Universal Machine no.2

[Mikolaj]

Take a look at this beauty!
http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0602/03/bprd2.htm
Kind of reiminds me of the RED Deadman cover... Must be the collors. ;)
Love the tiger behind Daimo!

[Jakob Westman]

Yeah – Daimo looks bad-ass!!

/ Jakob

[ADamUnRama]

Wow. Mignola, Davis, everyone. Thank you

[Neil Hill]

I'm very nearly speechless! I love, love, love that image! These covers just keep getting better with each new one I see.

Keep em' coming! :D

[hellboyone]

That cover is sensational. It's a punch in the face seeing Daimio by Mignola. Stunning!

http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0602/03/bprd2.jpg

R.

[morna]

oh. my. god.

i feel faint

[Tad]

Wow. I actually saw Mike working on this and I had no clue that he was thinking of color like this.

Mike has said that he knows that there are people who say they like his artwork better in black and white but they are missing a lot of his content. We were talking about his use of color in storytelling (which is a great basis for a question at Wondercon). This really shows how powerfully he can use color even in a still image.

[Nick W]

Is this the first published Mignola Daimio?

N

[Mikolaj]

Is this the first published Mignola Daimio?

N
Nah... You can also see him on the cover of the BPRD: THE DEAD TPB

[Anung Un Rama]

I think there'll be more surprises in store. :p

Captain Daimio tells the B.P.R.D. the story of his own death in the jungles of Bolivia.

[Hellsaint]

Diamio looks alot like Two Face from Batman because of all that shadow. Really bad ass stuff. Nice ;)

[Neil Hill]

Diamio looks alot like Two Face from Batman because of all that shadow. Really bad ass stuff. Nice ;)

Character designs are iconic for a reason (i.e.- in this case Twoface), but I doubt Mignola and Guy were going for a Twoface look when they designed Daimio. I could be wrong though. Interesting idea you've posed here. :)

[Mike Cross]

That pic of Daimio looks awesome..different enough from guy's version, but still instantly recognizable as to the character..

[Johann]

Sweet, i like how Daimio stands out.

[Xequals10]

Character designs are iconic for a reason (i.e.- in this case Twoface), but I doubt Mignola and Guy were going for a Twoface look when they designed Daimio. I could be wrong though. Interesting idea you've posed here. :)

From my conversations with Guy I found out that visually Daimio was entirely Guy's creation. I'll try to dig up the e-mail. This is totally badass. I have been waiting to see Mike's version ever since the small picture of Daimio on the cover to the Dead tpb.

[Neil Hill]

From my conversations with Guy I found out that visually Daimio was entirely Guy's creation.

Really? Honestly that doesn't surprise me, as Guy is such a great creature artist, and IMO Daimio is as much creature as he is man at this point.

I know this may sound strange, but I love that leopard in the background of that cover more than the shot of Daimio. Mike has such an incredible talent for drawing animals. I'm always in awe of how well he captures the look and individual iconic representation of each different species.

[Matthoggua]

Do you suppose this image, then, is good enough for a sculptor to put together a Mignola-styled Daimio (to preserve the consistency of the line) for Mezco's Hellboy action figure series?

Do you?

[Maija]

I'm re-routing my comments from the Makoma #1 thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=2590545#post2590545) over to here because they're now more about the cover of Universal Machine #2:

Stygian: your comments on UM#2 illustrate exactly what I'm talking about: there is no apparent relationship between Diamio and the jaguar in that image. They are elements from the story collaged together. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that the story will reveal some important connection between Daimio and a jaguar, but in the space of that single image, there is no connection, there is no narrative dynamic. All you can do is guess with complete blindness about what the relationship might be.

Was Diamo killed by a jaguar? Does he have one as a pet? Can he transform into one? Does he eat them for breakfast? Is it going to eat him for breakfast? Was his best friend in kindergarten run over by a Jaguar E-type roadster and so he now has a vendetta against Daimler-Chrysler?

There is no glimpse of the story in that image. I'm talking about narrative, Stygian. Any image raises a multitude of random questions. A narrative image raises the question "Why is that character in that situation?" There is no situation in that image. There is nothing happening in that image. It's a collage of elements from the story, but it has no story to tell itself.

Compare and contrast with the cover for The Island #1, which I think is absolute genius and possibly my favourite Hellboy image ever. It explains ever so succinctly and elegantly to the viewer where Hellboy has been since we last saw him—under the ocean waves long enough to end up covered in barnacles and starfish; where he is—standing on a reef of wrecked seafaring vessels; and where he is going—looking forward into an empty white void.

On top of that, intentionally or accidentally (and if it was intentional, Mignola earns ExtraSuperMadPlatinumBonus points) the image recalls Caspar David Friedrich's painting The Wanderer above the Mists (http://www.runegild.org/pq_Frederik_Wanderer.html), a painting that is about exploring the limits of reality, escaping the mundane world and treading on the border of the supernatural.

(Jan Bentzen did his own version of this painting with Hellboy in it for a gift exchange.)

