A wonderful gallery, colored by Sandy Jarrell…
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UPDATED 4/10/26: Diggin’ in the vault time — when we go deep into the recesses of the shadowy subterranean 13th Dimension headquarters for great columns that deserve another look. This one first ran in March 2022. Right on! — Dan
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This has been a helluva week here at 13th Dimension for fabulous art by big-name illustrators. We’ve had Matt Wagner’s reinterpretation of Golden Age Detective Comics covers and Alex Ross’ latest Batman painting, which pays homage to the Bronze Age.
Well, dig this: For some time, artist Sandy Jarrell has been posting on Twitter a series of reproduction covers that were created by the late, great Darwyn Cooke. Some of the covers, which were originally in black and white, were done to benefit the Hero Initiative through Canadian comics shop Strange Adventures, according to store owner Calum Johnston. Others were drawing exercises.
Sandy found them — online and through Johnston — decided to color them and, man oh man, are the results spectacular. What’s particularly notable is that some of them look very much like the Darwyn Cooke we know and love, while others closely mimic the cover’s original artists. There are also alterations that experts will notice.
I’ve picked 13 to show off in the gallery below, including one that’s actually a pinup. I think you’ll love them as much as I do.
Groovy.
After Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson
After Jack Kirby and Joe Sinnott
After Win Mortimer
After John Romita
After Carmine Infantino and Joe Giella
After Ross Andru and Mike Esposito
After Sheldon Moldoff
After Gil Kane and Joe Giella
After Carmine Infantino and Mike Esposito
After Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson
After Infantino and Giella
After Mortimer
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MORE
— Dig MATT WAGNER’s Superb Revamps of Classic BATMAN Covers. Click here.
— ALEX ROSS Pays Tribute to the Bronze Age in Latest BATMAN Masterpiece. Click here.
March 5, 2022
Wow, these are spectacular!
March 5, 2022
These are fantastic! It screams what is missing in today’s modern comics.
March 5, 2022
Isn’t that the truth!!!
March 7, 2022
I agree!
March 19, 2024
…and still hearing that non-stop scream two years later!
April 9, 2026
Can’t let another 2 years go by without making note of it. Still loving these covers.
March 5, 2022
I would suggest checking out the current Nightwing team for a similar feel and design esthetic. That books just flows so smoothly (and is entertaining). Darwyn is still a master and greatly missed.
March 5, 2022
100% agree. They’re doing Nightwing justice; the first team to do so in years, maybe ever.
March 5, 2022
Wow ! Love these. Darwin was a great artist. Gone way too soon. God bless him, RIP
March 5, 2022
These cover recreations by the late Darwyn Cooke capture what the comics industry used to be successfully.
March 5, 2022
Thanks for posting these. Darwyn is one of my all time favorites. Incomparable and very missed.
August 23, 2022
Darwyn (DC) Cooke’s Justice League of Yesteryear. Rest in Power
March 19, 2024
Didn’t see these their first go-round, but what an incredible collection. Just awesome.
March 20, 2024
I see he tweaked some of the original versions-adding Invisible Girl and the Wasp to the FF cover, and E-1 Batman & E-2 GL to the JLA cover.
April 9, 2026
It always bothered me that Batman was cheering against his supposed best friend in that Superman-Flash race.
April 9, 2026
I agree. Just an issue of the editor missing it I’m guessing or that they didn’t think fans kept track of details like that. Maybe the art was done long before the story was ever conceived. It is a classic cover for sure. I first read those “race” stories in the Treasury Editions.
April 9, 2026
On the original Superman #199 cover, it looks like the word balloons got mixed up. Batman’s is t coming his mouth, but behind his head.
April 9, 2026
There are 3 heroes on the right maybe someone on the left has been left out or inked out. That or they were placing the balloon and either didn’t want to cover up Superman or it just shifted. All I know is I never noticed it before but now it’s all I see.
April 11, 2026
Yes. It would have made sense for Green Lantern to have had that word balloon instead, as he was close friends with Flash, and would have been cheering for him. Maybe GL was originally placed in the position of the guy firing the starting gun.