This book means so much to me, I could go on about it all day. The following page is a favorite as well, showing us Jimmy’s photo from that last panel, as everyone celebrates.

Additionally, with the faces of everyone surrounding her, I was floored. Aquaman emerges and brings Superman back to Lois, and her reaction in particular is one of my favorite drawings ever. The heroes have won the day, and suddenly a ship surfaces nearby. But the one that really got me and has stuck with me in the years since is this page near the end of the last issue. Looking through the collection right now I could easily pick another 20 pages that affected me immensely. The way it’s put together, with nearly every page being a simple layout of three horizontal panels or a splash, every page is bold and stirring. New Frontier is FULL of pages that knocked me flat back then, both as a reader and a wannabe cartoonist. I can say without reservation that the book changed my life, and that I wouldn’t be doing what I am today without it. It was the first book that told me I didn’t have to draw like everybody else to work in superhero comics. I picked up each issue as it came out, and read them immediately.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited for a book to come out. All I saw was this image and that it must have something to do with the Justice League. But then here’s this teaser for something that looked kind of retro, rough, but FUN. I never even considered working in superhero comics, because most of what I saw in those books at the time was not a style I ever saw myself working in. I drew a little but it was mostly for my own enjoyment, and it didn’t resemble what I do now even remotely. The design and style of it hooked me immediately. White-gloved hand reaching up for the Lantern ring. The store had a teaser poster in the window for New Frontier that fall before it hit, the one with all the hands in the air and Hal Jordan’s I hated being at college that first year, feeling lonely and kind of lost, but going to the local comic shop helped. Some of the responses were lengthy, some brief, all of them heartfelt.įor Darwyn Cooke’s Eight Great Will Eisner Stories Every Fan Should Read, click here.įor 13 Great Darwyn Cooke Covers, click here.įor 13 Great Darwyn Cooke Illustrations, click here.ĭarwyn’s New Frontier was released during my freshman year of college. I asked a number of comic-book professionals to pick their favorite Darwyn Cooke works, whether it be a cover, illustration, page, what have you. UPDATED 11/16/18: This first ran when Darwyn Cooke died in 2016 but I wanted to share it again today, which was Cooke’s birthday. Darwyn Cooke’s friends, colleagues and fans remember the artist and reflect on his legacy.

Catwoman by Darwyn Cooke