HOPE YOU LIKE IT: The Art of DAKOTA ALEXANDER…
By DAKOTA ALEXANDER
“And then had come the scourge, grinning and lethal, from the nightmare corridors of Arkham Asylum. It was then that Batman, unflinching and mysterious, stood in its path as it broke with full daemoniac fury upon the city of Gotham.”
“The Elder Sister,” Chapter 2: “The Wrathful Daemon”
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With release of the second season of Batman: Caped Crusader, I thought it apropos to post some work from my “Dime Detective Comics” series. These pieces were, in fact, a direct inspiration from the first season of the show.
Obviously, an homage to Dime Detective Magazine, a prominent American pulp put out by Popular Publications that ran from 1931-1953, I found that Batman would fit perfectly in this range of thrilling covers depicting stories from the dark and sinister underbelly of society.
This idea of further exploring Batman’s pulp roots in the form of these “Dime Detective Comics” covers led me to some fun and intriguing ideas; and in this case, to H.P. Lovecraft.
Patrick McEvoy
Of course, the world of Batman is already connected to Lovecraft via the literary existence of Arkham Asylum, which was created by Jack C. Harris and introduced by writer Denny O’Neil in Batman #258 (1974) as a salute to Lovecraft’s fictional town of Arkham, Massachusetts.
Art by Irv Novick and Dick Giordano
In 2000, Mike Mignola had Batman face off against a Lovecraftian horror in the Elseworlds comic, The Doom That Came to Gotham.
Hey Bats… where you goin’ with that gun in your hand?
Admittedly, the idea of Batman wrapped up in the cosmically horrific tentacles of an Elder God story is not exactly new ground to tread. However, much like chocolate and peanut butter, Batman and Lovecraft are just two great things that go great together.
So here is my take on that dark, yet delicious combo! I give you “The Elder Daughter.” A Batman Story by H.P. Lovecraft, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane. Hope you like it.
NOTE: It should be said that Lovecraft died in 1937, two years before Batman’s first published appearance. But hey, this is all made up anyways.
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Want more of THE ART OF DAKOTA ALEXANDER? Come back next week!
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MORE
–– SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY — If the Movie Poster Were Based on a Bronze Age Cover. Click here.
— Remarkable and Exquisite: THE DEATH OF GWEN STACY — In Feudal JAPAN. Click here.
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DAKOTA ALEXANDER is an American artist living in Japan. He’s worked on many projects, such as The Liberty Brigade, The Masters, Charon 13, and G.H.O.S.T. Agents. His latest is his love letter to Bronze Age superhero-horror comics, The Hunter, which is now available at his Etsy, Drums of the Serpent.
