Some 86 years after his first appearance in Action Comics#1 from creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Superman continues to be arguably the most prominent American superhero on the planet.
July 2025 sees the Man of Steel return in a new big-screen Superman movie helmed by Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn, now in charge of steering DC’s cinematic destiny, with actor David Corenswet stepping into the red boots and the blue and red suit.
Superman also continues to attract the best in artistic talent from the world of comics, but such an iconic and timeless character throws up challenges for those who portray him on the page. We spoke to some of the talented comics artists who have tackled that task to find out how they approach Superman art. They revealed the difficulties involved in drawing Superman and spoke about how they work, be it using analogue media or digital art software.
Superman is an anachronism… but in a good way
For US comics artist Jamal Igle, whose career spans over thirty years drawing for every major comic company, his approach to drawing DC’s most recognisable figure requires a clear idea of who the hero is.
“Superman is an anachronism but I mean that in a good way,” he says. “To me, Superman represents fundamental good and exposes the best traits we like to have in ourselves, like kindness and compassion for others. It always comes down to a simple phrase, ‘I’m here to help’.
“To me, he’s the ultimate ‘first responder’ who doesn’t look for praise or glory, he does the right thing because it’s what his parents taught him to do.”
In terms of creating something like a Superman cover, he likes to stay flexible in terms of his approach: more often than not it’s drawn analogue and colored digitally, but I’ve drawn covers digitally as well,” he says.
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A guy from Kansas
For London-based British comic artist Des Taylor, the big blue boy scout has to look a very particular way: “I don’t think about Superman as an alien, god-like being, who punches villains through city blocks.
“I think of him as a guy from Kansas who has an old-fashioned Buster Crabbe/Cary Grant look about him, sprinkled with Christopher Reeve. A good-looking, dashing hero that can get away wearing his pants over his tights in the modern age as he’s trying to throw back to a time where having a code and keeping your word were things to be admired.”
Taylor’s creation process is a very modern one when being commissioned to come up with a Superman cover image: “When I create an image, I always start on pen and paper and then scan in what I have drawn. Then I add the colours and effects in Photoshop. I tend to work like an animator with each panel in layers, which gives me the freedom to move , add , or edit the image before print.”
Timeless, iconic… and most importantly good
Acclaimed Scottish comic artist Frank Quitely, whose run on All-Star Superman with Grant Morrison continues to be one of the most highly regarded in modern comics, sees Superman’s appeal as fairly straightforward, and this influences his approach to drawing him.
“Superman is timeless and iconic because he’s good. Other heroes are good too, of course, but often have complicated pasts or personal traits that make them more relatable, or more layered, or more realistic, but Superman is goodness personified. He’s a very simple, direct, unambiguous example of what it is to be good, even as a heroic figure, and it’s that simplicity that’s at the core of what makes him timeless and iconic.”
When he creates a Superman cover, he uses both traditional and more modern ways of bringing his brief to life.
“Usually a mix of analogue and digital. I do the thumbnail roughs on paper, the blue line under drawing digitally, which is printed out so I can do the final drawing on paper, and then that drawing is scanned so I can colour digitally. So I have a physical piece of artwork at the end of the process, but the colour file that goes to the printer is digital.”
Superman’s difficult… you almost have to go to a cartoony extreme
For fellow British comic artist Mike Perkins, an artist with a long career that includes Captain America for Marvel and Lois Lane for DC, Superman throws up quite a few challenges for an artist
“Superman’s difficult. There’s got to be a certain amount of hope and a certain optimism within the figure itself and you can’t just draw a normal person. You almost have to go to a cartoony extreme and go for that Fleischer cartoon show look. He’s almost got a swimmer’s body. I don’t draw him with massive muscles, like Christopher Reeve. The strength is the sun inside him, it’s not manifested in muscle.”
When creating a Superman cover, Perkins is definitely old school. “It’s all analogue. I try to work with digital, but there’s a spontaneity you get with analogue.”
