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Great cover !
A pensive Promethea, a focused enlightened Promethea and the caduceus as the axis of symmetry.
The “rays” of the sephiroth worldscapes are a nice touch.
Great composition ! I love it.
The Mars symbol is distorted. Was it in the book ?
The weeping gorilla breaks the symmetry. I’m not sure that I would have left it here. The hand breaks also the symmetry but as it follows Promethea’s look, it gives sense to the whole.
He he, it’s easy to be a critic but hard to be an artist. Keep up the great work Jim !

Hey there Rodolphe
I’m Glad you like it. All of the symbols are a little different than expected, but quite similar to how we used them in the issues. As for breaking the symmetry, that was very purposefully done. One of my favorite things is taking something symmetrical and throwing it off by using an object or two. Keeping things off kilter makes for appropriate symbolism when dealing with such subjects as we deal with in Promethea, breaking rigid forms of world view and thought. Using Weeping Gorilla in this way keeps things from being overly pretentious, and the hand forming a piece sign also makes for a number 2 reference and ties things design wise to volume one besides just some of the palette. Trust me, I think these things through carefully.

I’ve no doubt that you design very carefully your covers and your pages. You’ve proved it in the past with Promethea and Desolation Jones, and right now, with each issue of Batwoman. It’s one facet of your talent that I greatly appreciate.
As a side note, I’ve taken the V sign as a Victory sign, hinting the story’s conclusion, and as Promethea’s goal as it follows her look’s direction. I admit that I missed the number 2 allusion !

Ah, V for victory works beautifully as well, I hadn’t considered that notion.

ahh the weeping Gorilla. i think i laughed every time I saw a billboard with him. thx JH3

Hey there Steven
Glad we were able to give you some amusement.

Do you think anyone at DC/Wildstorm would mind if we used part of this artwork for the cover of Moonlight Art Magazine, containing your interview?

Hey there Christopher
It should be fine because its basically for promotional purposes. This sort of thing is done all the time.

Hey JH, great cover (as usual). The volume 1 book cover had a very nifty spot-varnish special effect – have you got anything similar planned for this cover ?

Also, can you confirm which issues are contained in this volume? The solicitation says #13-24, but issue #24 ends on a cliff-hanger so I would have thought either #23 or #25 would have made a more logical break point between volumes 2 & 3.

One last question – I know volume 3 is still 18 months away (at least), but are there any plans to include the ‘poster version’ of issue #32 (full-size, folded up) as an addition to the main book)?

My question is the same Robs. It took me forever to track down those posters but I found them a few weeks ago finally and framed them. And I just wanted to tell you, J.H., that they are literally the most beautiful images I’ve ever seen. Not only visually are they stunning but I love the messages in them, truly amazing.

Hey there Rob
Yeah, there will be special fx like that. And the book is supposed to end with issue 23. This is what I discussed with the publisher, but now that I see this new info, I have placed a question in with them for clarification. I really don’t want it to end with 24. That just makes it awkward.

As for volume 3 I should have information on that soon. All of the new art for that is done already as well.

Hello Devin
Thank you so much. I’m glad you’ve gotten them and are enjoying them.

Just got confirmation, the volume 2 book will end with issue 23, which is the best choice. So the current solicits are incorrect.

Thanks for confirming that JH.

Unlike Devin, I’m not lucky enough to own the posters that were released as a limited edition. I do have my ‘reassembled’ version of #32 (stuck together with sellotape), but it would be nice to have a real poster(s).

Can I just mention that putting the pages of #32 together and seeing those giant images appear for the first time was an awesome experience. I know a lot of hard work went into that issue, but it was worth it!

Hey Rob, if you keep looking you’ll eventually see them come up on ebay even though it may take awhile. It took probably about 2 years for me to finally find ones that were not priced over 500 dollars. I technically bought them 3 times though. One time I was only sent the signed issue and not the posters that I paid for, I got my money back out of it though and a free alan moore and J.H. cover issue. And I bought all the issues again that I already had just because it also promised the posters which of coarse I never got. 3rd times a charm though. Keep looking, you’ll find them.

Hey there Rob
Thanks for your kind words. I’m to be having a meeting with my editor on this project Monday and hope to have an answer about the posters from them soon.

Will you be taking commissinos at the Mike Carbono show in New York? What will your rates be?

Hey there Russell
Yes I will try to get some drawing done. How much really will depend on the amount of signing there will be. It’ll be tough due to it being a one day show. I work on bristol using rendered greytones on 9×12, prices start at $150 and go up from there depending on how much work is involved. I also operate on a first come first serve basis. Hope to see you there.

Love this image. Can’t wait to see the slipcase. Will they keep the gold-on-white design? I hope so.

One major problem with the first volume is that all the copies I have seen, including the one I own, have the text on the spine of the slipcase misaligned. It is not centered, but running a bit off the left edge, with space left on the right. It looks very poor, and I wish DC would pay more attention to the quality of these high-end books. Comparing it to Dark Horse’s recent Martha Washington “Absolute” edition, DH’s quality and production values seem miles ahead of DC’s. I love your design work and care on the Promethea volumes, and just wish it were reciprocated in similar care on the production side of things.

Hey there Josh
Thanks for the comments, yes the slipcases for all 3 volumes will be the gold on white. As for the alignment thing along the spine, I didn’t think to look at mine for that, but you are totally right, it’s to the left by a sliver, maybe an 1/8 of an inch. I’ll point this out to my editor and send your comment to them as well.

Ummm.. any chance of the volume 2 slipcase art being revealed anytime soon?

Hey Josh
Maybe closer to the time of it’s release, or I may just leave it as surprise.
🙂

[…] celebrated runs on DETECTIVE COMICS in the last two decades, and the stunning comics tour-de-force PROMETHEA. Williams is also the future cover artist of the forthcoming album by new wave pop supergroup […]

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