JN, I just read your story in Batman Black and White volume two and I had to say how much I loved it. Between this and the Batman/CA one shot you did, you are stirring some warm nostalgic feelings within me. I have two questions, one for you and one for the board.
1) JB, do you find yourself being drawn more and more to the Sprang Batman as you get older? What is it that you like so much about his version (I love it by the way, and I love the old bubblehead Batmobile)?
2) How many out there would lvoe to see a true Batman cartoon, done by JB, in that style? With appearance by Batwoman, Bat-Girl and of course the real Batgirl, Barbara Gordon?
1) JB, do you find yourself being drawn more and more to the Sprang Batman as you get older? What is it that you like so much about his version (I love it by the way, and I love the old bubblehead Batmobile)?
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Not "as I get older"! Dick Sprang illustrated the very first Batman story I read, "The Map of Mystery". I did not know this at the time, since there were no credits and all I had to go on was "Bob Kane", but as I became more familiar with Batman over the next few years I determined that this Bob Kane guy had several different drawing styles, and that he always seemed to keep his best style for the Annuals. (Those were, unbeknownst to me, reprints, and Bob Kane's "best style" was, of course, really the work of Dick Sprang.) I think I was probably in my early 20s before I learned the actual name of the artist.
By then, of course, it was Neal Adams whose interpretation of the character was dominating the field, so, wanting to be in comics, that was how I drew the Batman -- and I would never debate a suggestion that Neal was the definitive Batman artist of his (which means also my) generation. But my favorite was, is, and ever shall be Dick Sprang.
I wish DC would reprint the Batman 3-D book in B&W or even color, although I love the B&W stories so much. It really brings out the art. It is almost like looking at the original art.
Anybody ever see the Batman Animated Series episode with the Dick Sprang and Dark Knight Returns homages? Gary Owens did the voice of Batman in the Sprang segment. It was gorgeous! I've wished ever since then that somebody would do a Sprang-style Batman cartoon.
You get all the good stuff JB! And you had your wife in on it too...pure genius!
Do you have the Sprang print of Batman in the Batcave?I almost died when I saw that.It brought me back to when I was a kid reading all those reprinted Batman stories from the 50's and wondering why Batman wasn't as interesting in the new stories.
I agree with you that Sprang is the definitive Batman artist of all time.
He brought a magic to the character that nobody else was able to duplicate.
One of the things I liked about the first Generations is that I saw some of that Sprang magic in your handling of Batman.
I believe my old pal Pedro "Hunter" Bouca scored me a copy of a Brazillian edition of Byrne's Batman 3-D story; I found this to be far easier on my old eyes than the 3-D glasses every time I wanted to see the World's Greatest Detective at work.
JB,
There is an amazing Dick Sprang original painting,"Secrets of the Batcave" up at heritage for sale right now. Great example of his work with images from batman's career. Check it out.
Me neither! Having grown up on Marvel, my Batman comic book experience was very limited--I think I read maybe three or four Batman stories, and one or two of the paperback collections (c. 1966). So it's only because of this board--
And, Yes, Because of YOU, John Byrne!--
that I know who Dick Sprang is, and it's a great new refreshing body of work for me to read and learn from.
When was Batman/Captain America made? There was a long stretch where I wasn't buying comics at all - I'm thinking it fell in that period. It looks like a really fun comic.
