Drawn to the Dark

If you know me, then you're probably shocked (and perhaps dismayed) that I've made it this long without writing a single post about Batman on this blog. This was a conscious decision bred of my desire to blossom like the beautiful, yet tastefully understated African lotus, to spread my wispy willow branches in the winds of nerdiness and tickle the charged air molecules of other topics, robots, vampires, killer Communist-alien cell phones, and the like. I would stray away from the obvious exercising of the Batman obsession.

It was a plan doomed for failure. And fail it has. The masked vigilante can wait no more, and he's waiting no more with a vengeance. So today I introduce Batman Friday, a very special day of the week that often falls between Thursday and Saturday and celebrates the glory of the Dark Knight. This may or may not be a weekly feature, depending on my laziness and/or boredom. Fair warning. Also, Batman may not want to be contained by Fridays. Because the B stands for "Bad," A stands for "Ass," and T-M-A-N stands for "I don't need a full acronym because I'm the [expletive deleted] Batman."

For the first Batman Friday, I've decided to make a list of my top 5 favorite Batman comic artists. These are the artists that I think best capture the spirit of the character in the most aesthetically pleasing ways. If you disagree with them, I'll hit you.

5: Frank Quietly

Okay, remember when I said I was choosing these artists based on the degree of spirit capture and aesthetic value? That was a lie. Frank Quietly doesn't do that. I mean, look at the picture. His drawing style makes Batman's head look like a soft ham. But I inexplicably love Quietly's wavy, often feathered outlines, probably because they make Batman look like the Stay Puft Man in tights. He clawed his way onto this list due to my vast amusement at Potato Lump Body Batman. Also, he gets points for making Robin look perpetually surprised and apathetic, all at the same time.

4: Tony Daniel

Tony Daniel is a new favorite, ever since his recent work on the variant covers of the Grant Morrison "Batman R.I.P." storyline. I love that his drawings have clean lines, yet he manages to make the Knight look rough-and-tumble scuffed, but my favorite part about his style is that he likes to draw Batman with teeth bared. Teeth-baring Batman is the Malibu Barbie of the DC universe. But better. He also gets extra credit points for being a writer as well as an artist, and he's currently pulling double duty on the Batman book.

And man, the guy can draw a cape.

3: Tim Sale

Tim is one of the few artists whose work I love across the board, no matter what the character. Quietly and Daniel each do a fantastic Batman, but the rest of their work doesn't really stand out for me, but I've never met a Sale drawing I didn't like. He has a style that looks a bit rushed and just askew enough to look like it ran a few laps through a carnival of carnival mirrors, which is especially fitting for the bat and his rogues' gallery. Also, Sale draws Batman with black shorts instead of a speedo, so I feel all-around more comfortable as a masculine reader.  Thanks, Tim.

2: Jim Lee

There's not much to say about Lee. He really captures the darkness of the Dark Knight. His use of shadow is incredible, often to the point of being chilling (see the "Hush" storyline for tear-inducing shadows). Also, I think his Batman is the most physically intimidating. Probably because he uses me as his Batman model.



1: Michael Turner

In my opinion, Michael Turner was the greatest comic book artist of our time. He's another artist who drew every character well, not just Batman. The most striking feature of each of his characters is the eyes. (Does that sound feminine? It doesn't, does it? It does? Eff.) Unfortunately, Turner passed away from cancer last year (fittingly enough, on the same weekend as the Wizard World Chicago comic convention). I met him in L.A., and he was an outstanding person, though I'm sad to say that he didn't bequeath any of his original art to me even though we shared a moment. 

So that's Batman Friday. It wasn't so painful, now, was it?  (Don't say it was. Batman will totally punch your face.)