2013 Animated Style Power Girl and Huntress commission art by Eric Guzman

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Eric Guzman

• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Aquaman @ Justice League Detroit

2012 The Huntress “Cacadora” art by Marcelo Mueller

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Bonus Art!

Dragon*Con 2013 The Huntress Cosplay photo by Pat Loika

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Click for full gallery

2009 Essen Internationale Spieltage SPIEL Batman & The Huntress commission by Stjepan Šejić

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"one of many comishs i did for the essen convention in october, done with copics and a white marker"

Stjepan Šejić

• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Aquaman @ Justice League Detroit

2012 New 52 Huntress art by Garnabiel Kraken

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Garnabiel

• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince

2010 “Huntress Gatheress” art by Gary Martin

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"Brush and india ink on 11x17 bristol."

“Night of the Huntress” color art by Kit

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Color art by kit-kit-kit

• Wonder Woman vs. the Cheetah @ Diana Prince
• JLA @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Zatanna “Mistress of Magic” @ Justice League Detroit

2008 Huntress FCBD sketch by Brian Shearer

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"I got this sketch from Brian Shearer (Gravy Boy) at my local comic shop during FCBD - May '08."

Brian Shearer

• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Martian Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit

2012 The Huntress color art by Marcio Takara

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Check out the original black & white art here

Marcio Takara

• Patrolwoman Diane Meade @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman @ Diana Prince
• Captain Atom @ Power of the Atom
• Zatanna @ Justice League Detroit

2011 The Huntress 11x17" art by Michael Bair

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You might also like to check out this 2007 Bair Huntress piece, which is also very nice, not to mention Helena and Black Canary in a 2007 Birds of Prey NYCC Commission.

Comicpalooza 2012: Friday

The first day of Comicpalooza was scheduled to be spent with my girlfriend. I'd blown off pre-registering, and we arrived 40 minutes late due to errands and a very necessary Chick-fil-A layover (sorry, but their nuggets trump my politics, especially on an empty stomach.) Nearby parking was $10, but at the center there were two lines spanning a few hundred feet waiting for the doors to open. Thankfully, there was no wait at the ticket booth, so we probably could have stood to have waited instead of standing in wait. Folks were passing out bags with the program and some fliers/coupons. My one complaint was an overly pushy steampunk vender working the line, trying to harangue parents into visiting his stand for cheap ray guns. He had to return ahead of the lines' entry though, and we collectively made it inside at a brisk pace.



One of the nice things about the previous two years of the con was their taking place on the third floor of George R. Brown, with its plush maroon carpeting and swanky lounges. I doubt dealers hefting boxes into service elevators or attendees corralled onto escalators agreed though, so this year everything was on the first floor. I was put off by the dull gray warehouse vibe, looking like every third convention anywhere else in the land, but I must admit that the temperature seemed to stay lower with two floors of buffer from a roof in Texas.

We were barely in the hall when a barker roped my GF into a tent to see "the strange thing." Another guy asked if I wanted to see "the strange thing." I thought about directing him to Montrose, but instead said my GF could see it, then tell me about it. "That's not the same thing!" Yeah, well I'll just be over here taking a picture of a Huntress cosplayer. My GF came out, and told me that the barker asked her what she though "the strange thing" was. She said, "I dunno... plastic?" He was not amused.



Artist Alley was conveniently located along the right hand side of Plaza A. My girlfriend was linked at the palm, so I dragged her on a canvassing tour of the area multiple times as I oriented myself to where artists were or would be. I had a short list of "name" artists I wanted to either secure commissions from early or blow off entirely, so as not to be a frustration or distraction. I spent nearly $600 in under an hour on my first three commissions, near to double my entire budget for any previous Comicpalooza. I say this not to brag, but because it weighs heavily on me. It's nice to finally have money to do this kind of thing, but it really gets hard to justify when I think about bills I could be paying instead, or hell, even charitable donations. The more I thought about it, the more I was troubled about the distribution of wealth. The cheapest sketch I bought was $5, and it kind of showed, so getting 120 of those sketches would not have equaled the three mentioned. However, when I find a perfectly good artist quoting me a perfectly reasonable $75-100 for a full figure, and I'm too broke to bite because I blew so much of my wad on three pieces, it hurts. When I've got a slew of guys I'd like to get $50 pieces from and ramp up the variety, there's a sting there. If I've got an artist knocking out really great $25 pieces, are three with "names" attached worth 24 from a talented unknown? I fear I may be a commission socialist. Sketchers of the world unite (and demand the scab not devalue everyone else's quotes!)

