Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Batman Day

Tom Mandrake — Dark Detective

Original Art and The Artists

Detective Annual #5, 1992

This past Saturday (September 18) was DC’s annual  “Batman Day.” Although not exactly a national holiday, DC and Warner have used the occasion to commemorate the caped crusader and launch and market new products around the event.

So, as in the past two years, we continue to honor the celebration with the rest of the month’s posts devoted to The Dark Knight….

This Tom Mandrake Batman page was among the first pieces of original art I acquired when I re-entered collecting again about 15 years ago.

In many ways, it’s the perfect Batman page. It’s dark and moody, and Batman is actually “detecting”, something his many writers occasionally forget is actually one of his primary skills.

Mandrake delivers some knockout art in this issue. And Sam Kieth’s terrific cover is the cherry on top.

Detective in the first panel, and Dark Knight mysteriously swooping over the wrecked car in the last.  Yes, definitely pretty perfect.

Eduardo Risso — A Dark Night

Original Art and The Artists

Dark Night: A True Batman Story, August, 2016

Today, Saturday, September 18, is DC’s annual  “Batman Day.” Although not exactly a national holiday, DC and Warner have used the occasion to commemorate the caped crusader and launch and market new products around the event.

So, as in the past two years, we continue to honor the celebration with the rest of the month’s posts devoted to The Dark Knight… and a special doubleheader today from a unique Batman story.

In more than eighty years of Batman stories, there is nothing quite like Paul Dini’s Vertigo graphic novel, based on a brutal mugging that happened to him personally in 1993: Batman and the rogues gallery become imaginary voices helping and hindering Dini’s state of mind as he attempts to physically and emotionally recover from the horrific beating.

Listening to Paul describe the incident in detail on a podcast at the time of the book’s publication was harrowing.

And the art pages, while gorgeous from start to finish, took an initial emotional toll on the Emmy-winning writer. As he told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015:

“When I first downloaded the pages from the attack, I looked at them very quickly once, horrified. Then I put them away for a week,” Dini recalls. “I burst into tears. I couldn’t look at them.”

The two-page sequence here, which I acquired last year, is a critical part of the story. (The pages are even specifically called out on Wikipedia). The  “imaginary” Joker taunts Dini’s misery, until Batman shows up in the final panel of the sequence, and dispatching the clown prince of crime, tells Dini to stop feeling sorry himself, and get back to work.

Fortunately, for him (and us), get back to work he did.

JH Williams III — Pulp Hero

Original Art and The Artists

Batman Annual #21, July 1997

As noted previously, DC’s annual “Batman Day” is tomorrow Saturday, September 18. Although not exactly a national holiday, DC and Warner use the occasion to commemorate the caped crusader and launch and market new products. 

So, as in the past two years, we continue to honor the celebration with the rest of the month’s posts devoted to The Dark Knight….

Despite its initial appearance, this page is not from a lost Shang-Chi/Batman crossover. (Nor is it Batman in the world of Big Trouble in Little China. But as always, we digress.)

It’s from a pulpy crossover in DC’s annuals back in 1999. A clever editorial idea that produced a handful of fun stories, including this one from Doug Moench, who appropriately, had written an acclaimed eight-years worth of Master of Kung-Fu (Shang-Chi) comics for Marvel.

The key note about this page of course is that’s it’s a terrific looking example from the criminally underrated JH Williams III. (Promethea). I overpaid for it (at least it was a part of a trade) but I don’t focus on that. It’s beautifully rendered, and like much, if not most, of Williams work, Mick Gray, his traditional inking partner, gorgeously embellishes it to boot.

That closeup panel of Batman is pretty much perfect. Who would want to argue with that guy?

Frank Miller — The Dark Knight, Forever

Original Art and The Artists

Preliminary Art, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, 10th Anniversary Edition, 1996

The annual Batman Day is this upcoming Saturday, September 18. Although not exactly a national holiday, DC and Warner have used the occasion to commemorate the caped crusader and launch and market new products. 

So, as in the past two years, we honor the celebration in our own way with the rest of the month’s posts devoted to The Dark Knight….

Kicking off…. with a prelim sketch of Batman and Robin from The Dark Knight Returns 10thAnniversary edition by the legendary Frank Miller.

In the ”art coincidence” department, I acquired this piece early this year, and apparently, at about the same time, the finished original (see below) also changed hands separately.

There is of course, nothing I can say or add about DKR that hasn’t been covered elsewhere. 

I did only discover recently that Dark Knight returns became the catchall for the original series only because it’s the technical title of issue #1. Each issue of the four-issue comic book series has its own “title:” 

Issue #1 — The Dark Knight Returns

Issue #2 — Dark Knight Triumphant

Issue #3 — Hunt The Dark Knight

Issue #4 — The Dark Knight Falls

Given its influence on the Batman mythos in all media, The Dark Knight Forever is most definitely not hyperbole.