The covers for UM#2 and Makoma#1 remind me more of Drew Struzan movie posters wherein the artist simply gathers together elements that you can expect to see in the coming story, but you don't get much of that story from the image itself.

But note that I don't hate them. I'm just not excited by them. They don't make me say "Wow! Tell me more!"

[tomasej]

I don't much like these covers that are broken into panels.

I'm sooooo far behind on BPRD I have no idea who this guy is. And I'm not getting a lot from this cover to tell me who he is--he's scarred, he's a BPRD agent, he's probably Asian. maybe the cat is what ripped his face?

[Neil Hill]

I'm re-routing my comments from the Makoma #1 thread (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?p=2590545#post2590545) over to here because they're now more about the cover of Universal Machine #2:

Stygian: your comments on UM#2 illustrate exactly what I'm talking about: there is no apparent relationship between Diamio and the jaguar in that image. They are elements from the story collaged together. Don't get me wrong, I have no doubt that the story will reveal some important connection between Daimio and a jaguar, but in the space of that single image, there is no connection, there is no narrative dynamic. All you can do is guess with complete blindness about what the relationship might be.

Was Diamo killed by a jaguar? Does he have one as a pet? Can he transform into one? Does he eat them for breakfast? Is it going to eat him for breakfast? Was his best friend in kindergarten run over by a Jaguar E-type roadster and so he now has a vendetta against Daimler-Chrysler?

There is no glimpse of the story in that image. I'm talking about narrative, Stygian. Any image raises a multitude of random questions. A narrative image raises the question "Why is that character in that situation?" There is no situation in that image. There is nothing happening in that image. It's a collage of elements from the story, but it has no story to tell itself.

Compare and contrast with the cover for The Island #1, which I think is absolute genius and possibly my favourite Hellboy image ever. It explains ever so succinctly and elegantly to the viewer where Hellboy has been since we last saw him—under the ocean waves long enough to end up covered in barnacles and starfish; where he is—standing on a reef of wrecked seafaring vessels; and where he is going—looking forward into an empty white void.

On top of that, intentionally or accidentally (and if it was intentional, Mignola earns ExtraSuperMadPlatinumBonus points) the image recalls Caspar David Friedrich's painting The Wanderer above the Mists (http://www.runegild.org/pq_Frederik_Wanderer.html), a painting that is about exploring the limits of reality, escaping the mundane world and treading on the border of the supernatural.

(Jan Bentzen did his own version of this painting with Hellboy in it for a gift exchange.)

The covers for UM#2 and Makoma#1 remind me more of Drew Struzan movie posters wherein the artist simply gathers together elements that you can expect to see in the coming story, but you don't get much of that story from the image itself.

But note that I don't hate them. I'm just not excited by them. They don't make me say "Wow! Tell me more!"

I completely and totally understand where you're coming from here ma'am. However, I disagree that the seemingly random placement of images in some way related to the story isn't as arresting as a more "grab em' where they stand and tell em' a story" more typical comic book style cover. I guess it entirely depends on the kind of story that you're ready to interpret from the images provided.

Mike's current run of covers are giving the reader a more iconic representation of story elements and not necessarily telling a story or hinting as much as you may like, but that IMO really comes down to taste. Does it appeal or doesn't it? Does it say something to you personally or doesn't it? To me, it appeals moreso than some of the more sedate covers, like The Island #1.

Granted, I liked the Island #1 cover a lot, but you and I see that same cover in completely different ways. For me, it hints at elements to come and tells an entire story without Hellboy having to say a word or move a muscle, but doesn't arrest me nearly as much as the Universal Machine #2 cover. Perhaps it's the clever use of red or the renderings of the characters on the UM #2 cover (as an example), but that style of cover just really grabs me much moreso than some of the covers which you are naming as favorites. Again, simply a taste thing I think. :)

[Neil Hill]

I don't much like these covers that are broken into panels.

I'm sooooo far behind on BPRD I have no idea who this guy is. And I'm not getting a lot from this cover to tell me who he is--he's scarred, he's a BPRD agent, he's probably Asian. maybe the cat is what ripped his face?

To these comments all I can say is, read the comics and you'll at least have as good an idea of who Daimio is at this point as the rest of us. :)

[Maija]

Stygian, I'm not telling you why you have to not like it, because you are welcome to like it and I'm actually a little jealous that I can't have the same excited reaction. I'm explaining to you why it doesn't excite *me* and you seem to be misinterpreting that and taking my reasons for not liking it as an assault on why you like it, which I am not. Of course everyone has different tastes and everyone reads work differently. I'm an amateur semiotician, remember? ;)

(And semioticians love to find meaning and relationships in stuff.)

I like narrative. I'm explaining what visual narrative is. An collage of elements that are unrelated to one another in the space of one image (ie. you have to go outside that space to get any connections at all) is not a visual narrative. Doesn't mean they have no connection inside the story itself. Just means there is no story to be read in the space of that one image. And to me, that's a weaker kind of cover than one that does have a story.

Note that an "action shot" is not necessary to tell a story. The covers of Third Wish and The Island are hardly what I would call "typical comic book style" covers, which is why I love them. As well, Mignola's "current run of covers" are not as disconnected as the two I am picking on. I picked on the covers for Makoma #1 and UM#2 for very specific reasons.