Based on prior experiences and my present unease, I realized that my comfort zone on an individual commission is about $80-100. I can go less, and I can go a bit more, but the price raises my expectations and irritations. For instance, one guy I was really looking forward to getting a specific piece from had online rates of $100, but they were 40% higher at the show. I could get a nice piece for the $40 difference in price alone, and since the guy didn't have a lot of commission examples online, I had no idea whether he could live up to that quote. I was pretty miffed about it actually, and I didn't see too many people at his table. I got about seven more commissions that day, all but one pretty damned awesome, and not a single one breaking triple digits in price.



One guy I was interested in working with was big on horror stuff, so I had some guys in mind for him to draw. However, from subject matter to dimensions to price, I had trouble pinning the guy down on anything, and gave up. The dude had some really nice scratchboard cards-- you know, those shiny black numbers where you take a knife and cut away until you get to some coppery/bronzy metal underneath? He even had a dye to color them. My girl dug them, and ended up working out a commission of her own. Well, that's something

Later, she took to Dirk Strangely, who I've avoided for two years running. I hate that Hot Topic goth stuff, and even his signage seemed to have a Danny Elfman soundtrack. However, once the GF had me standing in place, I noticed the guy had some genuinely good work on display. The GF decided on a print called "William the Pleaser". It was outtasight, and I noted the Dave McKean quality it had. The artist agreed, and mentioned having worked with McKean on a print. He also said that this piece, depicting Tom Waits, was the first time that he had produced a work purely for himself, irregardless of its saleability. Further along, the GF bought a couple of Big Bang Theory related prints by Robert James Luedke. I'm somewhat less proud of her taste there. The House word art by Jeffrey Loh redeemed her somewhat.

Toward the back of the alley, various dealers started to mingle their booths. At one steampunk area involving girls in corsets, I thought I spotted an ex of mine. Since my GF is kind of jealous/neurotic, I did not need that scene, and began a game of Avoid & No See.



Behind a massive wall lay Plaza B, the activity zone. I assume that since the main stage was still being constructed, Michael Biehn's scheduled Q&A involved Kyle Reese centering himself amidst a few score of fans, having an informal talk unassisted by any sound equipment. Pretty brave, if you ask me. I saw him a lot over the weekend, usually at his booth with Jennifer Blanc.

Some LARPers were in a pen demonstrating the fine art of whacking each other with foam weapons. Surprise-- the tall guy with the longest handle won. The GF had me sit through "Muggle Quidditch 101" which explained the rules of a Harry Potter game involving the guys who usually get picked last running around with sticks between their legs playing basketball by way of touch football. I used it as an opportunity to reorganize my commission list to account for the artists I'd passed on, but still had characters that I wanted somebody to draw. One of the guys from Arc Attack was playing guitar and singing "Lovesong," so I was content for the moment. The GF got bored with the muggles a few minutes into the game, as did seemingly better than half the audience, so we moved on. We both needed to use the restroom, so we descended two flights of stairs to the basement john. This amused me, and I dubbed it "The Pit of Micturition." Somebody at some point has lost more than pee down there.



Behind another wall was Plaza C, the convention equivalent of a shantytown. Gone were all the nice classrooms, meeting places, and theaters of the third floor. In their place was a warehouse full of black drapes on poles. Anyone who had anything to do with this section was well and truly screwed in the bunghole. At the right hand corner was a floor area for setting up miniatures, of which there were a handful spread far apart and a whole hell of a lot of floor. There were also tables for RPGs. I dubbed this the "Gamers' Ghetto," and mostly steered clear of it throughout the weekend. It was where dreams of convention planning competence went to die.



Back in Plaza A, I have no recollection of individual shop names, but I did get a kick out of the old nostalgia huts with dusty books and yellowed blister packs on the left side of the hall. One stand had tons of sealed trading cards from the '70s up at very reasonable prices, in case you had a hankering to wrap up your Growing Pains set. One local reporter bought a pack and ate the decades old gum inside. It was about as bad as one would expect, especially if like me you have not-so-fond memories of how awful those sharp shards of stank were new.

Joe Kubert wasn't around on Friday, but his school's booth was open. They were taking donations for Ronald McDonald House Charities by promoting a raffle for an original piece of Kubert art. I overheard someone later mention that Kubert had asked the con promoters if a Watchmen character would be okay. I bought a few tickets, but alas, never heard anything or saw the piece. All for a good cause, though.

There were a bunch of "professionals" involved with entertainment, gaming, etc. I don't know or care about any of that.


I didn't take this pic, but it's the same Huntress as before, and there was space to fill.

