Younger comic book fans might not know the name José Luis García-López. Rest assured, they do recognize his art. The Spanish-Argentine artist drew many iconic comics back in the day, like Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk, The New Teen Titans, and more. However, it’s one project that has cemented him as the DC Comics artist, and no fan could ever actually purchase it. In 1982, the publisher commissioned him to illustrate all their major heroes and villains for their in-house Style Guide. It was the reference book other artists were meant to use to get characters’ costumes right, especially in merchandise. Now, DC Comics is honoring JLGL with a series of variant covers using his original DC Comics Style Guide art.
This July, the key character turnarounds from the legendary DC Comics Style Guide are set to be featured for the first time on a set of Artist Spotlight variant covers honoring the DC Comics legend. Look for Artist Spotlight variant covers on Batman #150, Green Arrow #14, Green Lantern #13, Shazam! #13, Superman #16, The Flash #11 and Wonder Woman #11. The Justice League of America has never looked so good. You can check each of them out in our gallery above.
DC uses many of these José Luis García-López illustrations in products for the Super Powers action figure line in the ’80s, and even on t-shirts, mugs, and other merchandise still today. Even with many costume changes at DC over the decades, these Bronze Age versions of the characters remain the most iconic. For years, fans have clamored for DC to release the entire Style Guide to fans, as before it was for internal use only (images have all been online for years). Here’s hoping this is the first step towards actually seeing that in print.
