One of the all-time Batman greats was born July 28, 1915.
Dick Sprang is one of the most beloved figures in Batman lore, an artist whose name has become shorthand for the house style from the mid-’40s into the ’50s — even if Bob Kane got the credit. And that’s certainly not to take anything away from the wonderful contributions by artists like Win Mortimer, Jack Burnley and many others from those years.
But when you think of Batman from that period, Sprang’s name is the first that pops to mind.
This year, for our 13 COVERS salute, I’ve selected some of his lesser known works. That’s because I cherry picked some of his most famous covers here, here and here. (Make sure you check out those links for more trips down Gotham’s Memory Lane.)
Sprang was born 102 years ago. He died in 2000 at the age of 84.
His Batman will always be with us.
Charles Paris inks
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Cover images and credits from the classic Grand Comics Database.
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July 28, 2017
Sprang’s BATMAN will always be one of my favorites– the closest Batman ever came to being drawn by Chester Gould. What makes Batman such a great character is the diversity in which he can be treated and still be recognizable as Batman.
My favorite Sprang Batman story is the one that features the Batmarine– it was collected in BATMAN from the 30s to the 70s which is a book I read as a kid until the covers wore off– and it’s got all the great Sprangisms– great buildings and machinery, villains that looked like they stepped right out of a WB B-Film and of course a perfect Batman and Robin.
July 28, 2017
I’m not the first to say it, but Dick Sprang is to Batman what Carl Barks is to Donald Duck; “The Good Batman Artist”.