I needed to go to my niece's graduation ceremony, and wanted dinner before making the long drive out to the country. I was shooting for a five o'clock exit, but finishing touches were being done on one of the pieces that I didn't want to rush. I made a point of telling all the other artists with pending pieces that I'd just pick them up the next day. Testing was being done on the Arc Attack electrical show, and my gf wanted to see it, but that wouldn't start until later. To kill time, we caught some of the Braggart Family SideCircus. I realized that the girl I thought was my ex was in the show, that she was clearly too tall, and then there was the part about her resembling the ex as she appeared a decade ago (as opposed to the present.) So no, identity confusion there. Anyway, we watched a guy stand on top of another guy and juggle knives, followed by a dude on a bed of nails having a cinder block on his chest smashed with a sledgehammer. My gf had no stomach for the fellow hammering a nail into his nose, but by that point it was almost five, and my last piece was ready. About an hour later, I got a text that my most expensive commission was ready. I got a preview of it that night on Twitter though, so I knew what I had to look forward to...

2010 "Ladies of DC - The Huntress" art by Taylor Cordingley

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They're fun, they're sassy and they all seem to have a mean right hook. For years, DC Comics has consistently created amazing female superheroes. I'd like to pay tribute to these amazing women of the DC Universe with one of my patented pin-up series -- Ladies of DC! Second in this series is the hot-headed Huntress.

HUNTRESS
Real Name: Helena Bertinelli
Other Notable Aliases: Batgirl
First Appearance: Huntress #1
Abilities: Highly skilled martial artist and marksman

You know for a character who only been around since the '89 (discounting the heinous idea that Catwoman and Batman should have a superhero baby), Huntress sure has had a lot of different background stories. Overall they all seem to end the same -- Huntress' family gets assassinated and she grows up to unleash some serious bloody justice down on those responsible. I've known Huntress since the late-'90s and was always fascinated by the character. After all, anyone who knowingly disobeys Batman has GOT to be someone to pay attention to. However, it wasn't until Gail Simone's run on Birds of Prey and the Year One mini-series that made me fall in love with the character. She's so gutsy and doesn't take shit from anyone. It's fabulous! But she has an extremely vulnerable side that she doesn't show to anyone (although, Black Canary is well aware of that side but ignores it out of respect for Huntress). Whether you love or hate her, you have to admit that she's one kick-ass character. The is one bad mofo who gets kicked off the JLA on regular intervals, puts crossbow bolts in criminals and always seems to be on Batman's naughty list for Christmas. :) All that AND she's got the whole mafioso daughter thing going for her. Batman only wishes he had the balls she does. :P

Ladies of DC

• Artemis @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Manhunter @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Vixen @ Justice League Detroit

2007 The Huntress/The Question: Conquest '52 Fan Music Video

I discovered Patti Page's 1952 hit "Conquest" in a collection back in 2006, and wanted to share it, but I couldn't find an actual video. The line about "the huntress" also ate at the comic geek in me, so I finally caved and decided to make my first fan video(s.) I've liked the Huntress since the first time I read her as a back-up in an issue of Wonder Woman, and I've dug the Question since the Denny O'Neil series. I thought it was great when the Justice League Unlimited cartoon made them a couple, and that's the focus of this video. However, I had so much material left over, I decided to make a more action-packed video for the White Stripes' cover of "Conquest." This also doesn't count my first attempt, which was much different (and sadly, better timed overall, but lacking pizzazz.) I hope you'll check out and enjoy both. This was a real learning experience for me in working with old programs in new ways, so if these go over, I'd like to try making more (and better, and please God faster!)

This is a non-profit fan production that is in no way intended to infringe on the various copyright holders for video, characters, and music. Please don't hurt me Warner Brothers/DC Comics!

2002 Unused TV Guide Birds of Prey Cover Art by Joe Jusko

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Painted art of Ashley Scott as the Huntress for the short-lived TV show, which was cancelled before the cover could be used.

"Birds of Prey" TV Guide Cover Sketch "A"
"Birds of Prey" TV Guide Cover Sketch "B"

Joe Jusko Thursday

• Hawkman @ Being Carter Hall
• 2002 Unused TV Guide Birds of Prey Cover Art @ DC Bloodlines
• 1999 Wonder Woman painting @ Diana Prince
• 2009 Zatanna Convention Sketch @ Justice League Detroit

The Huntress moon color art by Bruce Timm

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Bruce Timm Bits

• Nightshade and the Question animation concept art @ Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman Flying color pin-up @ Diana Prince
• The Vixen animation concept art @ Justice League Detroit
• 2001 Justice League Lunar art by Bruce Timm @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu

The Huntress in "Trial by Fire" (October/November, 1978)

The Huntress woke up tied to a chair in a burning building. Using this to her advantage, she threw herself backward, shattering her wooden seat. Still bound by rope, she hung her bonds over the fire, though she also set her cape ablaze. Leaping up to a barred window, the Huntress used her vanadium steel crossbow as a wedge bar to pry herself free.

