In 2010, writer Mark Millar and artist Steve McNiven released a four-part series called Nemesis that centered on the the intriguing premise, “What if Batman was The Joker?”
Now, I would have bought that book in a heartbeat had I been more active in the comic book community during that time. But in truth, I knew nothing about it until I read it during a connecting flight from San Francisco to Manila (via Portland) back in 2016.
Initial Impression
Despite some over-the-top sub themes, I thought the book was relatively great.
My one takeaway: Nemesis’ design reminded me so much of an all-white Hanna-Barbera Productions’ Space Ghost.
I’ll leave it at that.
New York Comic Con 2018 (NYCC 2018)
Since the first time I read Nemesis, I knew that I wanted to own a page from the book. That unlikely opportunity came during NYCC 2018 when I got to visit Steve’s booth in Artist Alley.
After going through several binders of his original art, I zeroed in on this preliminary sketch from Issue #3 | Page 10 | Panel 2 wherein Nemesis makes short work of a prison guard. It was one of only two pieces of Nemesis original art on sale.
Steve was even gracious enough to give me a little of his time when I asked about his Nemesis art process. He explained that other than a few key pages and covers, his prelims were the only way that one could get a hold of his Nemesis art.
Lucky me!
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