Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Tag: Rich Burchett

Mike Parobeck — Batman, Forever

Original Art and The Artists

Batman Adventures #7, April 1993

Kevin Conroy THE voice of Batman for millions of bat fans, has passed at at age 66. From Comic Art Fans:

“The Bat-signal will shine a little dimmer over Gotham City tonight as word has come down that Kevin Conroy, iconic voice of Batman for generations in the Bruce Timm-verse of cartoons, has passed at age 66. Just this past he added the credit of comics writer to his resume with a short story in the DC Pride 2022 anthology about how he related his secret life as a gay man in the 80s to the Dark Knight. 

“Kevin was a brilliant actor,” co-star Mark Hamill said in a statement. “For several generations, he has been the definitive Batman. It was one of those perfect scenarios where they got the exact right guy for the exact right part, and the world was better for it. His rhythms and subtleties, tones and delivery — that all also helped inform my performance. He was the ideal partner – it was such a complementary, creative experience. I couldn’t have done it without him. He will always be my Batman.”

 Our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and fans around the world.”

Posting this great Batman Animated page by the great Mike Parobeck, who also passed much too soon, to remind us that, fortunately, the work will always live on.

Rich Burchett — Flesh and Steel

Original Art and The Artists

Superman Adventures #2, December 1996

As discussed previously, the Superman animated TV series, living in the shadow of its older, more popular brother, Batman Animated, never really garners the respect it deserves.

In fact, all the 90s DC “all ages” comics based on the animated series are not appreciated enough. 

Give the current interest and investment in YA and kids comics by nearly all publishers, those Superman and Batman series were likely, and unfortunately, too far ahead of their time. 

I hope someday it makes commercial sense to collect all the Superman and Batman material into complete collections.  They are delightful comics.

Also, similarly discussed, is the fact that Rich Burchett is a vastly underrated storyteller and artist. Pages like this are standard examples of his creative storytelling and imaginative use of composition and camera angles.

And Metallo? Finally something that is not underrated. He is a terrific member of Superman’s modern rogue gallery, especially the version that appears here, following up a classic episode on the TV series.

John Byrne featured a revamped scary Metallo as the first foe in his revamp of Superman — quite a different character than the earliest version that appeared way back in Action #252 (1959). Of course, hardly anyone remembers that Metallo was introduced in that issue, since it is upstaged (understatement) by the introduction of Supergirl in a separate story.

Rich Burchett — Mechanical Monsters

Original Art and The Artists

Superman Adventures #1, November 1996

The Fleischer Studio Superman Cartoons — the very first time Superman appeared on the big screen — continue to be regarded as animation legends.

Watching them today, 80 years later, they appear more astonishing than ever. This is especially true when you realize how much the studio was able to accomplish with the technology of the day.

The best known — and perhaps highest regarded — of these 8 original Fleischer shorts is the second one, “The Mechanical Monsters.”

Superman vs. an army of robots?

What’s not to love?

So it’s only fitting that the first issue of Superman Adventures, adapting the contemporary (1996) animated series, features Superman battling… an army of robots.

Writer Paul Dini and artists Rich Burchett and Terry Austin provide us with an action-packed “all ages” adventure, which includes Superman fighting a fairly powerful Superman robot.

Superman vs. Superman?

What’s not to love?

Side note: Superman The Animated Series, coming in the shadow of the phenomenal Batman animated series, doesn’t get enough love. My daughter and I watched them all. It’s a terrific version of Superman. Trust us on this.

Superman Adventures #1 pays homage to the classic 1941 cartoon “The mechanical monsters.”

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.

Rich Burchett — Flashy Team-Up

Original Art and The Artists

Justice Society of America #1, April 1991

2020 marks the 80th anniversary of the very first super team in comic book history, The Justice Society of America.

Superhero comics were barely two years old, when a gaggle of heroes appeared on the cover All Star Comics #3. Imagine the reaction of a young comic book reader at his local newsstand or candy store seeing Doctor Fate, Hourman, The Spectre, Green Lantern, The Atom, The Sandman, Hawkman, and of course, The Flash all seated at the one table.

Brain blown.

During the various “Comic Book Ages” (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Modern, et al) the original Flash seems to symbolize the Society more than any one character. This is partly due to the fact that he is the very first Golden Age superhero to be reintroduced into the Silver Age (Flash #123).

In this 1991 JSA mini-series, one classic character receives solo billing in each issue, and the Flash leads off in issue #1, with art (pencils and inks) by the often under-appreciated Rich Burchett. This is a fun and dynamic page of the Flash in action, with the action taking us through the page.

And, I find it amusing that Flash’s helmet and the construction workers are not that dissimilar. If only those guys could run at super speed…

(My pal Mike Gold edited the series, and he provides a lovely history of the JSA, and an origin of this specific series, which is provided below.)

The first appearance of the Flash, and the first appearance of the JSA a short time later.
The history of the JSA, plus some backstory to this mini-series, courtesy of editor
Mike Gold.

Ty Templeton and Rich Burchett — Very Animated

Original Art and The Artists

The Batman and Robin Adventures #2, December 1995

Batman Animated remains a timeless version of the character more than 25 years after its debut. That’s a well-known fact. Lesser well known perhaps is that the comic books published to support the award-winning TV series are pretty terrific in their own right.

Similar to the series itself, DC assembled an all-star group of creators to support these tie-ins including Burchett, Templeton, Joe Staton, and the late Mike Parobeck among many others.

Stories were typically self- contained, and the writing style was “all-ages,” sophisticated enough for adults, but not too complex for kids. 

On this absolutely great opening splash page by the Templeton/Burchett team, the artists dramatically illustrate how Batman can get very, very animated indeed. Cartoon or not, this version of Batman is a deadly serious guy.

As he should be. Always.