Don Turtelli and Vernon: Batgirl Homage

#mutatethecover

Here's my own contribution to the Batgirl #41 cover fallout inspired by the events of the Fred Wolf era Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episode "Case of the Hot Kimono," written by the twisted David Bennett Carren and J. Larry Carroll.  As a kid I thought Don Turtelli was the most hilarious type of villain.  Sadly, the internet seems to ruin everything funny about children's cartoons, and this episode now seems to be remembered purely for one scene.  That's the world in which we live, I suppose.  I was doodling some layout ideas, and pairing Vernon Fenwick with the devious Don just seemed like the perfect storm.

I was intrigued by fact that we seem to be having another national conversation as to whether a comic book cover is too poor taste to see publication.  Truth be told, I've never even read "The Killing Joke" and I'm a big fan of Barbara Gordon--the par excellence super hero for folks in the librarian profession.  Whatever the artistic merits of Rafael Albuquerque's now infamously controversial homage to that story, I have to admit it is a striking image.  He uses color contrast and shadows to great effect in creating tension between two characters that have a very dark comic book history.  When it comes to Batgirl fans and creators arguing about "Change the Cover!" or "Save the Cover!," I honestly don't care.  The great silver lining to come out of this comic cover controversy seems to be all the hilarious fan art parodies replacing the Joker and Batgirl with other characters in awkward situations.  God bless those folks who use their energy to actually do something productive instead of making something into a bigger stink that it probably needs to be.

I had considered maybe doing a Donatello and Rocksteady homage considering recent events in the IDW TMNT comics, but I didn't think it would convey much humor, and humor is something I think my art style conveys better than anything else.  Just out of curiosity, I did a rough draft of Don Turtelli with April O'Neil in a similar scenario, but the paper just didn't come across as funny either.  If you remember from the original episode, April was totally the one who kept her nerve throughout the whole Turtelli torture affair and eventually formulated an escape plan (even though it was derailed by Vernon's ill-advised idea to head out onto the building's ledge while hopping around blindfolded).  I could never see classic April get weepy with fear on account of a pathetic mobster pastiche.  Vernon Fenwick, on the other hand, is a perfect stand-in for a helpless & defeated damsel-in-distress.  Hey, these two even share the same color palette!

That snazzy high resolution Ninja Turtles logo I borrowed for this mock cover came courtesy of the talented
(If you like what you see here, you really owe it to yourself to check out his Gallery.)