Batman movie posters by Tom Uicich

These have been out for a while, but I just came across these wonderful Batman movie poster retakes by artist Tom Uicich. Tom redid the Batman Begins and The Dark Knight posters in the Batman Animated Series style.

Terminal: John Paul Leon Batman two-part story

I stopped collecting monthly comics some years ago but I still keep up with the "big two" publishers via Marvel Unlimited and DC Universe Infinite Ultra. On the latter, I've been on a Batman kick lately. I came across this little gem from 2014: Detective Comics 35-36, a two part story by Benjamin Percy and John Paul Leon called Terminal.

The cover is unusual. Usually, editors prefer the hero to be prominent on the cover. Here, Batman is in the background, although the vanishing point draws you to his image. The story concept is somewhat reminiscent of the Fox TV series Fringe. In the 2008 pilot episode of Fringe, a plane mysterious lands at Boston airport: all the passengers are dead, due to a biological agent released. The plane landed on autopilot (which doesn't seem right). In Percy's story, all passengers are dead, but it is due to a virus that ages them super fast over a 24 hour period. However, the plane does NOT land on autopilot...

...it actually crashes into the airplane terminal, which John Paul Leon illustrates in terrific detail. I think this makes the story both more exciting and believable at the same time. I can't help but think of Tom King's 2016 Batman #1 rebirth/relaunch, where he had Batman get on top of a jumbo jet and try to divert it from crashing into Gotham City. Here, there's nothing Batman can do to avoid the disaster. His role is to play Detective, which matches the name of the comic.

How does Batman get involved with all of this? The story starts off establishing a mood right away, where Bruce Wayne is being driven to the airport by Alfred. Alfred wants Bruce to take a vacation. But Bruce will not be getting a trip to paradise.

Bruce, a billionaire, naturally has his own luxury private jet. While he's waiting inside, drinking tea and reading the paper, Alfred tells him they can't take off because of the emergency. I love this page, the way it is illustrated and the relationship between Bruce and Alfred. There is some Mazzucchelli influence here. (Bruce/Batman needs Alfred in his life; DC made a huge mistake getting rid of him.) Note the headline on the newspaper, that's not a throwaway gag.

Batman is the first one into the crashed airplane, naturally, investigating the crime scene before the airport police get in. The head of the airport cops is stunned to see what's inside, and to learn from Batman, that the airport must be sealed immediately - no one should come in or leave. The decaying virus is spreading and both Batman and the police chief are infected. They've only got 24 hours or less to live.

The terrorist who released this virus on the plane is revealed as an eco-terrorist, Mangus Magnuson, who wants the United States to withdraw from the Middle East, in return for the antidote. And what's remarkable is that this story is concluded in the next issue: something we don't see much anymore, a two part story. Usually the editors want to drag stuff out for six issues to put into a collection. Perhaps it was conceived as a fill in to give the regular artist a break.

It's not a perfect story. As I mentioned, the plane with the people dead seems way too similar to the Fringe pilot. The antidote is eventually discovered - but after Batman and the police chief have aged up. So the antidote not only cures the virus but reverses the aging process? Isolate the latter please and mass market it, no one needs to be old anymore.

But I do like this moody, suspenseful type of Batman story where he's working in darkness and using his detective skills to solve a problem. I probably wouldn't like it if John Paul Leon hadn't done such a good job of illustrating it. We lost him in 2021, way too soon.

Dylan Dog meets John Constantine

I read the Batman / Dylan Dog limited series, three issues, all available now on the subscription service, DC Universe Infinite Ultra or whatever it is called. I've never read any Dylan Dog material before, I thought this was very good, apparently written and drawn by creators in Europe. Dylan's assistant Groucho (who resembles Groucho Marx) cracked me up - would this be possible with any modern celebrity?

