Batman #473 (The Idiot Root: Part 3) is by far my favorite Breyfogle cover. NO ONE drew "insanity" better than him. Just before he died, I had a conversation with Neal Adams at Comic Con about him (I had heard he was sick and asked Neal if he knew what was up with his prognosis). Neal had enormously high praise for Norm, and with good reason. His death was on the same scale for me as Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. RIP
That is a very unfortunate passing for probably my favorite artist... Norm's Batman was one of the most impossing, yet at the same time, the most human, due to his impressive range of emotions. I also really have to stress how amazing he was at nightmarish sequences, such as hallucinations or monsters. Just look at Stirk in general, Zsazs's lifeless yet gleefully evil expression or Killer Croc's nightmare in requiem... Will really miss him and his art.
Poor guy, so influential and such an important parts to the Batman mythology and to Detective Comics, It's truly sad to see him go and leaving us behind a legacy of great stories and yes, art.
I met Breyfogle at a comic book convention in Ferndale, Michigan in the early '90s. He had a ponytail and was very friendly (which is not an impression I got from Steve Rude or Chris Sprouse). My favorite Breyfogle cover is probably the one of Tim Drake rescuing Batman from the Scarecrow.
I did not even know that Norm Breyfogle had passed away recently. I'm very sorry to hear this. But at least he left a great deal of absolutely awesome artwork in his wake. As far as my own favorite Norm Breyfogle covers go...I literally have NO clue what my personal choices would be. I can safely say all of the ones you've listed would likely be in my top ten or so...in fact, I'm tempted to say that Batman #590 might be my absolute favorite of them all. I haven't actually READ that story, but looking at this cover? Good Lord, it is GORGEOUS. I'm a sucker for Gothic imagery, fog-shrouded English architecture, old graveyards, etc. It's my Achilles Heel; it's almost impossible, I think, to make something in that vein and not make me at least a LITTLE interested. It actually sort of makes me wish that Breyfogle had been the artist for the famous "Red Rain" trilogy, which I have...mixed emotions about. The Dracula comparisons are very fitting, and they certainly are another part of the appeal; Dracula is one of my favorite books, and one of my favorite characters, and I have seen many film adaptations of the story. So, as you said, "any artist who can invoke Dracula in their Batman art gets a thumbs-up from me." I cannot lie and say Norm was my favorite Batman artist (did a list in regards to that, you may recall), but he's easily among my top ten, and it was truly a loss when he had his tragic stroke...and just as much of a loss, if not a greater one, for him to be gone now. Rest in Peace, Norm Breyfogle. May the Dark Shadows of Gotham sing your praises.
I completely agree with number 1. Norm definitely treated Gotham as a living city. The environment around the characters shines. Great video Rouges. What a great idea to make a Top 5 Comic Covers list for him
I Definitely think that an abstract art design suits batman and the rest of the character's in his mythos. I mean, just looking at these awesome covers, I's ike staring into a completely different, dynamic and we'll spooky world. And I love it.
Also, Norm was the only artist who could draw Batman with a scared/shocked face. RIP, Norm. We, your fans, will keep your legacy alive on our bookshelves.
I was shocked when I found out Norm died. I have been thinking about buying the batman norm Breyfogle collection in the future, and now I want to buy it more than ever. The man was the definitive batman artist in my opinion.
Excellent choices. I think Norm's Covers with the Corrosive Man were also amazing! Thank you for a wonderful tribute to this great artist! Rest in peace Norm Breyfogle.
His art and legacy both proceeds and exceeds him. His art still setting the mood that breaths life into a story that captured many fan's imagination. He had a way with ominous atmosphere that stick with us in our hearts and minds today. He left a mark on this icon of a character and on his fans for the better. Keeping him with us even today. Rest in peace, Norm ✌ For me the shadowy figure and forboting soloette of Batman. Sky rocketed him to almost this mythical creature that you had to remind your self is just a man in these comics. I found that inspiring. Is that odd?? That aside, I love this channel. Amazing work. I always tune in to catch up with all your content. Thank you, your awesome.
Never heard of him, but man has his art touched me. THAT is the power of a great artist, one who helped define my view of a character since childhood without me even knowing it. RIP Norm.
BREYFOGLE WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES ALSO. MY FAVORITE COVERS ARE DETECTIVE COMICS 592 & 593 THOSE 2 BOOKS STARTED MY COLLECTION 30 YEARS AGO ALONG WITH BATMAN 425 & SUPERMAN 23. FOR ME NORM BREYFOGLE & JIM APARO WERE MY FAVORITE BATMAN ARTISTS
I never knew how great the artistic covers are. Very realistic. The covers from the Golden Age and Silver Age are good but obviously it's the Bronze Age that deserves first place. May Norm Breyfogle, artist extraordinaire, RIP. Can you do The Ventriloquist in one of underated villains video please? Think of it as a another tribute to this great artist.
I am lucky I got to buy a bunch of Norm's Batman comics earlier this year when my comic shop had a bunch of them in the dollar box. He really knew how to catch your attention with his gothic-style imagery. _Detective Comics_ #610 "The Funeral of the Penguin" is my favorite cover of his since it alone caught my eye and made me buy it. It's been a while since a cover alone made me do that.
I just got into alan grants and norm breyfogles work. The art and stories are amazing. For some reason im getting spawn vibes whenever he draws batman's cape just flowing like crazy. :3
Yeah, there definately were some similarities between his art and Todd McFarlane's. They both became big at around the same time too. I guess they were the ones who ushered in that new, heavily stylized comic style, which was so big at the time.
Thank you for this tribute, I re-read a bunch of Norman's Batman stories recently, and he created some great rogues; some of my favorites were drawn by him. I'm not a fan Ratcatcher's new design from DC Rebirth's "Mother Panic", but I kinda like what they did with him, becoming a regular... I just wish they would use him more.
Hey another amazing video man! Thank you again for the great videos! One out newest podcast episode we did promote your channel in the opening. Hopefully it gets you more subscribers. We will continue to help get your channel out there, if that's ok. Again, thank you for all these amazing videos.
I have the entire run on Detective Comics that Breyfogle drew, it felt like a real return to the character's roots (which it was, even with a brand new rogues gallery). I never thought Breyfogle got his due alongside Adams and Aparo, so I'm glad to see many feel the same.
There are too many to count, I don’t know if I could really have a proper top five, but I’d say my favorites are Detective Comics 590, Detective Comics 610, Batman 455, Batman 457, and Detective Comics 592 (this might be my favorite ever). This probably isn’t set in stone, as I haven’t seen all his covers, so I’d like to think Norm can impress me again and again.
Any thoughts on Cpt. Boomerang and Marvel's Boomerang, because I love them both (Marvel's Boomerang more so then Cpt. Boomerang) and I was hoping you could do an Underrated rogues on both of them. Maybe another collab with JJHatter or The Real Super Sam where one discusses Captain Boomerang and the other Boomerang, make it a two for one.
Mr rogues maybe you can do this character named scarebeast where scarecrow was transform into a murderous creature by the penguin to kill the batman. This version of scarecrow was first appeared in Batman Vol. 1 #627 (July, 2004) scarebeast has not been in any other comic so he's overrated
