DC Super-Stars No. 18 Cover by Jim Aparo

This was the last issue of DC Super-Stars. The series had started out as a reprint title, but began running original material in No. 13.

Aparo was well suited to depicting Deadman and The Phantom Stranger. His horror-infused expressiveness had already been shown on Charlton titles as well as a memorable run with Michael Fleisher on The Spectre in Adventure Comics, and not forgetting his work on The Brave & the Bold being one of the definitive depictions of Batman.

Colour by me.

As published.

Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Before & After : Drag the divider back and forth to compare the original scan with the art made production ready.

The original art scan has been converted to greyscale, and the end result is typical of what I do:

• The art is contrast adjusted to yield solid blacks and clean whites
• The original trade dress and art borders are removed
• Missing art caused by the removal of UPC codes, logos and other trade dress is drawn in
• On the outside edges the art is extended to make bleeds

My process began years ago with removing logos because many original paste-ups were made with low-quality copies of logos and type, and I wanted to show what we could do to bring those pieces up to modern standards while still respecting their original feel. Later, I went further with filling in missing art and extending edges to give the audience a cover they couldn’t have seen when it was first published. It also allowed me to practice my own drawing skills by mimicking the art styles of the illustrators I admire. The education has been worth it.

And while some of the things I do mean little for an online presentation, or they may be covered up by the re-application of trade dress, they keep me focussed on producing work that meets or exceeds current print standards for archival work, and that remains very important to my identity as a designer and illustrator.

Formatted for the cover.

New colour version.

Re-created trade dress added.