For veteran US comic artist John Romita Jr, son of legendary Marvel art director and Spider-man artist John Romita Sr, the legacy made drawing DC’s Man Of Steel more than a little bit cagey especially as he was known as a Marvel artist.
“It was quite daunting as an artist. So I got a little bit intimidated by it, a little bit nervous because of the history of the character. And I said, ‘wait a minute, I’ve done this before. It’s a big character, big strong character with a cape. It’s like drawing Thor.’ Yes. And suddenly I felt, okay, I can do this. it was more difficult to draw Superman’s face because it was so plain.
“Of course. So with no details, so what do you do with a face like that? So I was intimidated for that reason too. But once I got into the first couple of pages, I felt much more comfortable.”
Romita, like Perkins, enjoys working in an analogue fashion when coming up with something like a Superman cover. “Pencil, paper and ink, that kind of thing. I’ll do the odd fix in Photoshop but I’d draw a cover the analog way.”
A counterpoint to Batman
Legendary artist and writer Walter Simonson, with a career that saw him come to prominence with DC’s Manhunter but also includes drawing an award-winning run on Thor for Marvel and Batman at DC, sees his take on Superman as a very different figure to DC’s other household name.
“I always thought of him as the counterpoint to Batman. Day and the Sun balanced against Night and the Moon. To me, Supes is a character who carries an eternal optimism even in the face of his continuing war against crime, disasters and cosmic menaces. At bottom, Superman is a light bringer.”
Simonson is another artist who still draws the analogue way. ”I would do most of my work including covers by hand and on the rare occasion I do touch ups by computer.”
Superman has to be the epitome of clean, pure strength and beauty
Superstar British comic artist Jock, who began his career at 2000AD but has gone on to carve a niche as one of the most in-demand artists of the past 20 years on books like Batman: One Dark Knight at DC and Gone at DSTLRY, doesn’t underestimate the complexity of drawing the Man of Steel.
“I find Superman very hard to draw…. he has to be the epitome of clean, pure strength and beauty and my work tends to have more grit and dirt. So the few times I’ve drawn him I’ve had to put a lot of effort in to get the right feel across! I see him as a challenge – to me he’s the ultimate superhero so I have to adapt my approach to do the character justice.”
His process for a Superman cover uses a hybrid of old and new ways: inks and digital colour.
Fellow UK comics artist Frazer Irving, best known for his work on 2000AD and Batman at DC with Grant Morrison, says one facet of Superman’s character dictates his approach to drawing him:
“Superman’s costume is what defines him for me. It was a very bold design that pretty much set the tone for the entire superhero genre for better or worse. As long as the colours are there, it’s Superman no matter how buff or skinny.”
Like Frank Quitely, Irving creates a Superman cover piece using analogue or digital tools. “I’ve painted Superman with real paints and digital ones,” he says. “As long as I have the right colours at hand I’m happy doing either.”
US comic artist Matt Wagner, who has had a career drawing Batman at DC and his own creations Mage and Grendel, has a very specific take when it comes to drawing the Man Of Steel.
”My approach to drawing Superman has always been to emphasize the man over the super,” he says. “His physique is solid and powerful but not ripped and bulging with muscles. He grew up on a farm and his build reflects that in my interpretation – fed off the bounty of the land and honed by dusk-to-dawn chores. And I still cling to the older version of his costume being woven for him by Martha Kent from the blankets in which he was wrapped in his space vessel. So it’s got some wrinkles and such… not a slick and tight exo-skin that’s the result of alien technology.”
When it comes to creating a Superman cover, he believes that it’s his technique that helps create the feel. “I think the fact that I still draw analogue as opposed to digital helps to enhance that rendering,” he says.
For more inspiration, see our character design tips. And if you need tools to take your art digital, see our guides to the best drawing tablets and the best laptops for drawing.
For more on the Man of Steel, see the James Gunn Superman trailer.
