One of the all-time great Batman artists was born 86 years ago…
The late Don Newton — born Nov. 12, 1934 — was hands down one of the best Batman artists to ever put pencil to paper, even if I didn’t recognize that when I was a young teen. But age and maturity have a way of opening your eyes and that’s certainly the case with Newton.
Normally, we’d do a 13 COVERS birthday salute, but Newton was not really a Batman cover artist. So instead, we bring you 13 SPLASH PAGES — all from Detective Comics.
Right on.
Detective Comics #519
Detective #494
Detective #520
Detective #490
Detective #480
Detective #484
Detective #491
Detective #493
Detective #504
Detective #487
Detective #499
Detective #486
Detective #526
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MORE
— Don Newton’s DETECTIVE COMICS #526 Cover: Forever an Electrifying Masterpiece. Click here.
— 13 COVERS: A DON NEWTON Birthday Celebration. Click here.
November 12, 2020
Newton’s Batman is seminal to me. I still consider him to be vastly underrated. He doesn’t come up in the “greatest” conversation enough. I also wish DC had let him do more covers. I think they would have sold more comics!
November 12, 2020
Don Newton is indeed a vastly underrated & underappreciated artist. People gush about the likes of Neal Adams, Frank Miller & Jim Lee when talking about “the Great Batman Artists” so why not Don Newton. No offense to the aforementioned three, however, in all seriousness, I recognise Dick Giordano’s great inking skills when referring to early Neal Adams (heck! Giordano was an incredible artisr in his own right & I also recognize him as an unsung Batman Artist!). Frank Miller’s contribution to Batman is relatively only small, in all honesty. And Jim Lee, whilst a truly nice guy & a great artist, I feel he is not a “consummate artist” – his backgrounds can have a tendency to be underdeveloped, some of his characters not as well detailed as others, etc. Which brings me back to Don Newton. He is a CONSUMMATE ARTIST. His pages are chock full of dynamic detail & menacing mood! The way he draws Batman is amongst the VERY BEST! When he draws a cityscape it really comes alive – you can practically smell the car exhaust fumes & hear the honking of horns & police sirens!
I never tire of looking at his pages.
He wasn’t a show-offy artist (& maybe that’s part of why he’s so underrated?) but he also wasn’t a lazy artist.
The fact that this Site recognises his value & that there are people like myself & others who wish to discuss him is proof of his contribution to the Batman World & how it will never be forgotten!
November 12, 2020
Wishing a happy birthday to Mr. Newton.
November 12, 2020
What can I say? Tec’ #526 was my first ever Batman comic and the pencils of Newton dragged me into that world…from then until this very day! It remains my favourite splash page too. A fantastic arc along with Gerry Conway’s writing too. Happy Birthday Don & thanks for for your rendition of Batman, Gotham etc being my gateway into the world of Comics.
November 12, 2020
Thanks for this–by 1979 or so I had finished college, moved out of the parents’ home, lived with friends in our own rental shared home in SF and I was keeping busy with work, though comics at this point were less appealing. Consequently, I missed out on Don Newton’s work, only having briefly noted it positively on Charlton’s Phantom title.
November 12, 2020
Thanks for this great Don Newton compendium! As glad as I was to see him move to DC, I was sorry to see the end of his run on Charlton’s Phantom, which was truly stunning.
November 14, 2020
Love Don’s work to this day. Thanks for the memories.
November 15, 2020
Well, that sure was fun. Thanks! It reminds me of what a great inker Dan Adkins is. I’m watching for him, next, please.
November 18, 2020
My Favorite Bat-Artist.
Newton’s Batman was Majestic.
Plus he drew the Best Looking Batgirl.