Silver Deer. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #21. The character’s costume included fringe, so I added some.

Silver Ghost. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #21. Shine on small letters is hard to pull off, but I think it worked here with help from the color.

Silver Scarab. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #21. Also appeared in INFINITY INC. #9. The double S joined by the scarab symbol is a nice touch, I think.

Silver Surfer. Client: Marvel. Medium: digital. Date: 1996. It was not until I began working in Adobe Illustrator that I could create more subtle and effective metallic effects. I’m not sure if these letters began as a commercial font, or if I just drew and developed them in Illustrator. The long tails on the S’s were meant to bleed off the covers. Appeared on issues 123 to 146 of the monthly title and I think a few other places.

Siren. Client: Malibu Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 1995. I think this began as a sketch and was developed in Illustrator. Pointy and dangerous. Appeared on four issues and a Special.

Sivana. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #21. If this 1940s Captain Marvel villain ever had a logo in those stories, we didn’t have access to it at DC. Here I tried to do something villainous but still a bit bouncy and fun.

Sivana. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1987. For Who’s Who Update #5. And a year later they wanted another one, probably for an updated version of the character being used more recently. I went modern.

Six Guns & Roses. Client: Entertainment Weekly. Medium: digital. Date: 2016. One of several now puzzling things commissioned for their 2016 Comic-Con Preview issue. I think this had something to do with Stephen King’s Gunslinger character from his Dark Tower series. The letters were sketched, then traced in Illustrator.

Skaar, Son of Hulk. Client: Marvel. Medium: marker. Date: 2007. I did lots of marker sketches for this character, first without his name, then with. More on that HERE. I billed for it and got paid, but I kept waiting for them to tell me which sketch was the final choice, and then I would work up a digital version in Illustrator. To my surprise, they simply used one of the marker sketch scans as the final logo. Looks okay on the covers to me, and it saved me some time. Appeared on twelve issues.

Skyshapers. Client: Skyshapers Foundation. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1990. I don’t have a copy of what I did, looking online this seems likely to be it. I’m not clear on what it is or was exactly, looks like animation-style images aimed at kids. There’s also THIS article describing a non-profit that seems to be the same thing, and part of their circular logo is at the top of the image above. I don’t think I did that. Possibly this client was given my contact info by someone at DC Comics.

(The Awesome) Slapstick! Client: Marvel. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1991. Always fun to do something bouncy and humorous for a change, a four-issue series about a character turned into some kind of space clown I think. The word slapstick comes from Vaudeville, it was a pair of sticks that made a loud crack sound when you struck it, used to emphasize a punchline or a gag. The word became synonymous with physical comedy as seen in old films by Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, and others.

Sleepwalker. Client: Marvel. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1991. The conversation with Marvel went something like this: “We want a weird, twisty logo something like the Time Warp one that DC did a while back.” “I did that.” “Great! Do it again.” So, I imitated myself, and they were happy with it. Appeared on 33 issues, a lot more than Time Warp.

Slither. Client: DC Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 1997. Created for SUPERBOY PLUS #2, I used one of the snaky character’s eyes above the I. Probably began as a sketch that I worked up in Illustrator.

Smax. Client: America’s Best Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 2003. The somewhat surprising (to me) but fun spinoff from Alan Moore’s Top 10. The super-strong character needed a bulky and rugged logo. I added the white hand symbol from his chest to the X. Appeared on five issues.

Smoke And Mirrors. Client: HarperCollins. Medium: digital. Date: 2020. One of eight Gaiman paperbacks with new painted cover art by the legendary Robert McGinnis. I used commercial fonts, the AND was an extra element in one. More HERE.

Solo. Client: Marvel. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1994. Art deco style sometimes made the top horizontal elements wider, here I did the opposite, thickening the bottom horizontals. Gives it a different look, which is good, since there isn’t much you can do with this name visually. Appeared on four issues.

Sovereign Seven. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1994. DC had high hopes for this series written by Chris Claremont, which was reasonably successful but not the next X-Men they were hoping for I think. I did lots of marker sketches and received lots of comments on them. This is the version of the name they used with the round O option. My S7 symbol was based on one by artist Dwayne Turner. I like it, but it’s hard to read. The final logo uses a different symbol that’s similar but easier to read. More on this HERE. Appeared on 36 issues, two annuals, and at least one other comic.

Soviet Super Soldiers. Client: Marvel. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1992. For a one-shot. The chance to use one large S for all three words was irresistible, and I went for it.

Space Clusters. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1986. Most of DC’s graphic novels from this time used type for the logos, this is a rare exception. I enjoyed designing this kind of psychedelic SPACE for the Alex Niño cover art. A silly name, but nothing I could do about that.

Space Museum. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. A favorite series of mine from STRANGE ADVENTURES in the 1960s, I tried to make the logo interesting, and it is to me. The original stories only had a tiny banner, not a real logo.