The second issue of this team-up is the best, because it really doesn't involve Batman very much. The story is about Dylan Dog, who needs to take a trip to Hell to see if a serial killer named Killex is still there - or has his soul been called back to Earth? To accomplish this, Dylan Dog, who is in London, looks up John Constantine, Hellblazer. Constantine takes Dylan to Hell - but this version of Hell looks like the modern Piccadilly Circus!

This leads Constantine to reminisce about what this location was back in the good old days - the 1980s. I visited here around 1978 and remember it pretty much the way Constantine does. People were sitting around that fountain, eating fish and chips or smoking a cigarette. It was very busy but not overcrowded. When I re-visited this area in 2015, I was astonished at how commercialized the area was and people were swarming the streets. I imagine people have the same feelings about Times Square in NYC.

Constantine continues his take down on modern life, music and social media on the next page. Everybody has their own personal version of Hell - for Constantine, this is it, modern-technological Piccadilly Circus. Dylan rebuts this take-down on the next page, by calling Constantine a "boomer". Later in the story, they are aided by another supernatural DC character, The Demon. 

All in all, this was a fun series and it was good to learn about Dylan Dog. Hardly any of his adventures seem to be translated to English. John Constantine was very entertaining in this second issue and is prompting me to re-read some of the other Vertigo stories.

  

The Batman - Adam West vs Robert Pattinson

I watched The Batman on HBO Max. I enjoyed it. The cinematography was superb and I loved the Riddler taken seriously. I liked the portrayal of Catwoman. Batman has never used his detective skills better than he does here. It had some elements from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman Year Zero and other things from The Long Halloween. Some stuff from Geoff Johns' Batman Earth One graphic novel as well.

I remember when the Christian Bale/Dark Knight Rises movie came out and Dial B for Blog photoshopped all these great posters featuring Caesar Romero as the Joker. Here's a great take on that theme, with Adam West in the new movie. 

Spoilers...

Afterward I thought that Batman is not really that effective in the movie; he doesn't really trigger any meaningful change as he does in Year One, where he and Gordon partially clean up the Gotham police. What does the Batman really accomplish? The Riddler is more of a hero than Batman is, if we factor out his terrorist methodology, because he exposed the corruption and got rid of Falcone, Maroni and Colson. Batman punched a few criminals, helped Catwoman and saved people from drowning in the end. Once again, the villain is more important than Batman in this movie.

The other thing is going down the well-trod path of making his parents flawed. This also happened a few years ago in the Superman comics, where we found out Jor-El was a bit flawed.

Thomas Wayne was a billionaire, ergo, he must be slightly crooked? Thomas was a surgeon as well as a rich guy; I think when Batman started he was referred to more as a doctor with a trust fund, but the wealth grew as Batman was reinvented so many times. My first thought was, if I was Bruce Wayne - who idolized his parents and mourned them - and I just learned my father was working with gangsters, wouldn't that take away some of my motivation to be Batman? 

After thinking of some of these elements that bothered me, I went and re-read Batman Year One again. What a masterpiece! Nuff Said.

Brian Bolland's Detective Comics 1000 cover

In a few weeks we will see the publication of Detective Comics 1000. With dozens of variant covers, per usual!

Brian Bolland's variant cover features a colorful look at Batman's rogues gallery. Bolland hasn't done much work lately, he's pretty much retired, but his skill is still tremendous. Does this cover seem somewhat familiar to you? It should.

It is based on an ad that Bolland did for Forbidden Planet, decades ago. It is quite a great store, I visited in London a few years ago.

The black and white version of this image was mocked up to resemble the ad.

The full image in black and white glory. Nuff Said!

The Joker by Brian Bolland

A nice illustration of The Joker, circa 1985, by Brian Bolland...

He did it for Joe Orlando. What a great piece of classic Batman art to own! Nuff Said.

Superman and Batman by Gary Frank

Gary Frank is making a big splash this year with the publication of The Doomsday Clock in late November. Here are some illustrations of the World's Finest team...

Superman, which is the classic version with the underpants on the outside of the costume!

Batman, more like the Miller Dark Knight version with the barrel chest and thick utility belt.

