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sure, i know its tempting to say "the bat-man is great in all versions" or somethin like that, but.... seriously, what creators (illustrators and/or writers) do you think have the best handle on batman? my votes, in no necessary order: scribes:
frank miller
greg rucka
paul dini artists:
bruce timm
graham nolan
mike deodato jr
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Wow! You really show your lack of age on those!  Writing guys:
Denny O'neil
Frank Miller
Mike Barr
Chuck Dixon
And Greg Rucka is slowing coming into the picture too... As far as artists go, there's quite a few, but I'll try to narrow it down...
Neal Adams
Jim Aparo (Shut up Gob!)
Norm Breyfogle
Don Newton
George Perez
There's quite a few more, but I can't think of them off the top of my bald, sunburnt head...
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yeah, i show my age. still, tho, (i think) im right. my thoughts on your thoughts: chuck dixon i think is a great writer -- for robin and nightwing. (more so the latter). i never did fully enjoy his batman, tho. denny o'neil, i have major problems with. he's one of my least favorite creative staff. not because i think all of his work is crap -- i actually like a lot of it (good pacing, good techniques). however... he's just got so many weird flaws. he breaks and disavows continuity consistantly. worse yet, he breaks and disavows his OWN continuity, stuff he created! batman'll be rough and tough one issue, than pansy around in the next. or, "hey, i gotta son" and then BAM "whoops... what son?" further, he's completely transfixed into this one setting, never willing to change, evolve, and/or update the character. greg rucka: he better be fast movin into yer list! he's the man! neal adams, ill give him his credit. for his time, his work was phenomenal. i dont think it stands up that great now (looking back at a few issues i rememeber thinking were incredible, they dont really hold up too well by today's standards), but still, there's no denying how good and inspirational he was. jim aparo -- oy... he's just not good, not at all. all of his characters look alike, they're all rediculously stiff, there's not much use of dynamic angles and/or poses, and worst of all, the one thing he's consistantly credited for, his "incredible grasp of anatomy" is... incredibly wrong! sure, his characters are more realistic looking than, say, kelley jones', but... come ON... contraposto, man! look it up!! (and, the irony of my, perhaps, spelling that wrong, and needing to look it up myself is not lost on me)
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quote:
Originally posted by Rob Kamphausen:
yeah, i show my age. still, tho, (i think) im right. my thoughts on your thoughts: chuck dixon i think is a great writer -- for robin and nightwing. (more so the latter). i never did fully enjoy his batman, tho. Yeah, I was more thinking of his work on the ancillery titles like Robin, Nightwing and Birds of Prey... denny o'neil, i have major problems with. he's one of my least favorite creative staff. not because i think all of his work is crap -- i actually like a lot of it (good pacing, good techniques). however... he's just got so many weird flaws. he breaks and disavows continuity consistantly. worse yet, he breaks and disavows his OWN continuity, stuff he created! batman'll be rough and tough one issue, than pansy around in the next. or, "hey, i gotta son" and then BAM "whoops... what son?" further, he's completely transfixed into this one setting, never willing to change, evolve, and/or update the character. I haven't followed too much of his work in the last few years, but his early work on 'TEC w/Neal Adams is still brilliant. I love his Ra's A Ghul stories from then... greg rucka: he better be fast movin into yer list! he's the man! Just waiting till I see a little bit more from him before I rank his stuff up with the best of all time. His novelization of NML (which I will finish one of thes days is excellent... neal adams, ill give him his credit. for his time, his work was phenomenal. i dont think it stands up that great now (looking back at a few issues i rememeber thinking were incredible, they dont really hold up too well by today's standards), but still, there's no denying how good and inspirational he was. I still say he would blow away any current artist around these days... jim aparo -- oy... he's just not good, not at all. all of his characters look alike, they're all rediculously stiff, there's not much use of dynamic angles and/or poses, and worst of all, the one thing he's consistantly credited for, his "incredible grasp of anatomy" is... incredibly wrong! sure, his characters are more realistic looking than, say, kelley jones', but... come ON... contraposto, man! look it up!! (and, the irony of my, perhaps, spelling that wrong, and needing to look it up myself is not lost on me) Jubas! I grew up on his art on Brave and Bold and Batman and the Outsiders, so I'm kind of prejudiced, but I still rank him up with my favorites. His art was always much better when he inked himself, but since the late eighties, he hasn't done that at all. When somebody inks his work, it really screws up the line work, and usually comes out looking like crap, so I can understand your POV...
