Blackout #0 Cover Reveal!
"Where There's Smoke, There's Blackout!"
Hi, everybody! I’m finally able to show off more about the Blackout project I’ve been talking about for months now. I never got around to giving it the code name Project: Public Domain Superhero because I launched from doing a one-page comic for The Comic Jam to creating this short comic and hopefully much more!
When it came time to design a cover for this comic, my collaborator, artist Michael Howe, asked me if I had any ideas. Apart from wanting a dynamic pose for our main character, I didn’t have much to offer. I trust Michael implicitly. We both knew for certain that we did not want an homage cover of Blackout punching Hitler in the face! Lol Though it would be appropriate for the period and themes of the comic, it’s also obvious and overdone.
We decided to go back to basics and consult the fabled list of “Seven Things Guaranteed to Sell a Comic If Shown on the Cover,” often attributed to legendary DC editor Carmine Infantino1. You can read more about the history of this list over at
by here.Obviously, dinosaurs and gorillas were out for Blackout. And I’m still not sure if he’s capable of crying. At first, we weren’t sure if a city on fire would be in good taste because of actual historical events, but Michael and I reasoned that we wouldn’t be exploiting Operation Retribution. He ended up managing to combine it with a purple background and a question posed to the reader, and I think the results speak for themselves.
And there you have it! Michael and I never discussed including the phrase “Who or What Is Blackout?” but I had been thinking of using it to market the book when it was complete. I was amazed to see it emblazoned on the cover with no input from me! Further proof this partnership works.
Let me know what you think in the comments! I’m excited to share more about this project as it continues. Feel free to share this post to spread the word about Blackout. Thanks again for everything!
Real quick, those seven things are:
Gorillas
Dinosaurs
Motorcycles
A purple background
The city in flames
The hero crying
A direct question to the reader
Haha nice!
As someone who is planning on doing a comic with a public domain character, I am super excited to see what you do and how you use the public domain to your advantage. Looking forward to this, Devin.