Duke Thomas: The Signal Appreciation 2020

[Korath]

everytime I see the bats on his shoes, I start to really dislike his suit all over again. At least Duke's definitively part of the actual event this time around. it looks like, between this panel and his backup in Robin King, Duke might be serving a similar role to Nightwing and the Gotham resistance in Dark Nights Metal.

I had NEVER noticed the bats on his shoes. Damn.

[lemonpeace]

I had NEVER noticed the bats on his shoes. Damn.

it's on his initial character design model, luckily most artists forget about them. I think Hamner is the only one who uses it most times. It's what really made me realize how little of Duke's suit isn't about Batman. it's like, he needed bats on his boots? the boots that are already kinda evocative of bat ears at the laces? "they don't get it, he's part of the BATfamily man. more bats!"

[J. D. Guy]

Hi, thanks for your complete answer.
I read Robin wars, but didn't help about content for jokes. Knowing he likes to writer and poetry is perfect, It's the normal but special thing that I want. I Didn't know he is a geek XD so young and nice. I can see him and Damian playing a little of Cheese Viking together.
Really thanks ♡♡♡

You're welcome.

[J. D. Guy]

Echoing the sentiments of an instagram commenter, I agree that it is super refreshing just to have Duke Thomas, The Signal, on page where he is full-bodied, in the foreground, and positioned such that eyes are specifically intended to fall on or otherwise end on him.

I need more of that. We all need more of that.

And I think he looks great here! Can't wait to see this page with color!

[lemonpeace]

Echoing the sentiments of an instagram commenter, I agree that it is super refreshing just to have Duke Thomas, The Signal, on page where he is full-bodied, in the foreground, and positioned such that eyes are specifically intended to fall on or otherwise end on him.

I need more of that. We all need more of that.

And I think he looks great here! Can't wait to see this page with color!

well said, these are the kind of depictions that genuinely sell a character. abitrarily victimizing them for "deconstruction" proposes is not going to make people want to invest in a character when you are putting them in relation to other characters in the universe. you gotta have them standing confidently among their contemporaries. Duke looks great here AND the visual language is consistent with Duke's character; an outspoken advocate and a leader amongst men. we've only got one panel and (while this may sound obvious) it's already clear that Snyder gets Duke way more than the Outsiders title did.

I'm never gonna be crazy about his suit but he does look great here.

[lemonpeace]

The Signal (Duke Thomas ) GOTHAM, 2031

more sketches from my adult Duke Thomas commission concept by Nathan Skaggs, working out the suit design at this phase. we were experimenting an up-do but I’m thinking of going back to letting his locs hang.

I'm gonna have them give him a beard and bring his hair back down by the final product. thoughts?

[J. D. Guy]

well said, these are the kind of depictions that genuinely sell a character. abitrarily victimizing them for "deconstruction" proposes is not going to make people want to invest in a character when you are putting them in relation to other characters in the universe. you gotta have them standing confidently among their contemporaries. Duke looks great here AND the visual language is consistent with Duke's character; an outspoken advocate and a leader amongst men. we've only got one panel and (while this may sound obvious) it's already clear that Snyder gets Duke way more than the Outsiders title did.

All of this. Every. Last. Bit.

[J. D. Guy]

I'm gonna have them give him a beard and bring his hair back down by the final product. thoughts?

Honestly, I'm okay with clean-shaven Duke, myself. Beard and Breadless Luke is cool either way for me, but I think I prefer Duke sans beard, especially a full beard.

Duke could rock hair up or hair down.

EDIT: I also love the top images yellow! The color scheme is a nice homage to Gnoman. I also like the chest emblem better, as it evokes that of a blazing sun.

[lemonpeace]

Honestly, I'm okay with clean-shaven Duke, myself. Beard and Breadless Luke is cool either way for me, but I think I prefer Duke sans beard, especially a full beard.

Duke could rock hair up or hair down

I've been back and forth on the beard but ultimately settled on giving him one because it's a clear age indicator and I want this to be like "peak Duke" in a sense. "Peak Duke" in the sense that i want this to be a Duke operating at his peak; he's battle-tested, he's been in the game for a minute, and I feel the beard conveys that better. plus, not too many characters rock beards because of the clean-shaven superhero archetype, I kinda wanted to push against that a bit as he is a protege of Red Hood in this timeline, who very much has an anti-hero/superhero counter culture vibe to him.

EDIT: I also love the top images yellow! The color scheme is a nice homage to Gnoman. I also like the chest emblem better, as it evokes that of a blazing sun.

yea, i love both suits but the use of yellow and the sun symbology of the first one is just so compelling given Duke's character. it looks like an amalgam of Gnomon's and his suit. the second one is more of a Three Jokers!Red Hood inspired look, which I love, but the symbolism one the first one just edges it for me between the too.

[J. D. Guy]

I've been back and forth on the beard but ultimately settled giving him one because it's a clear age indicator and I want this too be like "peak" Duke in a sense. in the sense that i want this to be a Duke at his peak, battle-tested, he's been in the game a long time, and I feel the beard conveys that better. plus, not too many characters rock beards because of the clean-shaven superhero archetype, I kinda wanted to push against that a bit as he is a protege of Red Hood in this timeline, who very much has an anti-hero/superhero counter culture vibe to him.

yea, i love both suits but the use of yellow and the sun symbology of the first one is just so compelling given Duke's character. it looks like an amalgam of Gnomon's and his suit. the second one is more of a Three Jokers!Red Hood inspired look, which I love, but the symbolism one the first one just edges it for me between the too.

Ah, I see.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

I'm gonna have them give him a beard and bring his hair back down by the final product. thoughts?

I prefer the yellow one but the blue look might grow on me.

[sifighter]

So this may be a dumb question, but has Duke as the Signal ever fought the Batman villain Signalman? I feel like that had to have happened at least once as a joke.

[lemonpeace]

So this may be a dumb question, but has Duke as the Signal ever fought the Batman villain Signalman? I feel like that had to have happened at least once as a joke.

nope, but the idea has persisted among fans since Duke's name was revealed.

[Korath]

Really dig the yellow costume, but even the blue looks great, I must say !

[lemonpeace]

For Duke Thomas Week 2020 we’ve got the following themes lined up for y’all:

Day 1: Day vs Night
What does it mean for Duke to be a Daytime Defender instead of a Nighttime Protector?

Day 2: Gotham Pride
Got LGBTQ+ Headcanons for Duke? Now’s the time to share em!

Day 3: We Are Robin
The Run that started it all. A time to pay homage to Duke & his round of Robins.

Day 4: Reverse Robin
(Known also as the Age Swap AU) While Duke might be the latest addition to the batfam, this AU begs the question: What if he had been the first instead?

Day 5: Leadership
Duke’s more than proved his mettle as the leader of his Robins. Now it’s time to explore what that means.

Day 6: All in the Batfamily
Whether he likes it or not, Duke’s part of the family. Today’s the day to show that love for his place in the group!

Day 7: Light vs Shadow
As the only metahuman in the family, and with abilities both new and underexplored, it’s time to close out the week with something Uniquely Duke

so, over on tumblr they just finished up a Duke Week (started by the user duketectivecomics) where fans of Duke create Duke-centric content; it was pretty cool to see how engaged they were. each day was a different theme and they share their fan content based on the theme of the day. it was wonderful to see and I hope it's something they do annually. I'm gonna be sharing a few of the pieces in a bit.