I've posted it in the regular art thread, but since JB had made a comment
regarding the "waste" of the DPS format, I thought it was fitting to
repost it here, followed by JB's comment and my reply;

The piece below is the final DPS of SUPERMAN #123
(larger scan and rotated and published versions are in the link):


http://qurls.com?i=51567

This piece pays a nice (fitting ?) homage to the final page of John Byrne's Man Of Steel #1 !
The background looks very similar to the original, but with a bit more detail
(thanks to the larger DPS format, while the original had the space of just one page).

As always, comments are welcome and appreciated.


Thanks,
Gal

Here is JB's comment:

JB: More detail, yes. But to swing back to the discussion of "wasted"
double page spreads, none of that detail adds to the story being told
by the picture, does it? In fact, I would argue that the double-page
format has a diminishing effect, since the "SUPERMAN" logo doesn't
POP against such an expansive background. (Why the letterer did
not make it LARGER is beyond me!)

The piece is undeniably well drawn, just not worth two pages.

****

And my take on it:
Obviously, it's not up to par with the original (what homage piece is ?),
but the original is the definitive Superman image for of generation,
so if this piece has even bits of the original's staying magic, than it's
more than worth it, IMO.

Regarding the added (excessive ?) detail -
I do feel that there is some added value in the contrast created between
the detailed farm, representing Clark's roots and humanity, and this
"new" Superman, with the ultra simplistic costume and more alien/
divine look.

The clean costume lines do pop out against the texture heavy BG.

I do fully agree about the lettering - John Costanza is on of the greats,
so I'm surprised the logo is so small, as if he wasn't confident in this
new Superman logo (not to say ashamed of it).

Consider: there are few who would dispute the statement that the first hundred issues of FANTASTIC FOUR are among the most visually powerful American comics every published. There are images scattered thru those issues that leap off the page and smack the reader in the face. Johnny's (and our) first glimpse of Galactus' gigantic mechanical "home world". Doctor Doom on a rampage after stealing the power of the SIlver Surfer. Attilan. Him. Ben in the arena vs Torgo. The Negative Zone. Johnny and Wyatt discovering Prestor John. And what about that 100th issue! The FF vs just about every villain they'd battled up to that point!

And in all those pages, all that action, all that spectacle, all that sprawling cosmic energy, the double page spreads number. . . none.

In one hundred issues, those thousands of pages, no double page spreads. Even when Kirby "gave himself a raise" (as legend has it) by shifting more and more to full page splashes and four panel pages, in the FF's main title, there were no double page spreads. (I found one in FF ANNUAL 6 -- a largely black and white photo montage.)

Later in his career, Kirby fell into a habit of devoting the second and third pages of each issue to a double page spread. Some were absolutely spectacular. Some were not. (I recall Jason Blood in a tavern. Big faces, intricate backgrounds -- but actually a visual step DOWN from the dynamism of the splash page.) And sometimes, he had to relinquish those spreads in favor of multiple panels, the part of the story being told just not being WORTH a spread.

In comics, we lack some of the most important advantages of our closest cousin, film. Mostly, we lack MOVEMENT. Neither the characters nor the "camera" can move, and so we seek different ways to give the readers a close a approximation of the IMPACT that can be achieved with a motion picture camera. Different panel shapes are employed (tho Kirby, again, mostly restricted himself to the 9/6/4 grid). Wild angles within the panels. And, of course, using the full page, or the double page, to really throw an image at the reader.

Just make sure it's one WORTH throwing! (And I mean that in all senses of the word "worth". Given the cost of comics today, as well as the diminished size of the overall package, we owe it to our readers to provide the maximum bang for the buck. A double page spread should be like one of those single-figure commission pieces I do, where I try to make maximum use of the space on the page. A spread should do the same. Not be, as I have said, just a big picture.)

••

One of the distinct advantages of working with IDW, who put their ads in the back. When I do a spread, I don't have to worry about something getting between the pages. (When Marvel reprinted Neal Adams' X-MEN work the first time, they did exactly that -- dropping an ad in the middle of a double page spread!)

In fact, in a recent issue of TRIO, I ASKED for an ad to be placed in the middle of a story (not a spread), so that a particular sequence, which had paced out as a right hand page, would get the turn-the-page benefit of being a left hand page.

••

And, if you really mean the last issue, A HUGE SPOILER!!!!!

So please, nobody post it!