Comic Art Collection 10: Supergirl and Batgirl

Supergirl and Batgirl by Mike Maihack. 9x12
Top: Original pencil and ink
Bottom: Digitally coloured print

Sometimes, publishers hate making money. Case in point - Mike Maihack.

I'm pretty sure I came across Mike's artwork via Tumblr. And it was probably one of his delightful  Supergirl and Batgirl strips. He does these strips infrequently, sometimes only once a year, but they're always fantastic when he does. The strips are basically an exasperated Batgirl trying to deal with her best friend, a very high energy Supergirl. Through good luck, he put one out this week dealing with our twin heroes being stuck in doors while "Joker Gas" is endangering Gotham City residents. It's showed up a lot in my social media feeds by friends of mine who like knitting.

There's a lot more examples on his website, where you can buy prints.

The most recent Supergirl/Batgirl
strip

They're so much fun that it's genuinely baffling to me that DC never came to him and said "Hey, how would you like to do do a 100 page graphic novel based on their adventures?" I would buy it in a heartbeat and given the speed at which these comics spread online, so would a lot of others.

Part of the reason this might not have happened is that Mike's been busy the last seven or eight years with his Cleopatra in Space graphic novel series through Scholastic. It's the story of the Cleopatra who as a kid accidentally gets tossed across time and space and finds herself in the far future. She also discovers that she's a prophesied saviour of the galaxy. And if that's not bad enough she still has to go to school, and most of the professors are cats. It's a huge amount of fun.

 Cathy has a set of the books in her classroom and it's perfect for elementary school kids. Or, you know, big kids like me.

As for the piece above, I believe it came about when Mike put out a call that he was taking commissions and I quickly jumped at it. This was the first piece of art I bought from Mike, but not the last. I have at least three others which will make their debuts at some point in the coming months. 

And one day I hope to meet him at a con. I'd like to be able to thank him in person for how much enjoyment I get out of his work. And, you know, maybe get him to draw something in my sketchbook.

But what I like about this is he through in the digitally coloured print for free. I just thought I was getting pencil and ink sketch, so the print was nice. They're also framed side by side so when you look at them you can really see the difference colour makes to the art.

The last Cleo book (boooo) coming out
in late July/early August,

As for why I like Mike's art so much, it's just fun. It's been interesting watching him grow as a visual storyteller in Cleo. There's a huge difference between the first book and the fifth. He's much more confident, polished and willing to try bigger and more complex scenes and action pieces. I look forward to reading his stuff for some time to come.

And DC? The last Cleopatra in Space book is coming out this summer. It's not too late to throw some money at Mike to get him to do a Supergirl/Batgirl book. Just sayin'....

Last Five
1. Bones of ribbon - London Grammar
2. Desire - Ryan Adams*
3. Snow angel - Ron Sexsmith
4. Execution day - The New Pornographers
5. Hard to tell - Young Galaxy