13 EYE-OPENING ILLUSTRATIONS…
You think you know a lot about comics and then you find something that complete surprises you.
Carmine Infantino, the artist who defined Batman’s look in the 1960s, took a gig in the 1990s designing Batman: The Animated Series toy-package art for Kenner.
That in itself isn’t remarkable. It wasn’t an uncommon type of gig for comics pros; Jack Kirby did design work for Kenner’s Super Powers line in the 1980s, for example.
The quintessential Silver Age Batman image. Infantino pencils, Murphy Anderson inks.
What’s so compelling is that Infantino was able to completely sublimate his own, well-known style to reproduce the distinct look of Bruce Timm and co.’s BTAS world.
Not a total shock, I grant you, because great artists are able to work in multiple styles. What’s impressive is how seamlessly he made the transition. Don’t believe me? Dig these 13 ILLUSTRATIONS (including a spread from a storybook) that I found on Heritage Auctions’ website. (One of them was even inked by Joe Orlando!)
Right on.
Mech-Wing Batman
Night Star Batman. Inked by Mike DeCarlo.
Robin Dragster
The Jokermobile. Inked by Dave Cooper.
Batmobile
High Wire Batman
KIller Croc. Inked by Mike DeCarlo.
Total Armor Batman. Inked by Joe Orlando.
Two-Face. Inked by Mike DeCarlo.
Hoverbat. Inked by Dave Cooper.
Tornado Batman
Crime Squad Batcycle
Batman: The Animated Series: Plants of Peril, Golden Books Tale ‘N’ Tape. Inked by Frank McLaughlin.
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MORE
— BEST BAT-WISHES: 13 Tributes to the Classic BATMAN AND ROBIN Rooftop Pin-Up. Click here.
— CARMINE INFANTINO’s 13 Greatest BATMAN Covers — RANKED. Click here.
August 2, 2024
These are beautiful renderings by one of the exemplary illustrators of Batman, and it’s fascinating to see how Infantino adapted his style to Batman: The Animated Series. Perhaps we can honor the Infantino in reverse–by showing how his indigenous style that defined the “New Look” Batman from the mid-to-late 1960s showed up elsewhere, notably in Filmation Associates two runs of Batman: The Adventures of Batman (1968) and The New Adventures of Batman (1977).
Here the look of the Infantino Batman is unmistakable: the solid black shading in the front of the cowl, and with its shortened bat-ears, the more organic and life-like face (finally getting rid of that awful, highly-stylized, angular jawline he had before), the more pronounced capsules of the utility belt and the superior naturalism of his body with the organic, if idealized, musculature (again, in contrast to the greater stylization here that dominated in the 1950s and early 1960s. (Even if the stories of the 1977 series could harken back to the 1950s in tone, esp. with Bat-Mite hanging around–more comical and silly rather than the return to the darker, grim avenger of the night pioneered by O’Neal and Adams).
That Infantino look is perhaps more surprising in 1977 as by then the Neal Adams-influenced illustrative aesthetic was carrying the day in the comics, reinforcing our more “gothic” Dark Knight–but of course, using the Infantino look of the original series in 1968 likely allowed Filmation to streamline costs and animation outlays as reviving the character in the inflationary 1970s (even if I think there is some fine animation here for Saturday morning television and a limited animation budget and scheduling–note Bats twirling on the flag pole in the opening credits and his fluid gymnastics in the closing credits. Beautiful stuff.).
August 2, 2024
Amazing! Thanks for posting!