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Dark Horse Comics has unveiled the cover for the eighth issue of the Fight Club 2 series. We’ve embedded the full image above—what do you think?

Comics creator David Mack drew this piece. Novelist Chuck Palahniuk wrote the story for this sequel project while artist Cameron Stewart and colorist Dave Stewart collaborated on the illustrations.

The publication date has been scheduled for Dec. 23. Follow this link to check out a variant cover designed by illustrator Steve Morris.

At SDCC '15 I talked with the Burnside Batgirl crew about their creative origins, how the look that launched a thousand cosplays came to be, how to handle creative criticism, and their earliest con experiences.

Bruce Timm’s Original Design

Livewire, the ass-kicking electro-magnetic supervillain is coming to the DC You next month in Cameron Stewart and Babs Tarr’s Batgirl #42.  The character, who was created by Bruce Timm for Superman: The Animated Series, has received the Tarr hip-to-streets redesign treatment.  She tweeted out a set of costume sketches earlier today.

I’m pretty partial to the bottom center design, as I love me some Heathers-style shoulder pads, but I also love the asymmetry of the top center design as well.  Note the lightning bolts on her boots in all the designs, which range in conspicuousness from almost non-existent to beating you over the head with their symbolism.  She has an interesting Cinderella thing going on on the bottom right as well.



It looks like we’ll be getting the bottom left design.  Here’s the cover to issue 42:

Who says you can’t talk about Fight Club? Dark Horse Comics has unveiled the cover for the first issue of the Fight Club 2 series. Comics creator David Mack drew this piece.

We’ve embedded the full image above—what do you think? Novelist Chuck Palahniuk wrote the story for this sequel project. In an interview with Maxim.com, Palaniuk revealed that he feels “it’s so much fun to be Tyler Durden, to think like that character.”

Artist Cameron Stewart and colorist Dave Stewart collaborated on the illustrations. The publication date has been set for May 27th. Click on these links to check out variant cover designed by Stewart and illustrator Lee Bermejo.

A lot of Dark Horse Comics were announced yesterday with opening day at Emerald City Comic Con, but probably none more anticipated than the one we already knew about, Fight Club 2. Saturday morning, Emerald City opened with an hour long discussion dedicated to the upcoming comic form sequel. On the panel: Artist Cameron Stewart, cover artist David Mack, Scott Allie, and of course the creator Chuck Palahniuk.
An insanely packed room at the Washington State Convention Center was treated to a preview of the upcoming book right when you walked in the door. As we knew the story picks up years after the events of Fight Club and it looks as though his son has a little bit of Tyler in him. This is also looking like some of Cameron Stewart’s best work, ever.

Dark Horse’s Aub Driver moderates the festivities. Chuck opens up talking about the FCBD issue. “It’ll be the end of the book in graphic novel form.” Allie asked Chuck about the reasoning for doing it as a graphic novel. David Mack and Chuck have been friends since 2006, after he wrote a letter to which he responded with a box of goodies and a letter. They’d been talking about ideas like life, love, and other stuff in the universe. Bendis also had a little bit to do with the genesis. From a dinner party Bendis and Mack hammered the idea of how different publishing comics is.
If Palahniuk was going to talk about Fight Club for the rest of his life then why not do it in a “Lovecraft” fashion and expand the story in two directions. Cameron Stewart came on board after 2013 when he contacted EIC Scott Allie about the book. He adapted one of the later chapters of the novel into a three page comic as proof of concept.

Chuck talked about making Stewart research what he wanted him to draw. In Stewart’s words, it was “deeply upsetting”, though he talked about how that was a good thing with this project. Scott talked about how surrealism was a big part of Chuck’s work and this was the perfect team to do it. A comparison to the last issue of Stewart’s Batgirl, a comparison was even drawn because of Barbra fighting her own mind.
A walk through of the preview interiors was done by the panel. Chuck talked about naming the character Sebastian, because he used every other name he knew in his other fiction work.

We’ll never see GUTS because you can’t literally depict someone being disemboweled.” Cameron Stewart’s work is perfectly cartoony for what the writer wants to depict.

