Batman just had his 75th birthday last year, and it’s a testament to the character that not only is he an icon, but the artists and writers that left their mark on his legacy have become icons as well.
There are some of those creators whose names are not unlike celebrities in the pop culture world- guys like Jim Lee, Grant Morrison, Jeph Loeb and so on- whose influence beyond the pages they worked on is easy to see.
In the 1980s, I was introduced to the world of Batman comics. I was just ahead of the 1989 Bat-mania that would change the world a few months after I got my first comic book, and many people my age would cite Tim Burton and Micheal Keaton as their first foray into the realm of the Dark Knight. Again, those guys are superstars, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But my introduction was under the quieter, more blue-collar regular teams on the Batman books. Guys like Jim Starlin, Jim Aparo, Marv Wolfman, George Perez, Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle.
Mr. Breyfogle in particular was a major selling-point to this new comic reader. His artwork was meticulous, vivid, and dynamic. Batman was strong, powerful, and exceptionally fast on his feet. Gotham was an art deco nightmare full of jagged buildings and streetlamps to hang punks from. The people Batman encountered, friend and foe alike- were impressively unique, with a definite effort made to avoid the cookie-cutter square jaws and perfect expressions that comics sometimes get worn-down in. But that all pales in comparison to the work put in on Batman’s expressions. Breyfogle’s Batman was not ashamed of his humanity, and he wore his rage, his frustration, his exasperation, as well as his pride, amusement, and occasional genuine surprise, all without apology on his face.
Batman had Breyfogle and his longtime collaborator Alan Grant at the helm of Detective Comics, then Batman, for a stretch starting in 1987 and running all they up to the beginning of Knightfall- creating characters like Zsasz, Anarky and the Ventriloquist, obviously still regular members of the Batman rogues. Running concurrently with other longtime pros like the aforementioned Jim Aparo and some returning talent like Doug Moench, this was a fantastic time to have been into comics. Even after the Batman’s first “crossover event,” Grant and Breyfogle continued turn out work for Shadow of the Bat, and happily cranked out the occasional one-shot or miniseries throughout the 1990s, as well as other works such as co-creating Prime for Malibu Comics, and working with smaller imprints like Speakeasy Comics.
In recent years, Grant and Breyfogle teamed back up to do a DC Retroactive Batman one-shot, recalling their work from the ’90s, and had joined up with Adam Beechen for an arc of Batman Beyond, which sadly ended way too soon.
Unfortunately, Norm Breyfogle’s ever-growing body of work has hit a pause this last year. In December, he suffered a stroke. While he thankfully survived the experience, he’s now faced with a very long hard road to recovery, and there is the very real fear he may not be able to return to his passion. At 54, the same age as my Dad, actually, this is something that I can’t even fathom. Hell, that’s not even retirement age these days.
I’m a bit of a pariah in this era of social media, I’m sorry to say. I don’t have Facebook (and never will), and my internet presence is carefully limited to just a couple sites and forums. But luckily, one of those is the Fwoosh, which just happens to be full of like-minded folks and is easily found at the top of any search engine worth a tin crap.
And so, rather than just feel sorry, and be content in my offering my thoughts and prayers, I decided I wanted to do a little better:
I wanted to say THANK YOU.
Mr. Breyfogle, you are truly a legend, a pillar of the great Batman mythos. You inspired me and no doubt thousands of little Batman fans to pick up a pen and try their hand at being a part of it. You have provided us with decades of enjoyment, and through your hard work amassed a giant collection of works with equally talented collaborators that will be enjoyed for decades more.
It is my sincere hope and prayer that you will be able to add to this work again, hopefully someday soon.
But if not, I hope you can find great comfort in the fact that you have left an electrifying mark on one of the 20th centuries’ greatest characters, that is as captivating now as it was in the fall of 1988 when I saw my first issue of Detective Comics. Again, thank you.
As for you fellow fans, I believe it is absolutely worth your time to visit the fundraising page at YouCaring.com.
At the time of my writing, there’s only a few days left, and anything would be sure to help.
It’s also worth noting that DC is going to begin collecting the Grant Breyfogle run this year as part of their Legends of the Dark Knight Collection, and it is now up for preorder for July of this year.
