Darwyn Cooke Workshop

October 17, 2009

Artist bio

In 1985, Cooke published his first comic book work as a professional artist in a short story in New Talent Showcase #19, but economic pressure made him leave the comic book industry, and he worked in Canada as a magazine art director, graphic and product designer for the next 15 years.

In the early 1990s Cooke decided to return to comics, but found little interest for his work at the major publishers. Eventually he was hired by Warner Bros. Animation after replying to an ad placed by animator Bruce Timm.

He went on to work as a storyboard artist for Batman: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series, and in 1999 he animated the main title design for Batman Beyond. He then worked as a director for Sony Animation's Men in Black: The Series for a year. DC Comics then approached Cooke about a project which he had submitted to the publisher years earlier which eventually became Batman: Ego, a graphic novel published in 2000.

The critical success of that project led to Cooke taking on more freelance work, such as X-Force, Wolverine/Doop and Spider-Man's Tangled Web for Marvel Comics and Just Imagine... Stan Lee for DC.

In 2001, Cooke and writer Ed Brubaker teamed up to revamp the Catwoman character. They started with a 4 issue serial "Trail of the Catwoman" in Detective Comics #759-762 in which private detective Slam Bradley attempts to investigate the death of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman).

The story led into a new Catwoman title in late 2001 by Brubaker and Cooke, in which the character's costume, supporting cast and modus operandi were all redesigned and redeveloped. Cooke would stay on the series, which was met with critical and fan acclaim, up until issue #4. In 2002 he would write and draw a prequel, the Selina's Big Score graphic novel which detailed what had happened to the character directly before her new series.

Cooke's next project was the ambitious DC: The New Frontier (2004), a six issue miniseries which sought to tell an epic storyline bridging the gap between the end of the golden and the start of the silver age of comic books in the DC Universe. The story, which was set in the 1950s, featured dozens of super-hero characters and drew inspiration from the comic books and movies of the period as well as from Tom Wolfe's non-fiction account of the start of the US Space Program The Right Stuff. The major DC characters are introduced in The New Frontier in the same order that DC originally published them, even down to the correct month and year in the story's timeline. In 2005, Cooke won an Eisner Award for "Best Limited Series", and a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on the series.

Most recently, Cooke contributed to DC's artist-centric anthology project Solo. His issue (#5, June, 2005) featured several different stories in different styles with a framing sequence featuring the Slam Bradley character. In 2006, Solo #5 won an Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."

In July 2005, it was announced that in 2006 Cooke and writer Jeph Loeb would produce a Batman/Spirit crossover, to be followed shortly afterwards by an ongoing Spirit series written and drawn by Cooke. Batman/The Spirit was ultimately published in November 2006, followed in December by the first issue of Cooke's The Spirit. In June 2007, Cooke and J. Bone won a Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Artists" for their work on "Batman/The Spirit", and Cooke won "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Cartoonist" for his work on "The Spirit".

In July 2006, it was announced that Warner Bros. Animation and DC Comics would release a series of direct-to-DVD animated movies based on important DC comic books. One of the first comics to be adapted was Cooke's DC: The New Frontier. Cooke co-wrote the film with Stan Berkowitz and also provided art direction. The movie was produced by Bruce Timm.

Darwyn Cooke also wrote the first six-issue story arc of the new Superman monthly series, Superman Confidential, which debuted on November 1, 2006. Superman Confidential features stories set in the early years of Superman’s career. In June 2007 Cooke was awarded the Joe Shuster Award for "Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Writer" for Superman Confidential.

In July of 2009, IDW Publishing published Cooke's graphic novel adaptation of the Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) novel, The Hunter. This is the first of four Parker novels that Cooke will be adapting for IDW. The second is scheduled for the summer of 2010.

Workshop Itinerary

10am-11am: Lecture

A wonderful opportunity to gain insight into one of the top artists in the business today as he discusses his artistic process and secrets of the trade. Join Darwyn as he discusses his theories on writing, drawing and storytelling in comics.

11am-12pm: Question period

Your chance to ask Darwyn about specific projects he has worked on and the artistic decisions he made to bring them to fruition. Pick the brain of one of the most successful contemporary creators in the comics medium.

12pm-1pm: Lunch break

Note: lunch is not included in the workshop fee.

1pm-3pm: Portfolio Review

A rare two hour opportunity in which you will be able to take part in a master critique given by Darwyn. You’ll receive one on one session with Darwyn where he will comment on a page or two from your portfolio. A personal lesson from Darwyn in what it will take to bring your skills to that next level.

Each workshop attendee will be provided with approximately 10 minutes to have their work critiqued by Darwyn.

In addition, you will be present to hear Darwyn give constructive criticism to a group of your peers about their work. Spaces for this workshop are limited to 15 spots. Each space is $105 and fees are non-refundable.

There is sure to be a waiting list for this event, so don’t delay. Sign up today!

For further information and to arrange payment, send an email to info@cartoonistsworkshop.com This workshop is presented in association with the Toronto Cartoonists Workshop. For a list of their ongoing courses offered in the downtown Toronto area please visit: www.cartoonistsworkshop.com

Workshop Gallery