Plastic Man (II) - Probably the most time I’ve spent on a card. It was somewhere near 9 hours. A typical card takes maybe 15 minutes. I generally don’t go out of my way to think of unique designs for a card, outside of the color scheme, but sometimes inspiration strikes and an idea comes to mind that I toy around with. This was a lot of fun to do, lots of trial and error to how to make it look the best possible, and I really love how it turned out. At one point I even had his right arm and hand extending off the card but I felt that might be a bridge too far.
Doctor Strange (Avengers) - This was my most recent card that I felt like I was really onto something when designing it. Much like Plastic Man, this one took a bit longer than normal, and had lots of trial and error to figure out what looked best. I wasn’t originally going to have the cape part cover over part of the left box and target box, but I think when I made that decision and saw how it looked, the whole thing really clicked.
Hulk (Avengers) - All credit to Griffin(?) for the concept of having a character break out of the boundaries of the comic panel, as it was originally done on Galactus’ alt card, it’s been a favorite effect of mine ever since. I believe this was my first attempt at it and it remains a favorite of mine. The key is in the comic art. It has to be perfect for it to sell it. In this case, I think the effect makes the comic art shine so much more, as often times the downside of our panel shape can cut off parts of the character.
Honorable mentions go to Cap (New Avengers), Thor (II), and Zatanna (III) for the same reason as my love for Hulk’s. I will say, there are 3 upcoming cards for unfinished designs that I use this technique on that might just rival the Hulk’s for me. Beyond those, Black Canary (JL) is probably my favorite of the more subtle variety, as I just love the comic art paired with the color scheme and Canary Cry waves.