archie

[Diabolical]

I don't give a shit what anyone says. Breyfogle is THE definitive Batman artist. Not Frank Miller, not Jim Lee, not Neal Adams, not Jim Aparo, not Frank Quitely, not Bob Kane, not even Dick Sprang.

Wait...we agree?

[anarky]

Oh, dear God, what have I done?

I'VE USHERED IN THE APOCALYPSE!!

I'm sorry, DB.

(In all seriousness, Breyfogle's style is just abstract enough to perfectly capture the slight edge of insanity in Batman. He's not a superhero; he's a guy who dresses up like a bat and fights clowns and fat guys in tuxedos. He's not batshit insane, if you'll pardon the pun, but he's certainly not playing with a full deck, either. The other fellows I named certainly are no slouches, but Breyfogle IS Batman, even before TAS, in my mind. Just like any other Transformers artist is measured by how he compares to Wildman and found to be lacking, so does every other Batman artist find himself measured in terms of "what percentage of Breyfogle's awesomeness" he possesses. On the other hand, Breyfogle is awesome on other characters, but I always found myself thinking, "Man, I wish Batman was here."

And, on a related note, the definitive Batman writer is a semi-insane Brit named Grant. But that's his last name, not his first.)

[Diabolical]

Breyfogle is to the comics Batman as Conroy is the voice of Batman.

Norm is my first Batman, as I really got into comics in '89 when Batman hit theaters (like countless other kids at the time) and I followed Norm's work between Batman and Detective. I absolutely loved his style, even if I didn't know it or understand why.

I'm really hoping Norm appears at Detroit FanFare in September.
This will be the Con's second year, which apparently went so great last year that its expanding to a much larger venue this year. I didn't make it, but wish I had.

Since he lives in Michigan, I asked Norm on facebook and he said he wanted to go last year, but he was already booked at another Con that weekend. If he's a guest this year I'd love to get a sketch from him.

[anarky]

Norm is my first Batman, as I really got into comics in '89 when Batman hit theaters (like countless other kids at the time) and I followed Norm's work between Batman and Detective.

But not to Shadow of the Bat? Even if I preferred the stories from Detective and Batman, the addition of Stelfreeze on covers for SOTB resulted in the (theoretical) perfect Batman book.

My first Batman comic was #440, with Jim Aparo on art. As a kid, I assumed Aparo was bad, even though I kinda liked him, because he broke the "rules" from "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way." My first 'Tec issue was the last part of Mudpack (#607, and I got the other three as back issues about a week later). The next issue was sort of a "holy shit!" moment; in addition to just being half of an awesome two-parter, it floored me that people could still make up new villains for old heroes.

[Diabolical]

But not to Shadow of the Bat? Even if I preferred the stories from Detective and Batman, the addition of Stelfreeze on covers for SOTB resulted in the (theoretical) perfect Batman book.

I forgot about SotB. I had a few of those. There was something...different about those stories. I wasn't as into them. Maybe they were over my head at the time or something.

My first Batman comic was #440, with Jim Aparo on art...My first 'Tec issue was the last part of Mudpack (#607, and I got the other three as back issues about a week later).

My first issue of Detective (and my first Batman issue ever) was also part of The Mud Pack, but I was one month earlier with #606 (part 3) and I was still able to nab parts 1 & 2 pretty easily. I think it was the ghost of Robin on the cover that caught my eye (At the time I had no idea Robin was dead, let alone multiple Robins).
I still have that Mud Pack story, in all it's battered glory, and reread it not long ago - good stuff.
I just wish I knew where the rest of my Batman titles were from back then.


After last night's post here, I posted on Detroit Fanfare's facebook book page, getting Breyfogle's name out there as a wanted guest.
Here's what I woke up to:

Me: I'm crossing my fingers for a Norm Breyfogle announcement.

Norm Breyfogle: Sorry, Josh. I'm not attending any cons for now; too busy.

Detroit Fanfare: Too bad...last year, we saw that you were in Canada at the same time...we had hoped for better timing this year.

Me: Ah damn. Very disappointed.

[Tom Foolery]

Archie is getting relaunched with a new #1.
Issue 662 will be the last issue of the original run.
Not that I've ever read or collected Archie so I don't give that much of a shit, but it's always sad to see a publisher toss out "history" in favor of what will be a temporary and minuscule sales bump. Archie was one of the few remaining "old school" series out there.
Near as I can tell, Spawn is now the longest running series on the market. Spawn.

[anarky]

You can make yourself feel better by ignoring the ~20-year lapse and saying G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero is the longest running series.