Paul Smith — A Bat, A Gargoyle & A Trope
Batman Commission, 2018
Did Neal Adams create the “Batman perched on a building gargoyle” trope?
In my mind’s eye, I was a positive I had seen a golden age illustration of the caped crusader on a stone carving — but when I scanned through the Batman and Detective covers through the decades, these early bronze age beauties were the first two examples I found: Batman in May 1970, Detective in May 1971, both by Neal. I guess he liked it enough the first time to revisit it exactly a year later.
Of course, since then, it’s been done countless times — including this 2018 commission from the great Paul Smith. (Striking colors below by Frank Cuonzo.)
And maybe because I’ve seen the image so many different times, I’ve convinced myself it existed earlier.
If someone has reference on earlier piece of Batman gargoyle art, I’d love to see it.
