Playful Batman #118 variant pays homage to an iconic Spider-Man cover by Todd McFarlane
DC's December 2021 solicitations have something of a surprise - a fun, variant cover homage to Todd McFarlane's iconic Spider-Man #1 from 1990 cover by artist Viktor Bogdanovic for December 7's Batman #118.
The 1-25 variant not only recreates the iconic pose McFarlane himself recreated for a Spawn cover a few years later but includes other surprising elements as well.
It took us a few seconds here at Newsarama to register DC included its old, iconic bullet logo to help complete the retro-homage vibe, and it also includes nods to the defunct also-iconic Comics Code Authority logo and an acknowledgment of McFarlane himself in the artist's credit box.
Add to that the Batman logo reconfigured to resemble the Spider-Man logo and the question mark in the 'All-New Collectors Item Issue?' homage to the iconic Marvel '70s-'90s cover bar and Spider-Man #1's adaptation of it, and the cover is both somewhat random and overtly playful, two words you don't normally associate with the often deliberate and very brand-conscious DC.
Here's a look at both covers side-by-side (which you can click on to expand) for the full effect.
On the surface, Batman #118 doesn't seem to have any specific connection to Spider-Man #1 or McFarlane, other than the creator's brief history drawing Detective Comics in 1987. It appears Bogdanovic simply wanted to pay tribute to his favorite artist.
"After my art hero @Todd_McFarlane," Bogdanovic wrote in a tweet Friday. "Can't tell you how many hours I've spent drooling over his legendary Spidey cover as a kid. So glad I got to do this. Coolest homage I've ever drawn for sure."
Batman #118 does start writer Joshua Williamson and artist Jorge Molina's undetermined run on the title, so perhaps it could become collectable someday?
Either way, the cover was somewhat enjoyable to discover among December's dozens of new images given how out of character it is for DC. Here's hoping the publisher has some more fun like this in the future.
Look for DC's full December 2021 solicitations at 12pm ET on Friday, September 17 here at Newsarama.
And speaking of Todd McFarlane, the creator recently talked to us about his new Spawn titles and what he can do that DC and Marvel can’t.
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