Posts in this series are listed on the Logo Links page of my blog.

Serifan. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #20. Solid design, with enough room to make it work.

Sgt. Rock’s Prize Battle Tales (recreation). Client: DC Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 2000. I think the only way to get a good war logo from me is to have me copy one from the past, in this case Gaspar Saladino (Sgt. Rock) and Ira Schnapp (the rest) from the 1964 original.

The Shade. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #20. Nothing exciting, and not helped by the poor printing.

The Shadow. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1986. Ken Bruzenak designed a fine logo for a four-issue Shadow series by Howard Chaykin that came out in 1986. When DC decided to do a continuing series next, I was asked to create this logo based on Ken’s. I don’t know why they didn’t have him do it, but I took the job. The main difference is the larger S and an open drop shadow rather than a thin outline around the whole thing. I loved and kept Ken’s unusual A and W. Appeared on eighteen issues.

(Star Trek The Next Generation) Shadowheart. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1994. Meant to imitate the Klingon language, I was shown examples. At this point I can’t say how well that succeeded, but at least this is pretty easy to read, if strange. Appeared on four issues.

Shadow Lass. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #20, also appeared on Secret Origins #8 around the same time. Not sure where the style came from, but it’s different and interesting.

Shadow of the Batman. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1985. I only did the top line, the rest is a Batman logo by Gaspar Saladino from 1972. I followed the arc of Batman’s wings for what I did. The perspective is kind of surprising, I don’t know why I didn’t keep it flat, but it does add a little depth.

The Shadow Strikes! Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1989. The SHADOW design is based on one of the pulp magazine logos from the 1940s, the angled shadow behind it was my idea, and I still like it, though it doesn’t always show up well on covers. Appeared on 31 issues.

The Shadow War of Hawkman. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1984. Another instance where I only did the top part to match this fine logo by Ira Schnapp from the 1960s. Here I kept the arc smaller and not in perspective, and the letter shapes have pointed serifs to match the main word. Appeared on four issues.

Shakira. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #20. Looks like marker, and one I did in a hurry, somewhat uneven.

Shame. Client: Renegade Arts Entertainment. Medium: digital. Date: 2010. Based on a sketch by artist John Bolton, and developed from my marker version in Adobe Illustrator. Pointy and dangerous, and I like the overlapping letters, which was John’s idea. Appeared on three issues and a collected edition. More HERE.

Shazam The New Beginning. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1986. I believe this is based on someone else’s idea, perhaps a DC art director, I don’t think I would have thought of doing the lightning bolt that way, but I like it. Appeared on four issues.

Shazam! and the Shazam Family! Annual. Client: DC Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 2002. My recreation of 1940s Shazam logos (designer unknown) for a new Annual reprinting some of those stories.

The Shield. Client: DC Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 2009. One of the Archie superheroes that were licensed by DC at this time. My chance to do a Captain America type shield. The letters are one of my title fonts. Appeared on ten issues.

Shimmer. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #20. Sparkle and shine. The off-register yellow plate actually adds a nice white highlight at the top and left of each letter and a faint yellow drop shadow.

(Seven Soldiers) Shining Knight. Client: DC Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 2004. Grant Morrison’s revamp of the 1940s character. I wanted my logo to have modern strength and impact, but with a nod to the medieval style of the character’s original logo, and I did a little of that in the S and K. There’s no easy shortcut to beveled letters in digital lettering, you have to draw each facet where you want a different color. Appeared on four issues.

Shockwave. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink or marker. Date: 1987. For Who’s Who Update #5. This shaky letters idea worked out well even with the poor printing. Do not adjust your screen or glasses.

ShopAmerica. Client: Warner Communications. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1982. I have no copy of this, and can’t find it online. Probably for print ads. Perhaps an outlet for TV shopping on Warner Cable, but that’s a guess.

Shrinking Violet. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1986. For Who’s Who #21. When I had room and a good visual idea, I could and would do something interesting. Of course this is a logo that was unlikely to ever be used elsewhere, but that’s true of most of the Who’s Who ones. Perhaps my most extreme perspective.

Shuriken. Client: Malibu Comics. Medium: digital. Date: 1995. One of several logo revamps I did for Malibu, but I don’t see it used anywhere. It may have been a victim of the Marvel takeover of Malibu. The Shuriken is a samurai or ninja throwing star, I put one atop the I. The letters began as a commercial font.

Silverblade. Client: DC Comics. Medium: pen and ink. Date: 1986. A series about an aging Hollywood action star along the lines of Errol Flynn, so the logo was meant to evoke epic old films. I wanted the compound word to read together but also clearly as two words, and the double bend in the film did that. Appeared on twelve issues.

Posts in this series are listed on the Logo Links page of my blog.