Supergirl #53 Cover Art Process

As I have said in the past, I love to see the creative process in comics. I like to hear about the spark that started a story idea that is then fleshed out into a script. And I like to hear from the artists, from thumbnail to rough sketch to final product.

So I was pretty psyched to see a process piece for the Supergirl #53 cover posted on Jamal Igle's deviantart page. Here is the link:
http://jamaligle1.deviantart.com/art/Supergirl-53-cover-process-157846403

I am a complete fanboy when I see this stuff. So the decision of a cover design is made from a thumbnail sketch as seen on the far left? Amazing. It is a sort of classic design echoing one of the more famous poses of Superman. So it is cool to see it applied here.

And I like hearing the degree of detail that Jamal put into the pencil sketch was different since he knew he was inking it himself. He probably had the 'final picture' in his head and so didn't need to add those pencil strokes in early on.

I am somewhat apprehensive about hearing that the ID badge was purposefully removed. While the 'civilian clothes' scream 'Linda Lang', a Daily Planet badge would have assured that Linda was coming back.

The more technical information (for example, type of brush and pen used) is unfortunately lost on me but most likely appreciated by artists who frequent the site.

As I said when this was solicited, I am happy to see Jamal Igle get a cover on this title. He deserves some up front credit. And it is appropriate that this be on the first chapter of a new Supergirl-centric arc. I wonder if more covers by Igle are in the future.