Back here on Friday.

(Wikipedia has a ton of good DKR trivia assembled in one place here.)

Frank Miller created new art for the 10th Anniversary edition of The Dark Knight Returns, and some of it has made its way into other collections as well. Directly above is Frank’s finished original art.

Joe Staton — Magic and Madmen

Original Art and The Artists

The Batman and Robin Adventures Annual #2, November 1997

Batman saves the Zantana in this wonderful splash page by the ultra-talented and versatile Joe Staton. (It’s a sequel story to the Zantana episode of Batman Animated.)

And… that wraps up our week of posts celebrating DC superhero cartoons.

But it’s just the beginning of our Batman celebration — September 18 is the annual “Batman Day,” and the remainder of the month is devoted to the caped crusader.

See you on Tuesday.

Patrick Gleason — Demon Child

Original Art and The Artists

Batman and Robin #0, November 2012

Nothing pleases an editor (and publisher) more than when a creative team gels in such a way that they define a character(s) for a long time, and deliver consistently quality storytelling issue after issue. 

The readers, obviously, notice.

Case in point: Writer Peter Tomasi, penciller Patrick Gleason and inker Mick Gray delivered a great run on Batman and Robin during the “New 52” period. 

(They had actually created a cool three-parter in the “Batman Reborn” period prior. So many eras, so little time.)

This page is the phenomenal closing splash from a prequel “zero” issue featuring the full origin of Damien Wayne, the (genetically-engineered) offspring of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. As you can see from the published page, this is the first time father and son meet.

The composition and use of negative space work seamlessly. Batman looks pissed, and the much-smaller Damien isn’t intimidated at all upon meeting his legendary father.

Perfect.

Gil Kane — All In Color For A Quarter

Original Art and The Artists

Batman # 208, February 1969

Giants. Annuals. King-Size Specials. It didn’t matter what you called them, but for 25 cents I was all in.

The DC oversize reprints appeared frequently when I was a kid. And I had no regular access to back issues until later on, so these definitely scratched the “classics” itch.

This Gil Kane Batman page comes from a short  “bookend” story tying the theme of the reprints together.

I don’t think DC used this bookending approach all that often.

It’s always nice to pick up a page from a story you specifically remember well. It tweaks the Batman origin a bit, although I’m pretty sure this specific thread was never picked up again.

And Silver Age Kane Batman pages are a rarity in themselves. (Although he did draw some Batgirl back-up stories, which often featured Batman as well.)

(The story itself has never been reprinted elsewhere, a challenge with many DC comics of the same period.)

Kelley Jones — Wrath Of The Wraith

Original Art and The Artists

Batman #541, April 1997

Batman and Spectre in the same issue with Kelley Jones on pencils? You KNOW some weirdness is most definitely in store.

Sign me up.

Jones (with writer Doug Moench of course) channels some of the classic sadistically vengeful Fleisher and Aparo Spectre in this issue — the second part of a two-part story. This wraith is not fooling around. (You can see why the infamous Comics Code Authority was completely meaningless at this point.)

And let’s just say Batman and Spectre disagree about a few things. Like capital punishment. And eternal Hell. Those sorts of things.

Terrific art team (John Beatty on inks), terrific page. Overall, a great run of Batman.

Nuff said.

Gene Colan — Moody Detective

Original Art and The Artists

Detective # 560, March 1986

Continuing our art showcase in honor of the annual “Batman Day.”

Gene Colan was a perfect choice for Batman.

Dark, moody noir? Check. 

Acrobatics that defy the laws of physics? Check.

Shadowy forays into the supernatural and horrific? Check.

Gene had left Marvel after some heated disagreements with EIC Jim Shooter, and drew a number of titles for DC, but Batman was easily the best and most logical of the group.

This title page comes from his team-up with writer Doug Moench, following tales he created with Gerry Conway. It was interesting era for Batman, and included Batman’s return to the Wayne manor and his original Batcave for the first time in more than 10 years. 

Colan had helped Bruce make the move back a few years prior to this moody splash page.

Mike Parobeck — Not Joking

Original Art and The Artists

Batman Adventures #16, January 1994

Continuing our art showcase in honor of the annual “Batman Day.”

Here’s an example of the terrific work DC’s editorial accomplished on its Batman animated tie-in comics, which captured the look and spirit of the brilliantly produced animated series.

Mike Parobeck, as discussed in a previous post, passed away much too early. The work he produced in his short time was so well done that an amazing long-term career appeared inevitable.

Lots of things to love about this title splash, including fun lettering (on the art board) by Tim Harkins, his final issue on the series.

Composition is terrific of course, and the multi-faceted Rich Burchett provides some nice slick inks.