After taking a shower and leaving her robe open to the navel while arching her back and propping her legs on a desk (is "sideass" an internet term yet?) Wayne decided that she would have to remain presumed K.I.A. until Councilman Gresham made his next move. There was also something about the likelihood of the Councilman having peeked under Huntress' mask and recognizing Wayne, whom he'd previously met at a fundraiser, underneath. Helena threw a blade at a wooden bureau though, just so we didn't forget how tough she was.

A week later, Councilman Gresham finally showed back up in public in anticipation of his touring South Gotham with federal authorities to assess the need and degree of government aid needed in the district. The Huntress set a literal trap for Gresham on the tour so that he could be caught with a bomb actually in his hands. The Councilman slapped the damned thing away, denying everything but his desire to kill this chick already. The bomb was set off by impact from their tussle, Gresham was burned alive, and the Huntress snuck off so no one knew what a boner she'd pulled.

Later, the government aid rolled in, and Councilman Gresham even got a memorial building out of the deal. Police Chief O'Hara, ever on the ball, assumed the bombing was purely accidental, although Gresham's aide Jason Kelshaw took flight before he could be questioned. No further mention had been made to Wayne's potentially compromised identity, and she wasn't shedding any tears over that involuntary manslaughter of hers. Besides, her anthology title had been canceled, so bygones.

This story from Batman Family #20 was by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, & Bob Layton, marking the end of the artists' uneasy collaboration. While sometimes an awkward pairing, it still meant future installments would be purer grade Staton, rarely a good thing. I think my contempt for this idiocy came through in the synopsis, so I'll pass on elaborating, beyond mentioning I put down my copy of the Darknight Daughter trade paperback for a long while after this farce.

DC Retroactive

• Wonder Woman - The '80s #1 (DC, 2011) @ Diana Prince
• JLA - The '90s #1 (October, 2011) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• JLA - The '80s #1 (October, 2011) @ Justice League Detroit
• JLA - The '70s #1 (September, 2011) @ Power of the Atom

The Huntress in "Gotham Town Is Burning Down!" (August/September, 1978)

The Huntress returned to the alley where she had previously lost her suspect, and after tossing aside some crates, found a passage to a slum. She deduced that this might be a neighborhood base of operations for the arsonist, and staked it out until a stray light caught her attention. Watching from the windowsill, the arsonist was conveniently situated where he could work on bombs without being seen. Worse, the Huntress wasn't discrete enough to keep her own cover, and shots fired sent her diving off the ledge (yet somehow too slow to catch up with a man forced to run down several flights of stairs to a getaway car.)

Helena Wayne returned to work, where Cranston took her obvious fatigue as a sign of how seriously she took her partnership in the firm. Meanwhile, Roger Demerest was once again insufferable as he took advantage of the only TV in the building, situated in Wayne's office, ignoring her protests. Councilman Gresham was on the tube, announcing that he was seeking government funds to help rebuild his increasingly burned out district. Roger thought this was the type of guy the firm should be backing, and Wayne agreed. Over a dozen nights, the Darknight Demoiselle fought fires by night, her firm aiding the councilman by day.

Wayne's penthouse apartment was outfitted with furniture that concealed an elaborate gym in plain sight. After a workout, Wayne watched a televised debate between Councilman Gresham and Roger Demerest with enough pregnant comments to make obvious a connection to the arsonist. "My God! After all my hunting, is it really as simple as all that? Did I just have to turn on the television to find the clue I needed?"

The Huntress broke into the Councilman's office in search of private papers, but was heard and caught at gunpoint by Gresham. He admitted that he was the arsonist, and after missing her in the slums, planned to write off the heroine's death as a burglary attempt. Huntress threw a stylized disc to disarm him, but Gresham's towering Nubian manservant Jason knocked her out with one punch to the back of the head. Now there would be time to kill her in a way that would in no way implicate them...