The panel opened up for questions.
ANy other callbacks beyond Marla and Sebastian?
“Yeah”

Gas station worker went back to college?
“I’ll find a place for him now.”

Sebastian’s real name?
“Dealt with in FCBD issue”

Other books in comic medium?
“Invisible monsters by David Mack, Rand done after the Franco movie comes out.”

One of the new stories in Chuck’s upcoming collection will be a girl version of Guts called Cannibal.

what do you prefer, comics or novel?
“Writing a graphic novel is live having a terrific workshop.” Though he’s full of ideas, he doesn’t necessarily know where they’re going to end up.

With that the panel came to an end, we’ll be at the Marvel: Black Vortex to Secret Wars later.

So, June is Joker month in the DCU, with variant covers for all the books featuring the lovable scamp once portrayed by Cesar Romero.

And last Friday, the variant cover for Batgirl #41 was revealed, by artist Rafael Albuquerque.

The image is a call-out to The Killing Joke, the story by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland where the Joker kidnaps Barbara Gordon, strips her, shoots her through the spine, paralyzing her, and send pictures to Batman and Jim Gordon to make them feel bad.

It’s a powerful story, but also very much of its time in that superhero comics were just proving how dark, grim, gritty and painful they could be. And Barbara Gordon paid the price.

Now, however, she’s the chipper star of a cheerful superhero book, written by Cameron Stewart and Brendan Fletcher and dawn by Babs Tarr, and the book has become the flagship title for a new kind of DC. A new, more inclusive DC.

And on those ground alone, the cover was rather inappropriate. As an image of the star of the book being physically and psychologically assaulted, it was even more disturbing. It’s a tribute to Albuquerque’s talent that the image clearly captures Batgirl’s fear and terror at the hands of the Joker.

Over the weekend, there was great objection. I had already started a round-up post with this storify and DC Women Kicking Ass teeing off.

And things got even more out of hand today with the #changethecover hashtag going up against the #dontchangethecover and all manner of really inane insults, threats and misunderstandings going out. It was less amusing and more heated than the Spider-Woman cover, even, because at the end of the day, a woman being brutalized (possibly sexually) is way more disturbing than a sexy ass.

But in the evening, East Coast time, Albuquerque stepped up and said he had requested the cover be pulled in a statement to CBR:

My Batgirl variant cover artwork was designed to pay homage to a comic that I really admire, and I know is a favorite of many readers. ‘The Killing Joke’ is part of Batgirl’s canon and artistically, I couldn’t avoid portraying the traumatic relationship between Barbara Gordon and the Joker.

For me, it was just a creepy cover that brought up something from the character’s past that I was able to interpret artistically. But it has become clear, that for others, it touched a very important nerve. I respect these opinions and, despite whether the discussion is right or wrong, no opinion should be discredited.

My intention was never to hurt or upset anyone through my art. For that reason, I have recommended to DC that the variant cover be pulled. I’m incredibly pleased that DC Comics is listening to my concerns and will not be publishing the cover art in June as previously announced.

With all due respect,
Rafa

DC Entertainment also released a statement

We publish comic books about the greatest heroes in the world, and the most evil villains imaginable. The Joker variant covers for June are in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Joker.

Regardless if fans like Rafael Albuquerque’s homage to Alan Moore’s THE KILLING JOKE graphic novel from 25 years ago, or find it inconsistent with the current tonality of the Batgirl books – threats of violence and harassment are wrong and have no place in comics or society.
We stand by our creative talent, and per Rafael’s request, DC Comics will not publish the Batgirl variant. – DC Entertainment

NOW, a few things about that. As laid out by Jude Terror, DC’s statement was incredibly badly worded and made it sound like Albuquerque had been threatened, when in fact PEOPLE OPPOSING THE COVER HAD BEEN THREATENED.

Series writer Cameron Stewart and Albuquerque made it clear on Twitter that Albuquerque had not received any threats.

Something to clarify, because DCs statement was a little unclear. @rafaalbuquerque did not get threats. People OBJECTING to the cover did.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

Ill talk more about it tomorrow but I was never threatened. just to make it clear.

