How artist Mark Brooks designed his new Batmobile

Brooks’ Batmobile may look cool, but even he admits that it probably wouldn’t work at all. — Photos: DC Comics

Love or loath them, variant covers are here to stay, but if you need a reason to justify their continued existence, look no further than Mark Brooks’ cover for Detective Comics #986.

Since taking on the role of regular variant cover artist from issue #982, Brooks has gradually upped the tempo with remarkable renditions of the Dark Knight – drawing rave reviews and comparisons with other cover artist greats such as Alex Ross, Brian Bolland and Adam Hughes.