Norm Breyfogle, 1960-2018

Norman Keith Breyfogle, the comics artist who defined a generation’s image of the Batman during the 1980’s and 1990’s, passed away at the age of 58. His etiolated style, exploiting unusual angles and providing a kinetic emotional narrative, was regarded by many as a successor to Neal Adams and Jim Aparo, the artists who redefined the ‘Dark Knight’ version of Batman in the 1970’s. During his run on the Batman franchise from 1987 to 1996, Breyfogle also co-created characters such as Ventriloquist, Ratcatcher, Jeremiah Arkham, Mr. Zsasz, and Amygdala, as well as designing the costume for Tim Drake, the second Robin.

Born February 27^th 1960 in Iowa City, his comics career began in 1984, when a six-page story for DC’s New Talent Showcase brought him to the attention of editors and publishers. He drew the back-up series Bob Violence for First Comics’ American Flagg, and illustrated Whisper, also for First, from 1986 to 1987, after which he began working on Batman in DC’s Detective Comics. While he remained primarily associated with Batman during his time at DC, including drawing the one-shot Holy Terror, the first comic to feature the ‘Elseworlds’ logo, he also drew the three-issue continuity-breaking series Flashpoint in 2000, and illustrated the Spectre for a year in 2001.

Away from DC, he co-created the character Prime for Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse, and both wrote and drew the Malibu series of his original character, Metaphysique.  After his departure from DC, he illustrated, to the surprise of many, a ‘New Look’ story for Archie Comics in 2008, leading to his involvement with the Life With Archie magazine, where he illustrated both that title’s ‘Elseworlds’ serials, in which Archie married either Betty or Veronica.

He returned to DC in 2011 to illustrate the Batman: Retroactive one-shot, written by his erstwhile collaborator Alan Grant, and contributed to the Batman Beyond Unlimited digital comics series.

In December 2014, Breyfogle suffered a stroke, causing paralysis on his left side, his drawing hand. Although he regained some use of the hand, he was not able to regain sufficient control to draw again. Fans and publishers rallied to aid with his medical costs. He passed away on September 24^th in Houghton, Michigan. The cause of his death has not yet been made public.