I can't believe I forgot to mention Marshall Rogers either...His work with Steve Englehart was brilliant...
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I have to say that the current shit really sucks...
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Let me clarify.. I meant the art
The writitng has been awesome!
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It's not that I dislike the current art, but the colouring in Detective Comics makes it a kinda bland feeling comic if ya aint in a Batman mood while reading it, y'know?
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Please. Give Ed Brubaker some props. He's managing to give the stories a "crime" angle with plenty of bang. While Rucka's writing has more character depth, Brubaker's style is superhero-now and has notched into the Batman title perfectly, promoting the best development in Scott McDaniel's artwork since his Dixon/Nightwing early stretch. Plus Larry Hama's take really sucked.
Rucka's & Brubakers titles complement ach other perfectly. (Now if we could get a decent Detective back-up?)
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artwise id go with Norm Breyfogle and Neal Adams.... ...the Zeck covers from the KGBeast arc also... ...Norm brought some originality and breathed new life into what was a becoming very stale look in the books.... ,,,oh yeah boobies and cheese and whatnot...
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I'd have to agree with Franta on this one. Most of the artwork, excluding Butch Guice on Birds of Prey and Pete Woods on Robin, has been pretty lackluster of late. The coloring scheme on 'TEC is interesting, but I can understand why some people don't really like it. I'm enjoying it at least. Nice change of pace. As for Brubaker, I've read a couple of his stories and they haven't really appealled to me too much. Not terrible stuff, just not really great either...
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Rufus. Go read the Matches Malone 3 issue arc. Paced fast enough for the pre-teens and providing an interesting character conflict in Bats for us adults.Intriguing concept. Brubaker starting to hit his stride.
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cobra kai 15000+ posts
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brubaker didnt write that matches malone 3 parter. i forget the guy's name who wrote it, but he was a guest writer. i think brubaker is an excellent writer -- he definitely puts a human spin on all of his characters, which makes for great conversations and interactive dialogues. were i a comic book writer, i think my style would most likely resemble his, more so than anyone elses. that said, however... im not too sure his work really fits the characterization of batman too well. the same could be said for mcdaniel's artwork; i love it, but im not so sure its great for batman. i think the two of them would be an excellent nightwing team. at the same time, however, i've found their collaborative work on the batman monthly to be enjoyable, so, im certainly not complaining. rucka's work is aboslutly outstanding. he's, by far, the best writer to be on a montly bat book, i believe, in my lifetime. i love dini's work, and i love miller's work, but neither of them really did work on a (regular) monthly batbook, which, in some arguments, discredits them as being great writers (tho, you'll never hear me say it!). batman artwork has never really been that spectacular. the thinking at dc was (before NML, anyway) that batman and superman books will always sell, so there's no use "wasting" big creative names on either one of them or their books. thats obviously, since, been changed, with huge names like loeb and mcguinness taking over superman, and creative geniuses like rucka heading to batland. the art and color for detective comics, i think, is great. very moody, suits the storytelling well -- as long as its the regular artist (martinbrough), cuz otherwise, the coloring wont fit the style. i think mike deodato jr did an INCREDIBLE job during NML, and would love to see his return to a consistant batbook. it was like a cross between graham nolan and jim lee -- very traditional and very dynamic, all at the same time. good stuff!
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cobra kai 15000+ posts
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anyone dig kevin smith's batman? (he's appeared, at least in part, in 4 out of the 8 green arrow books) kevin will be writing the new "brave and the bold" series, staring batman and ___ (mostly green arrow, possibly not)
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I cant wait for that!
He handles The Bat-Man the way he should be more human not this faux best of the best of the humans cold and emotionless.
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hey, i really dig smith's batman. i really dig brubaker's batman, too (tho i like smith's version better). but... i dunno if they're the "proper" take on batman. i think paul dini had a better handle on the "dark knight / caped crusader" split within the character. smith and brubaker tend to be a little too distant from the "dark side"
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devil-lovin' Bat-Man 15000+ posts
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