DC Comics is about to pay homage to a classic Marvel Comics cover, as an upcoming issue of Batman takes inspiration from one of Todd McFarlane's most iconic Spider-Man images. It's relatively rare these days to see the rival publishers homage each other's most notable pieces of art, but a variant for Batman #118 homages Spider-Man #1, with some extra details further connecting to the two covers.
Todd McFarlane's runs on The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man are considered one of the most influential arcs on the hero ever. Whether it's his incredible action sequences, introducing Spider-Man's 'spaghetti-webbing,' or helping create the antihero Venom, McFarlane's time with the web-slinger was an astonishing achievement. After a 30-issue run drawing The Amazing Spider-Man, McFarlane received his own Spider-Man title to write and draw. The first issue of the 'Torment' arc featured an iconic cover of Spider-Man posing on webbing filled with spiders. The cover had multiple variants and has since been homaged and cover swiped numerous times 30 years after it first debuted - and now DC Comics is doing their own take on it.
Artist Victor Bogdanovic shared his incentive variant cover for Batman #118 and expressed excitement that he could homage his art hero, Todd McFarlane. Admitting he couldn't "tell you how many hours I've spent drooling over his legendary Spidey cover as a kid," Bogdanovic said channeling McFarlane for the DC Comics cover was the "coolest homage I've ever drawn." Check out the upcoming cover for Batman #118 (1:25 variant) and McFarlane's image that inspired it.
What really makes the cover homage sweet is the level of detail put into it. The Batman #118 cover not only features the Dark Knight making Spider-Man's iconic pose but also features similarly placed trade dressing - including the same font for the main logo. Not only that, but DC Comics decided to turn back the clock and use their classic bullet logo for the issue, making it feel even more '90s in the best way possible. Bogdanovic's signature sits above a note reading "after Todd McFarlane," crediting the legendary creator's original image as the inspiration in the righthand corner.
All in all, Bogdanovic absolutely nailed the cover. McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 has been homaged many times over the years, with some covers being better than others. Thanks to matching some of the original art and trade dressing's key details and channeling the 90s, the upcoming cover for Batman #118 is one of the best homages yet. It will be in high demand for comic collector's looking to add to their McFarlane homage collections. The 1:25 Spider-Man #1 homage variant comes to comic book stores on December 7th, 2021.
Source: @VikBogdanovic