— Rafael Abuquerque (@rafaalbuquerque) March 17, 2015

However, it also became VERY CLEAR, that the Batgirl creative team themselves had raised objections to the cover from the start. (Variant covers are produced outside the editorial department.) And Stewart was very clear about this on Twitter. There were a gazilliion tweets about this, the below is just a selection.

If you’re concerned about artistic integrity and creative vision – that’s what we’re doing. Keeping the integrity of our book intact.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart So you're basically saying that the cover being removed keeps your book's integrity more than if it was available?

— Macattack (@macattack50) March 17, 2015

@macattack50 given that it wasn’t approved by us and contradicts the work we’re doing, yes.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart I don't agree, but to each his own. I thought it was an evocative cover that depicted Joker at his most terrifying.

— Macattack (@macattack50) March 17, 2015

@macattack50 I’m the writer of the comic. I don’t want it on my book. Defend my vision and integrity, please.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@Akylle it’s not censorship. We the creative team never wanted it.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@GamingAndPandas no, I didn’t. I objected to that cover before there was any backlash.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

I stand behind Rafael as an artist and a friend, and think he made the right decision.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart Nothing can disturb anyone anymore ever.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally we don’t want our book to be “disturbing.”

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart That's the thing though. One variant cover doesn't make your book disturbing. No more than one Lego cover makes it silly.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally @cameronMstewart A cover, variant or no, represents the book to someone who picks it up (that's what they're for!).

— Matthew Southworth (@mattsouthworth) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart So you think every variant cover reflects the book? This would be awfully hard to reconcile with variants already existing.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally @cameronMstewart A cover, variant or no, represents the book to someone who picks it up (that's what they're for!).

— Matthew Southworth (@mattsouthworth) March 17, 2015

@mattsouthworth @cameronMstewart You do realize how many variants areout there that don't represent the book in the least though, right?

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally @mattsouthworth @cameronMstewart This is representing their book in a way they do not want. It offends fans. Respect that.

— Kates (@KatieScarlett94) March 17, 2015

@KatieScarlett94 @JoshCrewsReally @mattsouthworth @cameronMstewart 2 cents: I didn't agree with pulling it but the 'defenders' were monsters

— random-shane (@mprshane) March 17, 2015

@mprshane @KatieScarlett94 @mattsouthworth @cameronMstewart Agreed. I was never out there defending it myself. Just asking questions now.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart I don't blame you. I just wish the process could've allowed for it to be stopped sooner? Idk if that makes any sense.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally oh, believe me, so do we

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

@JoshCrewsReally @mprshane @KatieScarlett94 @mattsouthworth It is so important to understand that we didn’t want this cover though.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

Draw whatever the hell you want, but when they're not your characters expect the owners to protect their brand from losing $$.

— Pia Guerra (@PiaGuerra) March 17, 2015

@PiaGuerra Anybody who hopes to work for DC and doesn’t think people will be telling ‘em what they can and can’t draw are in for a shock.

— Kurt Busiek (@KurtBusiek) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart No, but he lost his JOB, and earnings.

— David O'Neill (@davejone) March 17, 2015

@davejone I can assure you he didn’t.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

um killing joke is a classic story of a clown who paralyzes a woman and takes all her clothes off to take pictures of her to show her father

— Chip Zdarsky, ok. (@zdarsky) March 17, 2015

Props to @cameronMstewart @babsdraws @brendenfletcher for sticking to their guns in the face of much outcry and twitter rage!

— Fiona Staples (@fionastaples) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart Nothing can disturb anyone anymore ever.

— Josh Crews (@JoshCrewsReally) March 17, 2015

@cameronMstewart You are correct about that. Everyone saw it. But now no one will get to own it.

— Macattack (@macattack50) March 17, 2015

I suggest all of you "Killing Joke" fans enjoy it like you enjoy Hall & Oates. Alone in your car.

— Henry Barajas (@HenryBarajas) March 17, 2015

Don't get put off by arguments over depictions/tone in comics lately. This means our industry is getting HEALTHY. GROWING!