[morna]

hmm I see what you guys mean, but I don't think a narrative is necessary for a cover. To me it's more like a still life. As with a still life I appreciate the composition, I can wallow in the rendering and the colours and textures but there is also the element of placement and juxtaposition. I find that there is a subtle narrative in a still life... what is the relationship of each carefully chosen element to each other what story do these mundane things tell. (OK nothing mundane about Damiyo and one of the big cats and skulls and bones... but in this context they are not out of the ordinary... except the cat.. oh nevermind)

Anyway I love the cover, I find it a visual feast!

[Neil Hill]

Stygian, I'm not telling you why you have to not like it, because you are welcome to like it and I'm actually a little jealous that I can't have the same excited reaction. I'm explaining to you why it doesn't excite *me* and you seem to be misinterpreting that and taking my reasons for not liking it as an assault on why you like it, which I am not. Of course everyone has different tastes and everyone reads work differently. I'm an amateur semiotician, remember? ;)

(And semioticians love to find meaning and relationships in stuff.)

I like narrative. I'm explaining what visual narrative is. An collage of elements that are unrelated to one another in the space of one image (ie. you have to go outside that space to get any connections at all) is not a visual narrative. Doesn't mean they have no connection inside the story itself. Just means there is no story to be read in the space of that one image. And to me, that's a weaker kind of cover than one that does have a story.

Note that an "action shot" is not necessary to tell a story. The covers of Third Wish and The Island are hardly what I would call "typical comic book style" covers, which is why I love them. As well, Mignola's "current run of covers" are not as disconnected as the two I am picking on. I picked on the covers for Makoma #1 and UM#2 for very specific reasons.

Ruta, you're making my head hurt. :p I was just trying to provide a different counterpoint perspective to yours, not tell you that I want you to think the way I do, disprove your likes and dislikes. Nothing more, nothing less. :)

[tomasej]

To these comments all I can say is, read the comics and you'll at least have as good an idea of who Daimio is at this point as the rest of us. :)

I guess that means not much is known about him?
I was really just trying to offer a perspective on the cover from someone who is basically seeing it with no background regarding the story. In my mind covers need to be "cold reader" friendly--they shouldn't require too much inside info to understand. Of course that's probably more of a marketing pov vs. an artistic pov.

I really love the colors on this one. :D

[Neil Hill]

I guess that means not much is known about him?
I was really just trying to offer a perspective on the cover from someone who is basically seeing it with no background regarding the story. In my mind covers need to be "cold reader" friendly--they shouldn't require too much inside info to understand. Of course that's probably more of a marketing pov vs. an artistic pov.

I really love the colors on this one. :D

You're right that not much is know about Daimio (probably one of the reasons so many like him) yet, but I think BPRD: Universal Machine #2 is fixing to change that a bit.

I do agree that covers need to be "cold reader" friendly, but only in that they need to appeal to the audience enough to invest $3.00 in the comic. Sometimes the cover has nothing to do with the interiors (or only in a marginal way) and it doesn't detract from my interest in the comic. However, I will admit that, that is often only the case with comics I would pickup regularly anyway.

I guess the debate rages ever onward.

[-=Valkyre=-]

I do agree that covers need to be "cold reader" friendly, but only in that they need to appeal to the audience enough to invest $3.00 in the comic.
BAH I SAY! It's $6 per comic here! Minimum! I would go out and buy them, even for that price, but lack of funding bites!

This cover does look amazing. I love the way Mignola does animals. Hell, I love the way he does art period.

[tomasej]

BAH I SAY! It's $6 per comic here! Minimum! I would go out and buy them, even for that price, but lack of funding bites!

This cover does look amazing. I love the way Mignola does animals. Hell, I love the way he does art period.

You know, I'd buy a book of animal drawings by Mignola.

[Neil Hill]

You know, I'd buy a book of animal drawings by Mignola.

I would also! Of course, it would be fun if those animal drawings slowly morphed into animals crossed with other creatures, or just creatures in general, but a "Mignola drawing animals" (not a how-to) book is an excellent suggestion! :D

[Guy Davis]

From my conversations with Guy I found out that visually Daimio was entirely Guy's creation.

Entirely? No. Didn't mean to give that impression.

Just wanted to chime in on this one and give credit where credit is due. I designed the basic look of Daimio's mug~ but the scar itself went back and forth between a lot of designs (more than you would think for a scar) with input from Mike, John and Scott.

So it was a team effort to pretty the old boy up ;)
take care,
Guy

[Bippo]

Do you suppose this image, then, is good enough for a sculptor to put together a Mignola-styled Daimio (to preserve the consistency of the line) for Mezco's Hellboy action figure series?

Do you?

Probably not, but there will probably be enough source material when it comes time to sculpt him. Series 1 is out, Series 2 is sculpted, and Series 3 is decided. Personally I hope they put him off about until they decide to start doing R3 versions (ala Hellboy Series 1.5) of BPRD members in their new uniforms since they're currently scultped in the old leather coats and flak jackets.