamp Thing #10 and some reference from Wrightson's Frankenstein book. Rather than trying to copy Wrightson's line style, Gerhard wanted to bring the piece to life with his style. I agreed - always good to have artsts do what they do best.
I wasn't sure the direction that Gerhard was going to take the background - he surprised me with a graveyard scene (ala Swamp Thing #10). I liked it and I thought the big moon in the background framed it up nicely. After seeing the first draft, I asked for one addition - zombies! I have to say, Gerhard nailed the Wrightson-like zombies!
I haven't received the original yet, but I have a feeling this is one of those pieces you just have to see in person. Gerhard spent hours and hours doing the cross-hatching on this piece to achieve the different tones. You can see the progression of the piece on his blog at: http://www.gerhardart.com/apps/blog
So here it is for your comments - Wrightson/Gerhard! What do you think? Am I the only one that ever wanted to see these two paired up? Would you want to see them paired up on a future project? What other artist would you want to see paired with Gerhard in the future?
