Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Batman

Al Plastino — Batman’s Watery Doom!

Original Art and The Artists

Batman Daily Strip — July 8, 1969

Bat sheets. Bat soap. Bat pajamas. Bat-a-rangs…

As nearly any pop culture fan knows, (especially — ahem — older ones like myself) the hugely successful camp 1966 Batman TV show launched a plethora of bat merchandise.

So it’s no surprise that DC launched a revival of the Batman comic strip, which had a successful, but brief run in the Golden Age.

The daily strips initially mimicked the campiness of the TV show, but ultimately moved closer to more traditional DC superhero stories, as did the comics after the show was cancelled in early 1968.

Al Plastino handled the art chores for many of the strips, following Sheldon Moldoff and Joe Giella.

The strip managed to soldier on until early 1973. Finally managing to collect all of them — the dailies and Sundays — into a three-volume LOAC series was an archival highlight of mine at IDW. 

(It only took five years or so to convince DC to let us do it. Perseverance won the day.)

The original art for the third and final volume of the Silver Age Batman strip books is featured here.

José García-López — Hulk Vs… Batman

Original Art and The Artists

DC Special Series #27, September 1981

Late April is the time of year when we are typically revved up and ready for the upcoming summer movie blockbuster season. 

Definitely not this year. June perhaps? (Fingers crossed, and all that.)

So here at the blog this week, we present the big blockbusters you will never see on the big screen anyway — crossovers featuring the Incredible Hulk with characters from other universes, starting with…

…Hulk vs. Batman. 

This was the second character crossover between Marvel and DC, following the successful pairings of Spider-man and Superman a few years prior. At the time Superman was DC”s most important and recognizable character worldwide, so despite the power inequity, that original pairing made commercial sense. Of course, Batman vs. Spider-man is a fairer fight.

And Hulk vs. Superman? That seems fairer — More on that later.

Meanwhile, despite the improbability of the match-up, Jose Garcia Lopez presents a master class in comic book storytelling in 48 pages.

It’s an astonishing piece of work, by an artist’s artist. Both visual imagination and draftsmanship are superb here. Many of the pages are top of class, and very few are anything less than terrific.

I prefer Lopez inking himself, but Giordano does a terrific job, and despite the mismatch of powers, it’s a fun ride. 

But seriously, Batman “vs.” Hulk? (Eventually, of course, as illustrated here, they team up.) It may have been a fun ride, but realistically, it should have been a very short one.

Jim Aparo — Miracle #19

Original Art and The Artists

Brave and Bold #112, May 1974

We continue to celebrate Jack Kirby’s legacy at DC Comics with a special two-week look at Jack’s characters and concepts as envisioned by other creators. 2021 is the Fiftieth anniversary of the Fourth World storyline. *

Mister Miracle makes his first appearance outside of the Jack Kirby DC universe in this cool Batman team-up story in the Brave and The Bold, penciled and inked by the legendary bat-artist Jim Aparo.

Ironically, Kirby’s own Mister Miracle title had been cancelled the month previously, effectively ending the Jack’s interconnected Fourth World, a little more than three years after it started.

Think of it as the 19th Bronze Age issue of Mister Miracle; it would take another three years for an actual issue #19 — without Jack’s involvement — to see the light of day. 

(The bat team of writer Bob Haney and artist Aparo effectively weave Mr. Miracle into the greater DC Universe, and the two escape artists will team up again in issue #126 as well.)

*Purists will note that some of the characters and titles actually made it onto newsstands before the close of 1970, but the fully integrated series (Jimmy Olsen, Forever People, New Gods, and Mister Miracle) — doesn’t fully materialize until the following year.

The final issue of Mister Miracle (#18) is also the final issue in Jack Kirby’s New Gods saga until he returns to it briefly about 10 years later. But hey, miraculously, our great escape artist shows up right on publication schedule —- albeit as a guest star in a Batman book.

Dan Parent — Three On A Bat-Shake

Original Art and The Artists

Commission, 2019

I asked my pal Dan Parent for this commission in 2019, shortly after he completed art chores on the actual Batman / Archie crossover.

I love this piece, but shortly after I returned home with it, the first thought that occurred to me was: “Shouldn’t this be Robin?” Duh.

Well, there’s always next time. Meanwhile, in addition to the 80th anniversary of Archie, it’s the 55th anniversary of the Batman television show as well.

Holy dual celebration!

Bill Morrison — Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

Original Art and The Artists

Batman Family Commission, 2016

Bill Morrison helps the Bat Family — and us — get ready for some Christmas spirit.

(Although I’m not sure Batgirl is all that happy about her present.)

I keep meaning to get this great commission colored, but somehow I never quite get around to it. Oh well, there’s always next year.

In the meantime, here’s hoping everyone has a safe, healthy and happy Holiday Season. We’ll be back here on Christmas Day with a special post.

The ghost of Batman past… Some cool bat-themed Christmas covers from Batman’s 80-year publishing history.

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.