DC fans can now rejoice as NY-based publisher Standards Manual duo Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed, Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products announced the official and long-awaited reissue of the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide, reproduced from a rare original copy as a high-quality hardcover book.
The nostalgic images of the DC universe superheroes Batman, Superwoman, Batman, The Penguin, Supergirl and Wonder Woman may conjure up childhood memories of these iconic images from lunchboxes, stationery, pajamas, duvet sets, and Halloween costumes were all drawn by legendary Spanish-Argentine artist José Luis García-López.
The book was never made available to the public in print, and only a few hundred were possibly produced in-house. Thanks to the faithful reproduction work by the team at Standards Manual, who pioneered the republishing of legacy graphic manuals, fans can now experience this legendary art as close as possible to the original format. This reissue also intends to highlight the team behind this great artistic endeavor, including Joe Orlando, Neal Pozner, Mary Yedlin, Paul Levitz, and many others.
In 1982, García-López was hired to create the key art for an ambitious project: a total standardization of DC’s Super Heroes look. The resulting 3-ring-binder is filled with rules, color swatches, and character profiles, collaborating with inker Dick Giordano. However, it served an efficient purpose, as it was intended to create artwork for products and packaging of DC’s wide range of licensed products and promotions. Most earlier DC licensed products or ads picked up images from the comics, without any additional payment to the talent—led by president Jenette Kahn, the team updated that policy so that most licensees had to use artwork created specifically for that purpose, either in the Style Guides or newly drawn.
Over the years new pages were added to the Style Guide and new DC Style Guides were issued to keep it current. However, as franchises moved on and updated looks eventually took over, the original Style Guide was no longer needed (and in most cases, likely disposed of).
The book will be available for pre-order at an early-access price of $90 and will begin shipping on August 31, 2024. The book will be available for consumers and retailers from Standards Manual.
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