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ORCHID – Making of a Comics Cover

09/29/2011 9:00am

Sierra Hahn and Jim Gibbons are the editors overseeing the new sci-fi epic Orchid for Dark Horse Comics. They are so excited for everyone to get their hands on this great comic that they took a little time to write up an Editor's Commentary about the cover process for Issue #1. Take a peek inside their process below.

Jim Gibbons, assistant editor on Orchid: When you're launching an epic, sprawling comic saga, it certainly helps to put your best foot forward with an epic cover artist. Thankfully, editor Sierra Hahn (my boss!) had previously worked with the uber-talented Massimo Carnevale and secured him as our cover artist for Orchid. Carnevale, who's well known for his cover work on Y: The Last Man and—more recently—Dark Horse's Terminator: 1984 and Mass Effect: Evolution, delivers an artistic yet realistic take on fantastic characters that lends itself perfectly to our series: a tale of a science-fiction-filled dystopian future with elements of epic fantasy still very grounded in real-world concerns.

Here you can see Carnevale's first take. A loose sketch of the comic's namesake, Orchid, in an action-packed pose.

(click image to embiggen)

Sierra Hahn, editor on Orchid: This image is pretty amazing, even though we didn’t use the concept. I’m not convinced that Massimo can do a bad cover. Tonally it felt too aggressive for a first cover and it didn’t properly embody what happens in the first few issues of Orchid. We needed her to be striking, strong, and iconic, which Massimo captures well here. But at the offset she isn’t a machete-wielding warrior. In the background of the sketch we get a glimpse of the slums Orchid inhabits as one of the Bridge People.

JG: Next, you can see Carnevale's second take, which brings Orchid forward in the shot and more prominently features her "Know Your Role" brand and "Property" tattoo, two marks of the Valks, or prostitutes, in Orchid's world.

(click image to embiggen)

SH: Again, this felt too aggressive, and the creepy john in the background was just that—creepy. But again, we liked the energy and fire.

JG: Next, we moved to a clear shot of our heroine. A very straightforward introduction to Orchid and her world.

(click image to embiggen)

JG: This version isn't far off from the final, but Orchid creator Tom Morello felt the vibe of this image was a bit too bright. He also wanted the postapocalyptic environment shown here to look as overgrown as it would in the comic's interiors. In Orchid's world, humanity wasn’t only knocked off the top of the pyramid; the impoverished were sold into slavery and forced to live in slums.

(click image to embiggen)

SH: This version really resonated with us. It doesn’t scream of action (something we wanted but just didn’t feel was right for this first cover), but shows readers a fully formed, iconic character at the start of her journey in a world so many of us rarely see. It draws you to Orchid—a woman who you know has fight in her, but what form that fight will take remains a mystery. She’ll have a lot to overcome.

JG: You'll also notice in this final version that, aside from a darker tone and additional flora added to Orchid's surroundings, the "Know Your Role" mark on her arm has changed from a tattoo to an actual branded scar. An important aspect of her character that we needed to nail on the first introduction to this character…and for a first introduction, Massimo definitely nailed it!

SH: How could you possibly see this image and not want to flip through the comic to discover what’s inside?! Seriously. HOW?

JG: So, there it is, the final cover art and your first peek into the world of Orchid. Issue #1 comes out on October 12. Find a local retailer at Comic Shop Locator and reserve your copy today! Or preorder your copy online!

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ORCHID – Making of a Comics Cover

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