Some battles are fought with weapons and super powers, others are fought with art supplies.
Art class leaps to life like never before in the new digital first series DC SUPER HERO GIRLS: OUT OF THE BOTTLE by writer Shea Fontana and artists Agnes Garbowska and Marcelo Di Chiara. Kicking off on April 12, the bi-weekly release takes readers back to Super Hero High to catch up with the likes of Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Katana and their pals. Even the most famous of super heroes have to study and complete assignments, and in this new adventure the students are tasked with creating their very own comic books in Ms. June Moone's art class.
This is much cooler than any art class homework I had in high school—here's hoping my art teacher isn't reading this!
The meta assignment isn't everyone's cup of tea. Super heroes aren't naturally good at everything, after all. Katana finds success with a modern and chic comic, but not everyone has her skill set.
As Fontana puts it, "The art is really amazing because our artists are creating from that character's point of view. Someone like Katana is an incredible artist, while Wonder Woman has a lot of difficulty with art. So, our artists have to put aside their natural artistic ability and draw like someone who can’t draw!"
Fontana has an unusual challenge too, because she has to write from the perspective of the characters.
"I'm writing as a character instead of myself,” she explains. “So, I really have to think about how the characters, like Katana, Supergirl, Wonder Woman and Harley, would approach this creative assignment and how their writing voices would differ from their dialogue. How do the characters see themselves and each other? What stories would they write for themselves?"
A few of Katana's character designs (as drawn by Marcelo Di Chiara)
Since we're taking a look at the creations of different heroes, Out of the Bottle will have varying art styles. It's a fun switch since until now, we've seen the characters follow a certain model. Now, we'll see them through other eyes.
"Expect lots of different art styles as the girls show off their art skills, and also lack of art skills, since they can’t all be good at everything. These art styles will come to life with the help of Harley getting her hands on some magic paint," Garbowska says.
Di Chiara is happy to expand on this, saying the two best words to describe this story arc are "HARLEY QUINN!" Ms. Quinn doesn't feel particularly happy with her work, so she decides to give her drawings a bit of a boost. She gets creative—as usual—and uses some of Ms. Moone's "special" paint to give her project some pizzazz. But of course, it's not ordinary paint—it's actually a magic potion. The substance makes Harley's illustrations come to life, and her drawings don't want to behave. They want to cause trouble in Metropolis.
A few of Supergirl's character designs (as drawn by Agnes Garbowska)
As you can imagine, Principal Waller isn't overly enthused about these results. When she gives Ms. Moone a talking to, the teacher loses her grip and transforms into Enchantress. She's none too pleased with Super Hero High and does what she can to exact revenge upon the institution and its enrollees…including Principal Waller. Enchantress takes inspiration from Harley Quinn and puts potion to paper to create an illustrated army. I think this is an occasion worthy of flipping the save the day alarm, don't you?
DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle’s first chapter debuts on April 12, but as a special bonus, we have three pages from the first installment here for you below. Two are from Katana's comic, and one is of the girls!
So what are your drawing skills like? Are you a Katana or a Wonder Woman when it comes to sketching? Fly to the comments and let us know how you think you'd do in Ms. Moone's art class.
