Are You a Super Hero?
Or Are You a Super Villain?
An original photo series by Stefan Pinto
After a three decade-long affinity for comic books, acclaimed portrait photographer Stefan Pinto embarked on a journey to photograph his Instagram friends as DC Comics characters. In this compelling photographic survey, Pinto matched personalities and faces to those of beloved DC Comics characters. Stefan Pinto’s luminous, cinematic comic book portraits transport the viewer into a Prime-Earth existence where super heroes and super villains indeed do exist! The astonishing photography project includes -- but not limited to -- celebs (Garrett Clayton, James Maslow, Lance Bass, Naomi Grossman, the Vanderpump Rules cast, an American Idol contestant, Queer Eye ) as DC Comics characters and respective super hero teams including The Titans, Justice League and the Suicide Squad. There are over 150 images represented in this astounding project!
DC Comics: Heroes
What began as an exercise in light study (practice), using only friends on Instagram, transformed into a fantastical photo project and ultimately became Instagram Friends as DC Comics Characters. If you’re familiar with DC Comics, then you’ll recognize characters from the Teen Titans, Justice League, the Flashpoint Paradox, the Killing Joke… individuals were matched with the likeness (and personality) of the DC Comics character. The entire project spans over 150 characters and took over a year.
DC Comics: Gotham City
Featuring characters from Batman storylines including: The Killing Joke (Barbara Gordon), Hush, Injustice: Gods Among Us (Bruce Wayne), The Dark Knight (Talia Al Ghul, Commissioner Gordon, Joe Chill, Scarecrow), Court of Owls (Talon, Grayson), Flashpoint (Martha Wayne, Superman, Grifter, Zoom).
DC Comics: Central City
Central City is a fictional American city appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. It is protected by the DC Comics super hero known as the Flash (aka, police scientist, Barry Allen) against a myriad of foes, including Gorilla Grodd, Captain Cold, the Weather Wizard, the Mirror Master, and Eobard Thawne (The Reverse-Flash aka Zoom). Below are some of the characters -- as photographed by Stefan Pinto -- that have either appeared in the Flash comic books at one time or another or the television series.
DC Comics: Villains
There’s a hero in all of us... even when sometimes we feel like being the villain. These astonishing portraits of DC Comics characters took over a year to complete. With more than 100 characters portrayed in the series, Stefan Pinto photographed celebrities and civilians and uncannily transformed them into super heroes -- and villains.
#interestingfact
Stefan Pinto is a mega DC Comics fan. His Instagram Friends as DC Comics Characters was photographed over an 11-month time period. All of the images are 100% original from the concept, to photography — and styling. The styling was kept consistent with the characters’ costumes as they appeared in the comic books -- but with the small caveat that the characters existed among us today -- except they had super powers! Where would you purchase a costume if you woke up and discovered you had powers? Probably Amazon. The project was covered by local news station, KTLA in Los Angeles to coincide with an exhibit at Meltdown Comics in Hollywood. Tap here to see the KTLA segment on YouTube