Robin – Greg Goldstein's Comic Art Gallery

Frank Miller — The Dark Knight, Forever

September 14, 2021 Greg Goldstein 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 10^thAnniversary 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.

Bill Morrison — Christmas Time (Is Here Again)

December 22, 2020 Greg Goldstein 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.*

José Luis García-López — Titans Forever

August 25, 2020 Greg Goldstein Original Art and The Artists

Teen Titans #100, August 2011

2020 is the 55^thanniversary of the Teen Titans.

Well, technically, anyway.

The “Teen Titans” did in fact launch in 1965, quickly moving from tryouts in The Brave and Bold and Showcase to their own series at the end of the year.

But, in 1964, three of the Titans actually appeared in an earlier issue of The Brave and Bold. No team name, just Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash appearing in an all sidekicks story.

They only became the “Teen Titans” the following year with the addition of Wonder Girl.

Wonder Girl of course is not actually Wonder Woman’s sidekick. She is actually… Wonder Woman as a teen, ala Superboy. But continuity be damned, she was retconned and re-retconned and… oh boy. (Screenrant has a good overview of this silliness here.)

We know the fine folks at DC were reading Marvel comics to see what all the fuss was about, but it’s obvious it wasn’t resonating in the continuity department.

Anyway…

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, one of the most talented artists to ever work at DC — or anywhere — here creates the definitive image of the classic group. (Speedy joined in issue #19 and Aqualad came in and out at that point, so these five are the core team.)

The pin-up initially appeared in issue #100 of a modern series, and shortly thereafter became the back cover of the 50th anniversary book of the team.

It will eventually appear elsewhere. Probably as a front cover of some silver age collection.

Trust me. It’s just too good to not be re-used.