In 1982, Spanish-Argentine artist José Luis García-López was hired to create the key art for an ambitious project: a total standardization of the DC’s Super Heroes look. The resulting 3-ring-binder filled with rules, color swatches, character profiles, and hundreds of pages of stunning art was in itself a masterpiece, but was intended as a reference manual for DC’s license holders as well as an internal operational document for DC.
The model sheets in the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide became the standard reference for DC artists and license holders working on DC releases for decades and, thanks to García-López’s timeless character work, has continued to deeply influence many DC artists and fans to this day.
Over the years new pages were added to the DC Comics Style Guide to keep it current, but as franchises moved on and updated looks eventually took over, the Style Guide was no longer needed (and in most cases, likely disposed of). The copy held by Standards Manual is a rare collector’s item and unavailable to wide-audiences beyond low resolution, poorly reproduced, and often watermarked images online.
There’s a nostalgia element, too. Due to the influence of the 1982 guide on popular culture, many comic fans today grew up with García-López's depictions of Batman, Superman, and more. In the hearts and minds of many, García-López's art is synonymous with DC of yore, and thus carries with it a deep nostalgia linked to childhood and growing up with their favorite characters.
To date, the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide has never been made available to the public in print, so with the faithful reproduction work by the team at Standards Manual who pioneered the republishing of legacy graphic manuals, fans will finally be able to experience this legendary art as close as possible to the original format.
Visit the 1982 DC Comics Style Guide product page at Si-Fi Toys for full details!
