Our last contest asked artists to create movie posters for films starring DC Characters, so the judges considered not only art quality but also concept, layout and creativity. As I teamed up with Kurt Belcher to create a poster, I made sure to leave all names off the pieces and not tell any of the judges who'd created the entries. As usual, judging was done by asking judges to give their first choice three points, their second choice two points and third choice, one point.

Here are the results:

Flash by Christian Moore

Christian started off the competition with this wonderful poster that's very reminiscent of the 1989 Batman movie poster in its simplicity (although frankly, this one's better!). Judge comment: "A classic design, straightforward with enough suspense to pique your interest."

Deadman by Chaim Mattis Keller

Chaim offers his poster for poor Boston Brand. Nice tagline and layout!

Green Lantern by Joey Fuentes (after Ross)

Joey came up with this poster that utilizes a photomanipulation of Alex Ross's Green Lantern from a Wizard poster. Several of the judges commented on the straightforward design. Judge comment: "Nice layout, creative use of the oath as a catchphrase."

Sandman by Rob Nikolakakis

This is Rob's first entry in a Fanzing contest…and he's come out swinging! Wow! This guy plays for keeps. Rob, here's a suggestion: show this to Neil Gaiman! Unfortunately, the real "Sandman" movie is showing every sign of sucking; I think Neil could use a pick-me-up! Judge comment: "Another good catchphrase, but his Morpheus is a bit too heroic-looking!"

Adam Strange by Kurt Belcher (artist) & Michael Hutchison (concept & letters)

Here's an idea I'd had cooking up for my Adam Strange movie script. Kurt broke away from his usual style and made this more atmospheric. Judge comment: "sort of haunting but not in a spooky way."

Superman by Christopher H. Dien

Christopher is another artist new to Fanzing. This pic not only shows off his obvious talent but makes us want to see the movie so that we can find out what the heck is going on!

Wonder Twins by the Brothers Grinn

Entries by the Brothers Grinn are ALWAYS a delight, and this one's no exception. (Who's that little person in glasses on the lower left? This is going to need annotations!) This one got at least one point from almost all of the judges! Yeah, yeah, it's the Wonder Twins. Yeah, it's got that manga/anime thing going. But focusing on the design elements, you can see that they've done a top-notch job. You've got a very imposing image (Darkseid gripping the Earth) and a suspenseful tagline. Add in the Hall of Justice in flames, the swarms of parademons and a little sex appeal and this could be the best one of all the posters! Bearing in mind this judge's comment: "…not that I'd actually pay good money to *see* this, of course…"

Judging ran neck-and-neck between two entries: the Sandman and the Adam Strange posters. Adam Strange narrowly edged out Sandman by a 13-12 vote. The Wonder Twins poster came in third.

Thank you to everyone who entered! NOW, on to Fanzing's second annual SWIMSUIT CONTEST!