My favorite artist JOHN BYRNE has a few sketches that display his interpretation of the Bat. I see a lot of NEAL ADAMS and even MARSHALL ROGERS’ influence in J.B.’s art.
Early BYRNE art describes the Bat as athletically proportioned and not overly muscular. The Bat relied on his intelligence and his cunning even more than his physical strength. As the Bat got older he became more stocky and built up. I like the looks of the dark detective from BYRNE’s pencil. I’d like to see his interpretation of the Bat from the Dark Knight Returns era.
Even his Batgirl interpretation is sharper than hell…
That, actually, is one of the renditions of Batman I remember most.
warning needed for those reading dp dot com john blazed. first i thought that said david byrne, then i thought it said david lynch which gave me a holy shit moment thinking that dude from twin peaks and lost highway was directing batman.
either way, enjoyed the post.
I remember reading a JB interview where he said he was trying to re-capture Batman’s classic 1930’s look with the extra long pointed ears.
http://figuremasterles.tripod.com/id47.html
the jacket on byrne’s interpretation of batgirl reminds me of what grant morrison did with animal man. she actually looks hella tight with it.
if you’re interested, byrne did an elseworlds tale with superman and batman called generations. in that he did his take on the armored batman from the knightfall saga.