Batman and Catwoman together...since they are due to be married?

Nuff Said!

Alex Toth and The Batman

I just joined the Alex Toth: Toth of the Town group on Facebook. Lots of great Toth illustrations there, and stories too of Toth in the industry. I always love joining a group and seeing artwork that is new to me. Toth did some great Batman illustrations in his day and I thought I would revisit some of them here.

The one above is incredible! It is from Batman Adventures #25, 1994. Kind of stunned me as I had never seen it before.

A birthday card he drew in 2002 for someone named Mark...Evanier? Chiarello?

A 1990 salute to the the 1940s and the Batplane. This appeared in the Batman 3D comic from 1990.

Toth giving his version of the Batman logo.

I found this in Phil Hester's Comic Art Gallery, not sure where this originally appeared. Some anniversary issue for Batman or Detective?

One of my favorite covers, so simple and elegant. Batman Black and White #4 from 1996.

Detective Comics 442 was a great 100 page giant with the lead story by Toth and Archie Goodwin, Death Flies the Haunted Sky! I always admired the splash page here with the logo and the kinetic action. It would have made a great cover.

While digging around I found this letter that Toth wrote explaining why he did not like the splash page and the colored / published result! I was shocked! I still think this is a masterpiece. But Toth had exacting standards for himself and others. Nuff Said.

Batman 194 logo shattering cover recreation by Art Adams

Here's a nifty cover recreation by Art Adams: Batman fighting Blockbuster, who shatters his logo to pieces...

Art Adams is a true gentleman who credited the original cover to Carmine Infantino...

Infantino was a brilliant artist / editor / cover designer. This was done during a time when you didn't see many logos getting destroyed on covers. Was it the first? I am not sure but it was one of the early memorable ones. Nuff Said!

Batman by Butch Guice

Butch Guice shared this on Facebook recently, a Batman commission!

With many touches that remind me of Jim Aparo! Glorious! Nuff Said.

Batman 66 Mondo Poster by Martin Ansin

A great poster by Martin Ansin that celebrates the 60s pop-art sensation of the Batman 1966 TV show.

For decades afterward, this show was reviled for the feeling it left with muggles that comics were all "Bam! Biff! Pow" silliness.  Now that comic book movies are big box office and adults read graphic novels, all is forgiven, and we can appreciate the show for the goofy entertainment value it delivered.

I don't think I would have become as big a comic book fan without this show.  It spurred me on to buying Batman comic books in drugstores; from there I discovered Superman comics; and from there to the Justice League / Flash / Green Lantern.  And then when I got a bit older, over to Marvel Comics.  An addiction was born.  Nuff Said!

Batman commission by Lee Weeks

Lee Weeks recently did this cool Batman illustration on a blank Batman cover.

Very cool!  What a lucky fan.  Nuff Said.

Batman meets Elecktra by Frank Miller!

How about this for a nifty forgotten cover?  Amazing Heroes 69 from 1985 featured two great characters meeting on a dark and gritty night: Batman and Elecktra!

This issue's main article featured two of Miller's highly anticipated projects: the world shattering Dark Knight prestige format series from DC and the graphic novel Elecktra Lives Again from Marvel.

The article gave us some preview sketches on Miller's take on the Dark Knight, along with the new Robin, Carrie Kelly.

I've always found these Miller sketches were influenced by the late great Carmine Infantino.  Particularly this page featuring Robin running, that seems very much like an Infantino pose.  The previous sketch featuring the two of them together reminds me of an Infantino pinup featuring the 1960s Batman.  Nuff Said!

Fifteen Comic & Fantasy Artists That Stuck With Me: Frazetta, Adams, Kirby and more!

Jamal Igle recently asked a question on Facebook to his friends:

Fifteen Artists who've influenced you and that will ALWAYS STICK WITH YOU. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes.

