Please be sure to read the very recent & quite excellent Book Review for BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN over at the TOM BADGUY Website. This guy has an interesting take on the new DC Comics’ Graphic Novel and there’s also some nice pictures to drool over. Overall, it was well designed & very well thought out. ( Thanks Tom, nice job! )

Here’s a quick post to share some of the process that goes into making a DC Comics Graphic Novel. As an example we’re using BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN, which was written by Chip Kidd and beautifully drawn by UK Comic Book Artist Dave Taylor. This example mainly focuses on the Joker!

OK, the graphics are being shown in order and they should explain their self pretty good. Here, we get to see how the scripted page starts out as a simple layout and then it grows into a final page.

The first page shows the script sketched out by Chip Kidd and it’s also sort of mapped out with basic dialogue. By the way, this was done on Quark! Then, we get to see Dave Taylor’s blue-line ( non-photograph able ) artwork. This gets approved and then he does his light pencil work in black. Then the next image shows a lot of the deep blacks that are added on top & the art is cleaned up a little bit. OK, this is now scanned into a computer and some digital coloring is added. The last photo is the finished work sort of as it appeared in the book. Pretty cool, huh?!

Ever since Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor’s brand-new Batman Graphic Novel (DC Comics) came out there has been a really good buzz about it. Oh man, you know we’re really happy about that! It’s been great & we really appreciate it. But, the funny thing is, at first, all the reviews were conducted by “comic book related” blogs and websites. Then, the next wave were all the serious “Book Review people” like, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, NPR Books, etc… Now, it seems that the next wave are sites dedicated to Architecture.

Here’s a great example: Over at the ARCH DAILY website, a site dedicated to very serious Architectural News. They have a Writer named Nicky Rackard who just did a very excellent review on the book. Of course their focus on the article is “the ideas about Architecture”, that were a main theme to the story. (Thanks Nicky!) It’s a wonderful article, very well thought out, so please be sure to visit their page & give it a quick read -Hey, just CLICK HERE!

OK, This is pretty cool news! A company in Barcelona, Spain called “Ecc Ediciones” will be publishing Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor’s BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN (DC Comics) into a foreign language! The new title will be called, “Batman: Arquitectura Mortal”. They even created a really nice Book Trailer Video which you can see down below. We’re not really sure of an exact release date but it is due in 2013. Stay tuned to this site and once we know we’ll pass it on. Also, for more information, please be sure to check out their website, just CLICK HERE!

OH MY GOD!! Today, over at the NYR Blog, Architecture critic Martin Filler wrote a lot of very kind words at the New York Review of Books for Chip Kidd and Dave Taylor's BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN!! Now, for the few people who have not read this new Batman Graphic Novel (DC Comics) the basic plot revolves heavily around the idea of “Architectural issues”. So, Martin Filler was the perfect person to write this article, ha!

The wonderful thing, Mr. Filler wrote a very thought-provoking piece and it’s a great article. In fact, this review seems to be one of the main reviews that really “got the book”. The title of his article is “Batman vs. Koolhaas” and we’re asking all our readers to please check it out and while you’re there please feel free to leave a comment. Also, please be sure to share this link inside your online social activity. Yes, we’re talking to our facebook and Twitter Friends here, ha ha!

Thank You Martin Filler for your excellent review.

Here’s a quick post to share some amazing artwork we came across the other day. This is a recent drawing of Batman and The Joker done by the ultra-talented DAVE TAYLOR. He did this art for a Fan at a recent Comic Book Convention. Now, for the few people who don’t know, Dave was the official Artist for Chip Kidd’s recent Graphic Novel (DC Comics) titled, “Batman: Death By Design”. The art shown here is slightly different than the version seen in that book but it is still a lot of fun. To view more of Taylor’s stuff just CLICK HERE!

Here’s a fun photo I knew we had to share. In New York City there’s this really great independent Bookstore called McNally Jackson. If you live in or near New York then you need to give them a visit. It’s a really cool place. They’re located at 52 Prince Street, between Lafayette & Mulberry.

Anyways, around the holiday season they always do this very smart thing in their store where they create Table Displays that feature “The Best of…Fiction, Romance, Mystery, etc.” Well, for their “Best Graphic Novels of 2012″ table they gave some special attention to a few books that Designer/Author Chip Kidd is associated with. Seriously, it’s a HUGE honor and we’re really proud of it.

The books we’re talking about are located at the top of the picture: BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN ( DC Comics, Written by Chip Kidd, Art by Dave Taylor ), BUILDING STORIES ( Pantheon Books, Story & Art by Chris Ware ), and THE HIVE ( Pantheon, Story & Art by Charles Burns ). Now, all the other books are really great too so it’s nice to be in such good company. Thank You McNally Jackson, you guys ROCK!!

For Store Location & Hours please visit their website, just CLICK HERE!

Chip Kidd recently had the honor of being interviewed by Elaine Viets on her “Dead End Jobs” Radio Podcast. The focus of the interview was all about his new DC Comics’ Batman Graphic Novel titled, “BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN”. It’s about 20 minutes long & really goes in depth about both the creation of the book and the overall storyline. They also cover the creative process that Chip Kidd and Comic Book Artist Dave Taylor went through to finish this book. We have embedded it down below so you can enjoy it. ( Thanks Elaine! )

Awesome! We wanna thank Zainab over at the COMICS AND COLA BLOG Website for doing a very excellent Book Review on BATMAN: DEATH BY DESIGN. For the 2 or 3 people living under a rock ( Ha Ha! ), this is the latest Batman Graphic Novel published by DC Comics. It was written by Chip Kidd and the incredible artwork was done by a very talented Comic Book Artist named Dave Taylor ( Who lives in the UK ). Here’s a LINK to check it out, please do. Also, Thanks Zainab!

Bradalmanac, over at the Flickr website, just posted some very excellent photos he shot at the Charles Burns, Chip Kidd, & Chris Ware event at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA on October 11th, 2012. This was in connection to the Harvard Book Store and to see more pics please CLICK HERE!