Shadow of Awesome Cover Friday

I got to chat breifly with Brian Stelfreeze at Dragon*Con. He's a really cool guy and a great artist. Back in the 90s he was the cover artist for Shadow of the Bat. The stories in Shadow were dark, psychological tales and Stelfreeze's covers helped drive that mood home because they looked so much different from the other Bat-titles that were out.

#10

My name is MC Escher and I'm here to say...

I can't get enough of wacky landscapes. They look whimsical and scary at the same time. Covers like this always remind me of those "Carnival of Terror" stories from the old-school horror comics.


#15


Batman impaled on a giant pitchfork? Tangled up in his cape? Cast into a hellish realm made up of his own insecurities and fears? Sold!


#18


Speaking of fear, check this out! The Scarecrow is one of my favorite Bat-villains because he's so damn effective. Batman always has to find a way around the fear dust and that way is often just bulling his way through it with sheer willpower. The multiple Scarecrows jumping around in the background are appropriately creepy.


#37


Comedy! Tragedy! Get it?

This is one of my favorite Stelfreeze pieces. It's one of the things that made Shadow of the Bat one of the bright spots of '90s comics. This painting is beautiful, dark, and evocative like the story behind it.