— Jeff Parker (@jeffparker) March 17, 2015

https://twitter.com/andykhouri/status/577694801417498624

https://twitter.com/andykhouri/status/577695578009706496

I have a few observations about this:

• This isn’t censorship; it’s reversing a bad marketing decision that should never have been made. Why was it a bad marketing decision? Because Batgirl is the standard bearer for a new view of DC and its characters. I wasn’t kidding about Cesar Romero. Before there was all this psycho sadism, face removal, fear of a homosexual relationship between Batman and the Joker, Heath Ledger in a dress and so on, The Joker was a character who used joy buzzers and exploding cigars as weapons, and tried to take over Gotham with a flying saucer.

• The point is, when character run as long as Batman and the Joker and Batgirl have, their portrayal changes to reflect the times. The Killing Joke is a good old story from another era. I know we all like all backs and tributes and homages, but this one was not the right image for a new initiative at a publishing company.

• To the people saying they aren’t going to read DC Comics any more…pandering to the base hasn’t worked for comics for a long time.

• If you really love that cover, download a high res jpeg and make yourself a handy little print of it for you own use in your own home. No one will tell on you.

• The abusive nature of the internet is a blight on our society.

Meanwhile, this may be the truest thing that was said about the whole thing:

Batgirl is the most challenging thing I’ve ever worked on, and not because of the art or story

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) March 17, 2015

This is obviously prefaced with a heaping helping of “what the hell does a straight white male know about these issues?”. The simple truth: I don’t know anything. I likely never will – or at least not in a way that can be internalized. At best, I can gather other people’s feelings and memories and keep them in my brain for reference, paging through as I react and respond, because… well, I might not know anything about this, but I think that reaction and response is important instead of choking the fire of discussion dead through inaction.

So. Batgirl #37.

The new creative team on Batgirl arrived with a certain amount of pomp and circumstance. Briefly bringing my experience as a retailer into the fray, the fervour was created almost entirely by the creative team themselves, and not the company publishing the book. A book lives on finding an audience and marketing to that audience, and while DC did eventually run a house ad steeped in current social media trends, it was the creative team that was actually out on social media sites stirring the fan base and building a culture. At the time, I remember thinking that this was something important – not only in the way the creatives were interacting with the fans, but in the way that the reaction seemed to transform into a small movement of sorts, one that would boost sales of a series through actual interest in tone and content. This week, it seems as though the shine is off that apple with the release of the team’s third issue, Batgirl #37.

In the issue, Barbara Gordon is confronted with another Batgirl, one that is using social media and various forms of “art” to essentially take her branding identity away from her. Over the course of the book, you discover that the person under this fake Batgirl’s mask is in fact Dagger Type, an artist who is identified by characters in the story as male. Babs is taken aback by this and is left defeated as the issue’s villain continues with their nefarious plan to steal her public identity.

As the book crescendos, Dagger Type is portrayed as erratic, firing a gun into a crowd of essentially innocent bystanders. Babs eventually defeats the villain, and discovers that they’ve been doing this at the behest of a mysterious benefactor. The cops take Dagger away, and the book draws to a close. This reading of Batgirl #37 has dredged up accusations of transphobia. As with all art, this is a valid interpretation of fictitious events – a reaction to substance informed by opinion, experience and information. That’s a shame because… well, this book was meant to be something else. As stated before, it was something different than the norm, and marketed to a different and potentially new audience, and this misfire will probably do some damage. The only consolation, I would think, is that despite this valid interpretation of the comic, it isn’t something done with malicious intent, more than it was the unfortunate side-effect of the story’s plot.

Revisiting the plot again, using the same reference material, the plot is also about the nature of art, identity, and belonging. The book opens with the fake Batgirl going on a crime spree. Babs shows up and stops the crime, but not the fake Batgirl, who is said to have been up to these types of heists and behaviours for quite some time, chronicling these events on social media platforms. Babs is upset that she’s being defamed, which is compounded when she goes to a Dagger Type art show that features nothing but pictures of this so-called Batgirl, complete with a rendition of the heroine in a wheelchair, splashed with shadow and a bright red overlay. The presentation effects the characters present in different ways. It strikes Babs as demeaning and regressive. She makes a move to find Dagger Type, and soon discovers that the artist has been the fake Batgirl all along. The plot involves using art and social media to co-opt the Batgirl brand, and add it to the Dagger Type cache. When the reveal happens, everyone in the audience acts dismissive. Dagger waxes poetic about how they should relish in this moment, where they “begin to comprehend that the artist is really the subject. And the subject, his brand!” This elicits the greatest reaction from the crowd, who rejects this notion with lines like “why does everything cool turn out to be an ad?”

