Watch Tim Sale draw Superman

One of the best aspects of superhero comics is watching artists use their unique styles to interpret a character. Every superhero worth their salt has an iconic design and aesthetic that transcends the artist illustrating them, but I love seeing how those concrete design elements respond to artistic license. Consequently, a handful of artists usually go on to define the visual language of any given superhero, even leaving the character's book. Norm Breyfogle and Frank Miller's design choices are inextricably linked to the visual language of how Batman acts on the page. Hell, Batman has almost too many artists to name that have defined his aesthetic.

However, when it comes to Superman, the character is somewhat frozen in time. Superman's visual language still leans heavily on the Curt Swan and Kurt Schaffenberger era of the late 50s and early 60s. If you want to go slightly contemporary, John Byrne's interpolation in the 80s might be the most modern revision of the character's aesthetic. It's a shame that more artists don't look towards Tim Sale's stellar take on the man of steel.

Although Sale is infinitely more famous for his vision of Batman, he can also draw a mean man of tomorrow. In the video above, SyFy's YouTube page catches Tim Sale whipping up a beauty of a Superman sketch.