Fan Expo Dallas 2023: Going Batty For Original Batman Art
by Tom Smithyman
Fan Expo Dallas 2023 has concluded, which means it’s time to review my ever-growing portfolio of Batman original art. Typically, when I go to a con, it’s to meet with an artist I haven’t yet commissioned. And that was very much the case with this event.
Fortunately for me – in some ways – I already have art from many of the top names at this year’s show, including Stanley “Artgerm” Lau, Mitch Gerads, Werther Dell’Edera, and others. But I was still able to set some things up and come away with a handful of nice art pieces.
Let’s start with a couple of artists who didn’t even make it to this year’s event. The first is Alvaro Martinez Bueno. He was scheduled to be at this year’s event, but ended up having to miss it. Luckily for me, he shipped my commission to some artists who were attending, and they, in turn, got it to me.
I was able to get on his commission list back in April 2021. No, that’s not a typo. He’s been busy with A Nice House on the Lake and was sick with Covid for a while. But as you can see from this cover-quality commission, it was worth the wait.
Lee Garbett, on the other hand, was never scheduled to come to Dallas. But a few weeks ago, he opened a commission list for a London con, and I worked with his representative, who came to Dallas with several other artists, to secure this piece.
I worked with the same art rep, Daniel Scott of Scott’s Collectibles, to commission Fernando Blanco. Blanco is primarily a digital artist, who is getting lots of recognition right now for W0rldtr33 with James Tynion IV.
If you don’t know Belen Ortega, you soon will. She did a great job drawing Batman #136. I first met her at the Lake Como Comic Art Festival in May and was first on her list for Dallas. I’m lucky I got anything at all, given that the airline lost her luggage. But she was a trooper and delivered this Batsignal to me.
Finally, I only managed to set up one commission during the con itself. That was with Joshua Cassara, known primarily for his work on X-Force. He was stoked about getting to draw a DC character, and this is what he came up with.