This story from Batman Family #19 by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, & Bob Layton was the exact kind of crap that was on network TV constantly at the time. It felt like an adaptation of one of those awful Marvel Comics TV shows where fantastic heroes shared mundane enemies with the likes of Barnaby Jones and Columbo. Worse yet, it took three chapters to wrap this lame case, where one would hope the Batman's daughter wouldn't be such a klutzy dolt as to fail repeatedly against a politician crazy enough to make his own bombs! I guess all those titillating shots of Huntress prancing around were meant to distract from equal number of gaping plot holes...

The Bronze Age

• Wonder Woman #290 (April, 1982) @ Diana Prince
• Manhunter in Detective Comics #439 (February-March, 1974) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• The Vixen in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984) @ JLDetroit
• The Atom in Brave and the Bold #152 (July, 1979) @ Power of the Atom

The Huntress in "A Choice of Destinies" (June/July, 1978)

Cranston, Grayson and Wayne was a law firm based around public interest research along the lines of the work Ralph Nader made famous in his consumer advocacy. Cranston was the aged do-gooder with a painfully ineffective combover, while Dick Grayson was a partner in name only as he served as a diplomat. Helena Wayne was the third partner, fresh out of law school at 21. Roger Demarest was also at the firm, and didn't so much seethe as constantly explode over his resentment of Wayne's unearned status. A long haired sexist pig in a grotesque plaid suit (complete with a freakin' medallion,) Roger laid his feelings about Wayne having bought in abundantly clear. Cranston assured the hesitant Wayne that she was brought in on her established merits editing the law review and graduating valedictorian from Harvard.

Helena Wayne doubted not only her likely contribution to the firm, but also her efforts through it. As the daughter of Batman and Catwoman, Wayne had training that might allow her to do much more for the world than any single lawyer ever could. As such, she ducked out of the office to suit up as the Huntress and investigate the near constant cases of arson taking place in the slums of South Gotham. Swinging past lackadaisical firemen, she rescued three older citizens trapped in a burning building before barely escaping herself. The Huntress must have still been of "urban legend" standing or less, since the explanations of how the rescued survived were dismissed entirely by EMS.

Somehow having concealed an entire outfit in her form fitting uniform, Helena Wayne lingered at the scene, and saw a mystery man supplying a little boy with explosives and payment for his latest arson. Wayne lost track of both, and had a mystery on her hands...

This story from Batman Family #18 was by Paul Levitz, Joe Staton, & Bob Layton. It was the first solo story for the character since her debut/origin in DC Super-Stars #17, and it was not a doozy. The characters are lousy and broadly drawn, while the realistic inks of Layton combined with the caricature of Staton makes the male characters look like they have congenital disorders. The only thing duller than super-heroes battling common disasters is seeing them address them over multiple parts. It also tough to get wound up in Huntress' angst over whether to be a lawyer or super-hero, since guys like Daredevil do both, and it's a decision she probably should have come to before this point.

The Bronze Age

• The Vixen in Action Comics #521 (July, 1981) @ Justice League Detroit
• The Atom in Action Comics #521 (July, 1981) @ Power of the Atom
• Wonder Woman #289 (March, 1982) @ Diana Prince is the New Wonder Woman
• Manhunter (Paul Kirk) in Detective Comics #438 (December, 1973/January, 1974) @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu

2011 DCU Movie Fan Casting: Eliza Dushku as The Huntress

I often times struggle with casting choices, but other times, they're a cinch. If I were casting a Pre-Crisis Huntress movie, there are tons of actresses with the looks of Helena Wayne to decide between. However, the Huntress most readers know came out of the '80s with a demanding physicality and more attitude than most actresses can carry. Thinking of performers in the correct age range with appropriate marquee value who could play Helena Bertinelli, I pretty much just had to choose between Eliza Dushku and Michele Rodriguez. If I felt like I had wiggle room with ethnicity, I may very well have gone with the former. However, Dushku has the martial arts and crossbow experience of a former vampire slayer/spy with her own fan base, plus serious genre credibility, so why deny the obvious?

Diabolic Movie Fan Casting

• Aquaman 2011 @ Justice League Detroit
• The Atom (Ray Palmer) 2011 @ Power of the Atom
• Martian Manhunter 2011 @ The Idol-Head of Diabolu
• Wonder Woman 2011 @ Diana Prince

2011 The Huntress by Cat Staggs

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Huntress
11 x 15
Bristol Vellum
Copic Markers/ white water color/digital media
2011

made a slight adjustment to the background to separate her a little more

Spring Break Staggs
2007 DC Legacy The Atom Chase Card
2007 DC Legacy Martian Manhunter Chase Card
2009 "Tales of Wonder Wonder Woman" Charity Auction Art
2009 Zatanna Commission