One of the coolest surprises tied to this fall’s Clayface movie is a brand-new movie variant cover for Detective Comics #1114, illustrated by Björn Barends. The issue arrives on October 21 and will be pretty divisive.
I’ll admit, I’ve never been the biggest Björn Barends fan. Outside of his fantastic retro-inspired Absolute Catwoman cover, his work has never really clicked with me. A lot of his Absolute Batman covers have a very digital quality that keeps me at arm’s length.
That said…
This thing is undeniably fascinating.
The cover depicts Clayface melting into his own grotesque body, creating an image that feels somewhere between a movie poster, a practical effects sculpture, and digital concept art. It’s uncomfortable to look at, which is probably exactly the point.
I also think that’s what’s going to split fans.
Some people absolutely love Barends’ hyper-realistic, digitally rendered style, while others feel it lacks the texture and imperfections that make painted comic art feel alive. This cover lands squarely in that debate.
My biggest criticism isn’t even the rendering.
It’s the color palette.
The entire piece is drenched in muddy browns from edge to edge. I get why, but I can’t help thinking it’s missing one contrasting color to make everything pop. Maybe a bold yellow logo would have really tied the whole thing together… for reasons I’m sure you can figure out.
As it stands… and maybe I’m being a little too blunt… it kind of looks like poop.
That’s not to say it’s bad. Far from it. In fact, I think it’s one of the more interesting comic covers DC has released in a while.
Either way, I have a feeling people will be talking about this one for a while. That’s usually the sign of memorable artwork, whether you love it or hate it.
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