ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: The Four-Color Rift

Beneath the water-stained plaster of a Midwestern ceiling, a quiet transformation begins. As the boy cracks the spine of U.F.O. & Outer Space, the room’s dull tungsten glow is shattered. A radiant spiral of cosmic energy erupts from the pulp pages—rainbow lightning laced with stardust and memory.
The swirl ascends, turning the ceiling fan into a spinning vortex. On the walls, silent guardians—Zorro, Conan, Tron—begin to shimmer, their eyes flickering with sudden awareness. The floorboards hum. The globe spins on an invisible axis. The boy is no longer just reading; he is summoning. In the static charge of the air, the line between paper and reality dissolves.

I created another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features a focused few from my previous The Four-Color Rift post, plus another alternate zoomed view to be used as a mobile phone wallpaper.

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: Christmas Book Store

I created another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features two teenage boys reading a comic book outside the B.Dalton bookstore located downtown next to Ace Hardware and Hot Topic.

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

ComicBase Splash Loader: Young Witch's Summoning Circle

Another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features a young witch with her bubbling cauldron and a group of summoned creatures.   Image was inspired by a Mike Hoffman sketch.

[Workflow: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create the base look. Affinity Photo to finish the moon, forest, magic wand+hat, fog, add moon, etc. Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

inspiration sketch by Hoffman

ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: DieMund's Deadly Book Exchange

Another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features a young boy named Peter running away from a creepy comic book thief!   I then created a behind-the-scenes (BTS) and VHS tape image to go with it.

[Workflow: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create the base look. Affinity Photo to finish the store logo, background elements, fog, add moon, lamp+glow, etc. Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

Pete Transformed into They Live Alien

I created a possible YouTube intro screen for Pete Bickford's (mostly) weekly ComicBaseTV livestream channel. Pete is even wearing Roddy Piper's clothes from the cult classic THEY LIVE movie.

[Workflow: Nano banana for helping provide elements to expand the poster, then everything else done by hand in Affinity for fonts, face mapping, poster merge, etc.]

Hi-rez image (Pete Lives) link [2160px tall]

Hi-rez image (Metropolis Poster) link [2160px tall]

my source image to be altered

source for metropolis poster

ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: Stranger Things Halloween Comic Book Store

I created another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features two young kids dressed up for Halloween.

[Workflow: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create the base look. I then imported it into Affinity Photo to finish the store logo, added an octo-creature, fixed other background elements, and I also used Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

trade dressed image as seen in CB2026

uncropped original virgin image

splasher loader as seen during ComicBase startup

Peanuts Homage - Charlie Brown in 3D Reading a Comic Book

Charlie Brown in 3D was created while in a Slack discussion forum with Robbie Weinberg.

[Workflow: I fed Peanuts sample art into Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create a 3D version. I then imported it into Affinity Photo to clean up a few issues found while creating the background elements (poster, toys, etc), and I also used Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some elements of the image flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

trade dressed image (currently unused in CB2026)

ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: Metropolis Robot Girl with Romance Comic

Created another variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features the Metropolis robot girl (Maria aka Maschinenmensch) with a romance comic book.  This splash loader is currently unused.

[Workflow: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create the base look. I then imported it into Affinity Photo, finalized background elements (books, poster, sky, etc), and I also used Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

trade dressed image (currently unused in CB2026)

uncropped original virgin image

ComicBase Splash Loader Screen: Mystery Comic Store

I created a variant splash loading page for the new ComicBase 2026 that features a young Pete Bickford standing outside his local comic book store.  The art credit for the program is attached below.

[Workflow: Gemini 2.5 Flash Image (Nano Banana) to create the base look. I then imported it into Affinity Photo to clean up a few issues found while creating the background elements (books, poster, sky, etc), and I also used Topaz Gigapixel to upscale some flow as needed.]

Hi-rez image link [2160px tall]

trade dressed image as seen in CB2026

uncropped original virgin image