An interesting list to make!  This is what I came up with, in no particular order:

Jack Kirby.  How could any list not start with the King?  I mainlined the King's comics in double doses in the 70s, first through the reprints of the Fantastic Four, while concurrently reading his Fourth World books at DC. 

John Romita Sr.  One of the major reasons for Marvel's success and the guy I always identified with Spidey.

Steve Ditko.  Of course when I read the reprints in Marvel Tales, I got a whole new trippy take on Spidey and Doctor Strange.  There probably wouldn't have a been a Marvel without both Ditko and Kirby helping out Stan Lee.

Gil Kane.  He bended and twisted both his figures and his panels in ways we had never seen before.  He drew countless covers for Marvel, which he might probably disown, but I think most of them are great.

Neal Adams.  The hottest artist in the early 70s, a book with his artwork immediately raised the price of any back issue.  I would buy a comic just for 1 cover or pin-up with his work on it.

Wally Wood.  Master of pen and ink and highly detailed imagination.  He should have worked more and met a very tragic end.

Frank Frazetta.  He sold me on Conan and Warren Magazines like Vampirella with his paintings alone.

Gene Colan.  Master of shadows and light, Colan's greatest problem was that inkers misunderstood him.  When he teamed with Tom Palmer on Doctor Strange and Tomb of Dracula, he had someone who understood how to render his pencils.  Colan's Daredevil was also top notch.

Barry Smith.  Started out as a Kirby clone and over the years morphed into one of the finest fantasy artists around.  His swan song on Red Nails is one of the best conceived Conan stories ever done.

Alex Toth.  Shadows and light, Toth was a master of that as well as story telling.  His work was few and far between but I'll always remember his work on Hot Wheels, Black Canary, and this Batman story from Detective Comics #442.

John Buscema.  He hated superheroes but at times like this one (Silver Surfer #4) he drew them so damn well.  His work on Conan was his real love and pushed that title to new heights.

Joe Kubert.  His work drew me to the Edgar Rice Burroughs works like Tarzan, but later I had much fun collecting his run on Enemy Ace.  A Kubert comic was an escape from the world of superheroes into worlds of adventure. 

Jim Aparo.  His brooding style of artwork made Phantom Stranger come alive and Brave and the Bold worth getting no matter who the co-star was.  A solid artist who seemingly never missed a deadline.

Howard Chaykin.  I had followed Chaykin throughout many titles in the 1970s: The Scorpion, Cody Starbuck, Dominic Fortune, the Star Wars adaption, and Stars My Destination.  I could never figure out why he wasn't a superstar, then when American Flagg came out I was not only thrilled to read it but to see it was a big hit.

Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez.  Whoever discovered Lopez for DC Comics (was it Joe Orlando?) made a find akin to a huge gold deposit.  He could draw any of DC's characters in an elegant and exciting manner.  It was the video game tie-in Atari Force that gave me the biggest thrill, followed by his work on Cinder & Ashe and Twilight.

Hard to name just 15!  Let's make it 17.  

I would have to also add...Berni Wrightson.  His work on Swamp Thing, various stories for Warren Magazines Creepy / Eerie, plus his Frankenstein portfolio were all superb.

...and Will Eisner.  Eisner made the streets of Central City drip with water, slime, and corruption in the Spirit.  Logoforms with the Spirit letters on title pages, femme fatales, and lots of humor.  The fact that I got turned onto this work in the 1970s was a little gift from Jim Warren's magazines.

Heck, I probably should have included Walt Simonson, too. 

I think if you look at my choices, they all have very distinctive styles.  No one is really trying to copy each other, although many of them did have the same influences, such as Milton Caniff, Hal Foster, and other newspaper comic strip artists.  Most of them were in their prime during the late 60s and 1970s, with Chaykin being the exception to that--he really hit his stride with American Flagg in the 1980s.  

These were honestly the first guys who came to mind--the artists I encountered before I turned thirteen.  Funny that this list didn't include any 80s artists that I admired like Frank Miller, John Byrne, Michael Golden, Art Adams, etc.  Nuff Said!