BATMAN CONTINUES: The 1989 JERRY ORDWAY Series That Should Have Been
Welcome to the first WALT WEDNESDAYS!
Introducing… WALT WEDNESDAYS!
Our latest and greatest weekly feature — from the artistic mind of WALT GROGAN!
Welcome to the first WALT WEDNESDAYS! — Welcome to our newest feature here at 13th Dimension — WALT WEDNESDAYS, a weekly spotlight on the work of longtime contributor Walt Grogan! Click here for more on this new smash hit! — Dan — By WALT GROGAN Jerry Ordway is well known for his stints on both Superman and the original Captain Marvel But he’s also connected to the Darknight Detective as the artist behind the comic book adaptation of the Tim Burton-directed 1989 Batman movie. The film, produced by Benjamin Melniker and former DC Woodchuck Michael Uslan, was a distinct departure from the Pow—Bam—Zap days of Adam West’s 1966 TV show and ushered into popular culture a more serious Batman. The movie’s comic-book adaptation, written by Denny O’Neil and penciled and inked by Ordway, was a master class in bringing a movie to life on the four-color page, with a taut translation of the story, compelling layouts and spot-on likenesses of the main cast. In the 35-plus years since the adaptation’s release, Jerry has produced multiple Batman commissions based on his interpretation of the film’s Dark Knight. Check this one out: My favorite aspect is how he draws the Masked Manhunter’s cape. His shading produces such realistic folds, and really brings the costume to life! It’s almost like the cape is a character in its own right. Which is why I’ll never understand why Jerry didn’t get the nod to do an extended run on Batman or Detective Comics, or why DC didn’t continue the movie as an ongoing monthly after the film’s release. Well, to see what might have been, I colored and trade-dressed the image above and — Holy Missed Opportunity! — I would have bought the heck out of it! As a bonus, here’s a faux house ad promoting the series! I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that DC came around back in 2021, and published a six-issue Batman ’89 miniseries by original movie screenwriter Sam Hamm and artist Joe Quinones (with an Ordway variant cover for the first issue), and a follow-up, Batman ’89: Echoes, in 2024. — Want more WALT WEDNESDAYS? Come back next week! — MORE — Introducing… WALT WEDNESDAYS! Click here. — THE SUPERNATURAL SOIREE: Dig This DC WHO’S WHO Halloween Jam Piece — a WALT WEDNESDAYS Preview. Click here. —...
Our latest and greatest weekly feature — from the artistic mind of WALT GROGAN! Welcome to our newest feature here at 13th Dimension — WALT WEDNESDAYS, a weekly spotlight on the work of longtime contributor Walt Grogan! As is often the case, Walt and I “met” through the internet; I was taken with his mad skills as a colorist and his creativity producing faux covers, house ads, and hilarious satires. If memory serves me right, his first piece for us was an imaginary cover of The Brave and the Bold, using a piece of Neal Adams art that I’d commissioned. I’d written a story about the illustration, and Walt asked me if he could color it, and this is what he came up with: It’s since become a meme, and fans on social media frequently mistake it for the real McCoy (which is both hilarious and duly earned). Walt stuck around, becoming the house colorist, a regular parodist, and chief banner maker. The one at the top is his work, naturally. Now, Walt has taken the plunge with a weekly gig — the alliterative WALT WEDNESDAYS, joining another regular midweek feature, RETRO HOT PICKS. We ran a preview on Halloween, and you can find his first official installment — fittingly, on Batman — here. After you check those out, just come back next week, and the week after that, and the week after that, and… — MORE — BATMAN CONTINUES: The 1989 JERRY ORDWAY Series That Should Have Been. Click here. — THE SUPERNATURAL SOIREE: Dig This DC WHO’S WHO Halloween Jam Piece — a WALT WEDNESDAYS Preview. Click...
Welcome to the first WALT WEDNESDAYS!
Our latest and greatest weekly feature — from the artistic mind of WALT GROGAN!