Villain Profiles

RESULTS!

Currently, Fanzing is running a "Vile Vial" Writing Challenge in which the heroes have become villains and villains have turned into heroes. So our art challenge built upon this: what kind of character profiles might one see if we had a "Vile Vial Secret Files and Origins"?

We asked artists to create villain profiles and, just to shake things up, they could choose whether to portray the villains as majestic heroes or evil villains. They could even take a DC hero and portray him or her as a villain.

Got it straight? Neither do we. But the results were lovely. I'll let our new art coordinator, who oversaw the judging, take over from here:

(As always, click on the pic to open the full size pic.)

"Enchantress" by Craig Shapley

This is a terrific piece profiling Enchantress. I don't know much about her (well, anything really) but this does what we asked for and tells me what I need to know (she uses magic) along with providing a nice background. The smile on her face and the whimsical pose indicates she has fun with her magic.

"Babydoll" by the Brothers Grinn

A really nice job on this profile. The pigtails and dress easily give the impression of a little girl. Her smoking doll gun shows she means business, and the spotlighted wall and citycape shows she calls the city home.

"The Joker" by Christian Moore

A very well done profile of the Clown Prince of Crime. He certainly doesn't look like a friendly clown to me! And if there were anyone who didnt know, the Batsignal in the background, while a simple detail, tells us just who the Joker is a villain to.

"Ralph Dibny on a Gingold Bender" by Craig Shapley

A great piece that fits in with the Vile Vial contest, a hero gone bad. The art is good, but it's the concept that shines. He's stretching, he's drinking, and he's not treating his wife too kindly. The stubble and bloodshot eyes add to the feel that he looks like he wants to punch you out while saying, slurrily, "What are you lookin at? I'll give you sumthin tuh look at!"

"Poison Ivy" by Larry O'Keefe

We certainly know what kind of company she prefers to keep...and it isn't that of those guys on the ground. It certainly looks like a good way to go, though. She's surrounded by plants: plants in her costume (well, the bits she isn't stripping off), plants in the background, plants growing out of her victims... You have to be wary of the kiss she's blowing when you see a pile like that! Speaks very well of who she is and what she does.

"Tengu" by Nikoru-chan

There's a lot going on in this profile. An excellent job of adding an Asian flavor to the picture with the buildings, mountains and symbols in the background. The various bird images along with the martial arts weaponry combine to tell a lot about Tengu. Tengu himself is in a striking pose with a mean look on his face certainly giving the impression he's ready for a fight.

The winner is Poison Ivy. Congratulations! We hadn't announced a prize for the contest, but Larry O'Keefe will be getting a special something in the mail. Good job, Lar'!

In the end, we picked the winner by asking "which profile does the best to capture the essence of the character." All of these entries worked so well that it was a very tough choice, and we thank all of the entrants for their time and efforts in making these high-quality entries.