Ragnarök Vol. 2 #1, pages 16-20

Story, pencils, and inks by Walter Simonson. © IDW Productions.

My biggest color concept for Ragnarök is that it’s neither day nor night. As described in Odin’s vision to Thor, two giant wolves ate the sun and moon, then died, so their bodies light the realms in a sort of twilight gloaming. Each location in the series has its own tint; sometimes it’s mauve or denim or a dusky orange. However, the colors on Odin’s vision (pages 16 and 17) are brighter and more pure than the gloom. The vision stops and we return to Thor’s present day by the third page. I chose a cloudy teal-blue for this scene as it’s raining the whole time. The colors are muted except when he uses his hammer. There’s a scene change in page 19 to the town where Thor’s ward Drifa is staying with the troll Javokk. The town has a purplish cast, but I gave the interior of the small room a cozy glow from the lamp, and used bright oranges and yellows to show the fire sprite at the very end.

Planetary #17, pages 18-22

Story by Warren Ellis, pencils and inks by John Cassaday. © Wildstorm/DC Comics.

This story takes place in Opak-Re, a play on El Dorado, the ancient hidden city of gold. The first 17 pages covered Elijah’s first visit to the city. On page 18, he returns after eighteen months away. What he finds, however, is a distraught Anaykah and the baby she had with Blackstock, a British Tarzan-type character. It’s implied that her indiscretion and Blackstock’s departure back to England are imminent threats to the secret city. The city begins to fold up into itself to protect itself from the outside world. Snow must say goodbye forever to his first love Anaykah, and save her baby. He whisks her baby away, and we find out that the baby is Jakita Wagner. On the gold, I didn’t want to get too detailed with it — there are no sharp reflections of plants or other shapes. I stuck with three “planes” of gold; the sides facing the sun/sky have the brightest highlights, while the planes facing toward the ground were a more dull grayish gold. I created a “shaking” effect by duplicating the line art and shifting it up or down or sideways. I also made deliberate choices between Snow’s alabaster skin, Anaykah’s deep brown skin, and the baby’s middle tone, as the baby was of mixed race.

Wonder Woman #1, pages 6-10

Story by Greg Rucka, pencils and inks by Liam Sharp. © DC Comics.

There are numerous location changes within these five pages, so I gave each setting a different color scheme. For the secret ops location, I chose a dingy, earth-toned exterior on page 6 panel 1, to contrast against the highly technical interior of blues, cold grays, whites and harsh lighting. I gave Etta a red blazer to set her apart from her surroundings and to indicate that she’s in charge. On pages 8 and 9, Steve is reporting from a war zone, so his scene reminds us of Afghanistan with a lot of beige and khaki and brown. Page 10 cuts to Wonder Woman in the Banakane Rainforest. In panel 1, the greens have more blue to them, making them look fresh and clean; as she walks further into the jungle, her surroundings get more acidic and rotting, with the shift toward yellow and brown. Wonder Woman is engulfed in a greenish shadow, but she stays cooler in the last panel.

Amazing Spider-Man Vol. ? #1, pages 24-28

Story by Nick Spencer, pencils by Ryan Ottley, inks by Cliff Rathburn. © Marvel Comics Group.

This sequence takes place in the City at night, during an alien invasion. Spidey is fighting off a plethora of little green spiky aliens. I chose this acidy green overlay for the scene for two reasons: first, his red stands out, and second, acid green is a good indicator of poison/trouble/aliens. While Spidey’s being overrun, he flashes back to some regrets in his life; his diploma, his denounced demonstration, and the time he let a thief get away. Each flashback has an obvious tint. Spidey stops daydreaming enough to discover a portal-like light in the sky. I chose a bright greenish-yellow-white for the bubble of light, and the ripple texture was a design of my own. As Spidey flings himself toward the light, his last(?) flashbacks are to happier times; as a kid with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and a sweet moment with Mary Jane. The yellow-white light consumes him, then he bonks into the windshield of Mysterio’s…plane? Ship? Spidey breaks in and subdues Mysterio. The background goes more toward red as Spidey gains control over Mysterio. In the last page, a bit of time has lapsed as Mysterio is dropped off and the city returns to its normal night time color scheme.