Cartoonist Manix Abrera said Tusday, December 27, 2021, he was tapped by DC Comics for a variant cover of Batman: The Knight, marking his first collaboration with the U.S. publication.
Abrera—best known for Kikomachine Komix, his surreal and philosophical take on life in the Philippines—shared a copy of the cover set for release in 2022.
Batman: The Knight delves deeper into the origin of the Dark Knight, according to Comic Odyssey.
For the cover, Abrera said he mixed his art style, inspired by the supernatural and the surreal, to show how Bruce Wayne becomes the Caped Crusader.
"Inisip ko na bagay yung story ni Batman sa kuwento ng mga alchemy, yung pag-drawing nila kung paano sila umaakyat sa stairs ng wisdom para maka-transmutate ng base metal into gold. So inisip ko, 'Ah parang Bruce Wayne na nag-aaral siya para maging Batman, para kumbaga maging golden siya,'" he said.
Abrera said he felt pressured yet happy, adding "game na game sila sa ganung art style ko."
Abrera said Next Comic Art, a group which makes original artwork based on superheroes, noticed how his art style fit the Batman narrative.
The group, comic book shop Comic Odyssey, and Sanctum Sanctorum Comics & Oddities then pitched his work to DC Comics.
"Nagulat na lang ako kasi in-email ako nung editor ng DC Comics for Batman, si Ben Abernathy. Nagulat ako na ino-offer nila na gumawa ako ng variant cover," he told CNN Philippines on Wednesday.