Artist Norm Breyfogle, best known for his iconic Batman work, passed away earlier this week at the age of 58. Details of Breyfogle’s passing are being kept private, but the artist’s passing was confirmed today by a family friend on Facebook.
Ask members of a certain generation to picture Batman, and odds are pretty good they’ll picture a Norm Breyfogle drawing. From 1987 to 1993, Breyfogle drew the Dark Knight in the pages of Detective Comics, Batman, and Batman: Shadow of the Bat, a title that Breyfogle helped launch. During his tenure on the character he and writers Alan Grant and John Wagner introduced dozens of new characters including Scarface and Anarky, helped usher in a new Robin, and added a lasting touch of horror to the world of the Batman.
Outside of his Batman work, Breyfogle also co-created Prime for Malibu Comics, and enjoyed runs on titles like The Spectre, Anarky, and Life with Archie over the course of his thirty year career.
Breyfogle suffered a stroke in 2014. After an outpouring of support from fans and creators, and renewed interest in the artist’s work, Breyfogle sounded realistic but upbeat about his recovery in a 2015 Paste interview. A second Legends of the Dark Knight hardcover volume reprinting his Batman work is slated for release in November.
The Beat extends its deepest condolences to Norm’s friends and family.
For me, he represents the last era before superhero comics had to turn into an endless list of “epic event that will change [superhero’s name] world forever!” It was a simpler time, with shorter stories, set in a big comics universe where the various superheros would cross paths from time to time. Without them resorting to big events and crossovers. And his art kicked ass too! RIP!
I just reread the Birth of the Demon GN recently, that I fondly remembered when it was first published, not knowing how dire Breyfogle’s health situation was. The Grant-Breyfogle collaboration was the last great run of Batman, before Kelley Jones and endless “events” brought him into the ground. Scarface and that little kid (the General, his name was?) were oddball quirky villains in the vein of the golden age, and Norm’s unique approach to the Dark Knight and his universe will definitely be a cinematic landmark we won’t forget. Where was the omnibus when he needed the royalties?
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