Hello, CBR Readers!

In 2013, Comic Book Resources relocated to our current digs in Los Angeles' up-and-coming NoHo Arts District. It's an exciting part of the city, home to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and with fantastic restaurants, a state of the art movie theater complex, the El Portal theater, the North Hollywood Metro Station and so much more.

Around the middle of 2013, CBR finished construction on our new video studio, a 1920s-style, comic book-themed speakeasy, where we've filmed interviews with some of comics' and Hollywood's greatest stars. But as much as we love the set, we always knew it was missing that one thing that all great speakeasies need -- a fully functioning bar.

As we begin to plan an increased schedule of video production for 2015, we look to rectify that omission, so we're building a second set, where we can do interviews behind a fully stocked bar! What any good speakeasy needs, though, is fantastic art for the walls, and that's where my friend Terry Wolfinger comes in.

I've known Terry for nearly 20 years. I have always been a fan of his work, and after seeing some of his incredible movie monster portraits, I just knew he had to be the artist to create portraits of some of comic culture's greatest legends, to hang on the wall behind the CBR Speakeasy Bar! Here's a selection of his work.

Incredible, right? Well, today we're excited to reveal his first commission for CBR, which will hang proudly in our Speakeasy -- a dynamic portrait of Adam West as the iconic 1966 Batman! Given that the live-action "Batman" TV series is finally available on DVD and Blu-ray today, the timing seems right to share this image with the world.

"I was really excited to do a portrait of the classic Adam West Batman, but I didn't want to do all the bright colors and yellows and Pows and Bams normally associated with the '60's TV show," Terry said, when I asked him to tell us a bit about how he approached creating this portrait. "I wanted to convey how seriously Adam West took his role as that character, so I went a little more serious with the piece, darker colors, cropped in tight, to make him more of a bad-ass.

"It was important to really nail his expression and costume, too, because that helped maintain the humor as well. [It was] so much fun painting that shiny satin cape and cowl with the little ears and painted on eyebrows!"

We have plans for more incredible portraits from Terry for the new bar in the Speakeasy and I look forward to sharing them with you in the months ahead. In the meantime, if you'd like to see more work from Terry, visit his Facebook page.

Thanks -- look for more details on our spectacular new set next year, and be sure to check out my interview with the inspiration for our first painting, the legendary Adam West!

Sincerely,

Jonah Weiland

Executive Producer, CBR & Proprietor, CBR Speakeasy