The intention – or at least my interpretation of the events as described – is a comment on art and commercialism, as seen through the lens of the modern superhero genre. It’s an ugly balance that comic companies (and retailers… hi!) have been trying to work with for years, taking art and using it for commercial gains. It’s an exploration of the kind of rejection that occurs when false notes are struck, and the commercial ends up bleeding into the art. It’s also about the pretension of craving attention, and the effect popularity can have on art and the artist. There’s a lot to dig into there, but at the core of it all, deep down in the nugget, I truly believe this book is about art, and the reactions to it. It’s typified by the scene where Babs and her friends are walking through the Batgirl gallery, and they all have different reactions to the presentation based off of experience. Babs’ very personal experience with the identity being explored in these photos elicits a very personal and valid response. I can only imagine that’s what many people felt as they read through this issue and experienced a similarly flawed take on identity. The issue essentially agrees with the idea of interpretation being in the eye of the beholder, and never once says that people who enjoyed the art installation in the pages of the book are wrong. It does cast judgement on intent. Dagger Type’s intent was self serving to a cartoonish degree, climaxing in rage when people didn’t understand his genius. I don’t think the creative team is doing that here. I think they wanted to turn in a story that commented on what they did, letting the art speak for itself. It may have said something things they didn’t intend, but they aren’t mad at anyone for it – as the issue implies, any reaction to art is valid.

Now, not long after I wrote this article (but a long while before it’s been posted), Cameron Stewart, Brendan Fletcher and Babs Tarr issued an apology.

Batgirl 37. We made mistakes. We’re deeply sorry. We will do better. pic.twitter.com/fCOEJPk0vP

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) December 13, 2014

I wish Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr and Maris Wicks all the best as they continue to explore this character and produce art for us to consume. I hope that it continues to challenge us, and causes discussion. I hope that discussion comes from an honest place, and is not confronted with reductive reasoning. I also hope that, like all great artists, they will continue to grow and learn from previous experiences and new information, as even the best intentions can be flawed. The best artists take those noted flaws and learn to grow, instead of digging their heels in. These people are some of the best. Oh, and one more thing:

If you didn’t think an apology was needed, the apology wasn’t for you.

— Cameron Stewart (@cameronMstewart) December 13, 2014

Change can take a long time to happen. The mainstream comics market is no exception, but there have been some recent encouraging signs. Case in point, the newly redesigned, Doc Marten/iPhone sporting Batgirl by forward thinking creator Cameron Stewart, who co-writes, and sketches story breakdowns for the series. Stewart, a Canadian native, has been drawing comics for over a decade, and has worked with some of the most celebrated comics writers out there, including Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker, and Jason Aaron.

In addition to the monthly Batgirl, he’s currently working on a comics sequel to Fight Club with writer Chuck Palahniuk, which he’s described as a dream project to be a part of.

Cameron Stewart won both an Eisner(2010) & Shuster(2009) award for his web comic Sin Titulo. You can find a lot more artwork to drool over at his website here.

For more comics related art, you can follow me on my website comicstavern.com - Andy Yates

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Eisner winning artist Cameron Stewart recently rolled up his webcome Sin Titulo and he’s back with NIRO which has an extensive and spectacular preview.

Cameron plans to sell chapters, Monkeybrain and Thrillbent style:

I’m pleased to preview the first scene from my upcoming self-published comic NIRO.  I’m hard at work on it now and the first digital chapter will be on sale in early 2013. My plan is to release several serialized digital issues, in DRM-free formats such as PDF and CBZ, and then publish a collected edition in print when the story is complete. Each digital chapter will be pay-what-you-want, with a minumum of 99 cents. The price of the collected print book is still yet to be determined.

When we ran yesterday’s news about a new Suicide Girls comic from IDW, the PR included a rough version of the cover by Cameron Stewart. Stewart tweeted the finished version and it’s a lot nicer. And for a comic based on a website featuring nude models, it is totally classy.