A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE to one of the greats…
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, one of comics’ most popular artists, turns 74! I’d say that the illustrator — who was born March 26, 1948 — is equally known for his comic book work and the ’80s DC Comics Style Guides.
Garcia-Lopez, however, also pencilled the style-guide art for the gigantic Batman ’66 merchandising wave that started hitting about a decade ago. (He was inked by Brett Breeding, at least in most cases, it seems.)
Anyway, here are 13 full-color examples culled (mostly) from a selection of posters — a birthday celebration in swingin’ Gotham City:
Why green? Because that’s the color the Joker wore in the animated opening credits!
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MORE
— 13 GREAT ILLUSTRATIONS: A JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ Birthday Salute — 2021 Edition. Click here.
— 13 COVERS: A JOSE LUIS GARCIA-LOPEZ Birthday Celebration — 2020 Edition. Click here.
March 26, 2022
While I love Mr Lopez’s art I really have a hard time warming up to his ’66 takes, and sadly they are used on all the modern packaging of the items being released. A real miss for me.
March 26, 2022
I love these. Not only do they evoke the series (and particularly the animated opening, as you pointed out), they just scream “Classic Batman”. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Garcia Lopez (Praised Be His Name) at Heroes Con a few years back, and buy some signed prints from him. A very humble gentleman, despite his incredible talents!
March 26, 2022
I agree with Andy, that these don’t hit the mark for me, specifically in the facial features. They just don’t look enough like Adam West/Burt Ward, etc. However, they are examples of beautiful artwork [natch!] and do evoke the style of the Batman ’66 show.
Thanks for sharing!
March 26, 2022
Wishing a very happy birthday to Mr. Garcia-Lopez (praised be his name). His art style is easily recognizable. 🙂
March 30, 2022
Happy Birthday Jose. One the All-Time Great artist.
My only question is, Why is the Joker wearing a green suit?
March 30, 2022
Because he wore green in the show’s animated opening credits. Weird, but there you have it. It’s also why Batman and Robin look like the credits, as opposed to Adam West and Burt Ward.
March 1, 2023
I have the wall climbing art on my IPad case. Great updated look of the classic Batman. I would like to have see coloring closer to Batman’s costume colors