A BIRTHDAY TRIBUTE… BY CHRIS FRANKLIN William Marshall Rogers (Jan. 22, 1950 – Mar. 24, 2007) is considered by many, including me, to be one of the greatest artists to ever draw Batman. This designation is no small feat, because some of the greatest comics illustrators of all time have famously drawn the Caped Crusader, and have left an equally indelible mark. But Rogers stands out from even these masters of graphite and India ink. When he first illustrated a Bob Rozakis-written Batman story in Detective Comics #468 (Mar./Apr. 1977), aided by his frequent inking collaborator Terry Austin, he brought a young dynamism to the character that hadn’t been seen since Neal Adams first illustrated the hero nearly a decade prior. Rogers and Austin excelled at innovative panel layouts, working sound effects directly into the art, and applying zip-a-tone for added shadowy and textured effects. Many of the older staffers in the DC offices didn’t care for the experimental work Rogers and Austin applied to their one-off Batman tale, especially Joe Orlando. But editor Julius Schwartz saw something magic in the work and thanks to positive reader response, made the duo the regular art team on Detective Comics, illustrating a sprawling serial penned by Steve Engelhart. Although this dream team initially only lasted 6 issues, the serialized run is praised as one of the greatest Batman stories and has gone on to influence the Masked Manhunter’s mythos in comics and every media imaginable. Rogers stayed on Detective for a few more issues and would return to the character periodically over the next three decades, his visual take on the Darknight Detective coalescing into a vision that was singularly his own. To celebrate his birthday, let’s take a look at 13 visual contributions, big and small, that made Marshall Rogers a giant among giants, his run on the Caped Crusader legendary. With a major emphasis, of course, on his brief but definitive run on Detective Comics with Engelhart and Austin. (Oh, and be sure to check out the highly recommended book Marshall Rogers: Brightest Days & Darkest Knights by Jeff Messer and Dewey Cassell from TwoMorrows Publishing for a deep-dive into the artist’s life and career, and an interview with Steve Engelhart conducted by our own Dan Greenfield!) — 1. Batman: The Cape and Cowl For my money, no one...