Grant / Breyfogle / Mitchell late 80's Detective run

[*paull*]

One of my all-time favorite comic runs was the Grant (and Wagner early on) / Breyfogle / Mitchell run on Detective Comics (and then in Batman) in the late 80s / early 90s. Both at the time and today that run is very undervalued by Batman fans. Why is that? I thought it was some of the most clever writing and energetic artwork of the decade. The Batman in this run was not the lame brooding character that we've seen since the mid 80s. Terrific villians too: the Ventriloquist, Anarky, the four Clayfaces, etc. Great stuff!

 

Any other fans of this run out there?

 

 

[Mephisto]

Well I get the impression that Breyfogle's art on the run isn't underappreciated. I know of many people who are very interested in finding his artwork from the run but there isn't very much out there and what is isn't his best work...

[Point Five]

Yes!! Absolutely loved Breyfogle's art on this run. His action scenes and layouts were beautifully inventive. I love his exaggerated drawings of Batman's cowl, and the way Batman's face would change or appear in silhouette to evoke a mood (nice examples above). Quite nice variety to his art. And yeah, some great stories! The Ratcatcher (was that his name?) two-parter in 'Tec 585-586 and the Penguin story in 610-611 were among my favorites. Great stuff!

[rob_react]

[DKB]

I loved those books when I bought them as a kid. Unfortunately they and most of the rest of my DC books became the victims of my need to trim the collection down. 70+ book Detective lot on eBay right now.

[Foolkiller]

growing up, Breyfogle was who I identified as THE Batman artist and I loved the stories and art from this era. Under appreciated and often over looked in the pantheon of good Bat-runs.

[*paull*]

I put Breyfogle's Batman work up there with the likes of Adams, Rogers and Mazzuchelli. Great stuff that is certainly under-recognized.

[Zonker]

I think Breyfogle is solid second-tier, behind Adams, Rogers, Golden, Sale, Mazzuchelli, but certainly in a league with Aparo (in his prime), Newton, Colan, and the Novick/Giordano team.

[dam60]

One of my all-time favorite comic runs was the Grant (and Wagner early on) / Breyfogle / Mitchell run on Detective Comics (and then in Batman) in the late 80s / early 90s. Both at the time and today that run is very undervalued by Batman fans. Why is that? I thought it was some of the most clever writing and energetic artwork of the decade. The Batman in this run was not the lame brooding character that we've seen since the mid 80s. Terrific villians too: the Ventriloquist, Anarky, the four Clayfaces, etc. Great stuff!

 

Any other fans of this run out there?

 

 

Grant and Breyfogle was one of the best Batman teams in the last two decade. I have a lot of respect for Norm and have a few of his pieces. Would give my right nut for the Cover to Batman 465 or the double page spread at the end of Batman 457,

 

http://www.dam60.web1000.com/Breyfogle/Breyfogle.html

[dam60]

Yes!! Absolutely loved Breyfogle's art on this run. His action scenes and layouts were beautifully inventive. I love his exaggerated drawings of Batman's cowl, and the way Batman's face would change or appear in silhouette to evoke a mood (nice examples above). Quite nice variety to his art. And yeah, some great stories! The Ratcatcher (was that his name?) two-parter in 'Tec 585-586 and the Penguin story in 610-611 were among my favorites. Great stuff!

 

The Penguin cover with Batman in the monocle sold in late 2002 or early 2003 on the bay for just under $600. I would definitely love to get more Breyfogle art but only key pieces (which I have no problem paying for)

[dam60]

I think Breyfogle is solid second-tier, behind Adams, Rogers, Golden, Sale, Mazzuchelli, but certainly in a league with Aparo (in his prime), Newton, Colan, and the Novick/Giordano team.

 

Newton is another great artist who I would love to get a piece from. I would think that had he lived longer he would have been much more appreciated,

[Foolkiller]

I was wondering how long it was going to take DAM to chime in on this thread... we're late 80s/90s comic readers, Breyfogle was the man back when we were growing up.

[october]

Yes!! Absolutely loved Breyfogle's art on this run. His action scenes and layouts were beautifully inventive. I love his exaggerated drawings of Batman's cowl, and the way Batman's face would change or appear in silhouette to evoke a mood (nice examples above). Quite nice variety to his art. And yeah, some great stories! The Ratcatcher (was that his name?) two-parter in 'Tec 585-586 and the Penguin story in 610-611 were among my favorites. Great stuff!

 

The Penguin cover with Batman in the monocle sold in late 2002 or early 2003 on the bay for just under $600. I would definitely love to get more Breyfogle art but only key pieces (which I have no problem paying for)

 

I fished this out of the quarter bin a few weeks ago.

 

 

[Point Five]

Yeah! Love that Tec 611.

[deathlok]

I have never been a huge fan of Breyfogle. His work just doesn't seem very appealing to me. There are however a few covers that I do think are interesting from Batman.

 

 

 

 

[supapimp]

how come oldguy's webpage about danny boy isn't on your site?

[deathlok]

how come oldguy's webpage about danny boy isn't on your site?

 

Excellent question. One I will address when I get home.

[Point Five]

Those are some interesting Batman covers, some of which I hadn't seen before. But your Batman #473 looks like it could use a pressing......

 

OK, here's my contribution to the Breyfogle cover series. If you don't think Breyfogle is underappreciated, take a look at this Tec 590 cover. How cool is this? If, say, Neal Adams had drawn this cover in the early 70s, we'd all be tripping over each other to find a 9.6 copy.....

 

[*paull*]

That Tec #590 cover is one of my all-time favorites...

[nearmint]

I've purchased maybe 3 pieces of original art in my lifetime. One was a two-page spread of the Joker in an old jalopy, and Batman swinging in to get him. Bought it directly from Breyfogle just a few weeks after the issue came out. Sold it a year later when I needed cash for a Golden Age purchase.

 

So what exactly are the issue numbers of Breyfogle's run?