Even though costumes - and is always getting new ones - it's always fun to see older suits return. A new variant cover for Batman: The Knight #1 has brought back the old suit, which is fitting considering the comic will revisit Batman's early years. This cover also marks the DC Comics debut of Filipino artist Manix Abrera.
This Batman comic will be a ten-issue miniseries. It will focus on Bruce Wayne's early years, following the death of his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne. The young hero will be dealing with his trauma as he begins his journey towards becoming Gotham's premiere vigilante. While Batman is best known for his use of bats in his gear and signature outfit, he had to develop his persona over time - making it fitting that this cover keeps his suit to the bare essential cowl shape, eye silhouette, and closed cape.
Batman: The Knight #1 has the creative team of Chip Zdarsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, and Ivan Plascencia. The variant cover by Manix Abrera was shared on the comic creator's Instagram. This cover will be exclusively available at Sanctum Sanctorum Comics in the United States and Comic Odyssey in the Philippines. While comic fans in the US may not easily recognize the artistic style of this particular cover, fans in the Philippines just might.
Manix Abrera is a cartoonist in the Philippines, best known for the comic strip Kikomachine Comix. This comic is published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a daily newspaper that was established in 1985. Kikomachine Comix began publishing in 2001 and has not yet stopped. The comic is so popular, its compilation volumes have been best-sellers in past years. He is also the creator of News Hardcore, a comic strip that publishes on GMA News Online, another news provider in the Philippines.
Abrera was interviewed about his new work for DC Comics by CNN Philippines. One of his quotes about the style of the cover, translated from Filipino states, "Actually I'm a fan of the old-style used in Batman comics...I also use that in my own comics and I combine elements of the supernatural, with themes of magic and occult." He also stated that he wants "to achieve a lot of things, hopefully, one of them would be to eventually conceptualize stories, let's say for Batman since there are concepts that I get to use in Kikomachine which I believe are more suited to be translated to superhero comics."
The vintage style of Batman is an excellent choice for this series since it will be exploring an earlier time in the iconic hero's life with the potential to include early costume ideas. Abrera's signature art is visible within the cover in the way the figures' bodies are drawn, as well as the presentation of the demon figures and statue cresting the mountain encasing the symbolic steps Bruce Wayne must climb. Fans can see Bruce Wayne's journey - and buy Manix Abrera's variant cover - when Batman: The Knight #1 releases on January 10.
Source: Manix Abrera, CNN Philippines
