This is a sketch I put together shortly after the controversy with the cover to Batgirl #41 (which we talked about on Geek Fallout: The Comic Book Episodes!)
Basically I wanted to create a fun alternative to the now famous Killing Joke cover.
Basically I wanted to create a fun alternative to the now famous Killing Joke cover.
Ya know, that was such an interesting controversy. I have mixed feelings about it, but ultimately I would have enjoyed the variant cover to have gone something like this, Batgirl standing behind the Joker. She is the one holding the gun and he looks a little nervous and popping out of the gun is a flower while the look on Batgirl's face is a slight tongue in cheek grin as if to say, "This cover can pay tribute to the legacy of the story in a twisty way while also providing commentary on violence, that it doesn't have to always happen to women the way it does but also that the violence isn't real. That Batgirl is still a character not limited to one story and that in this day and age the possibilities can be endless." I don't know if I am expressing my thoughts correctly, I just feel like the cover could have taken it to a different and fun level that would have honored the history of the story but also been appropriate for the tone of the Batgirl series. Anyways, I love this illustration you have provided for us. I think it is great.
ReplyDeleteWow. That's a wordy response (This must be what its like when people read my replies!)
DeleteI considered having Batgirl pulling some slapstick violence on the Joker in a sort of playful payback, but had mixed feelings about that idea. That's probably why I didn't get around to coloring this portrait, were the memories of that original story just got to be a bit too uncomfortable.