Showing posts with label Don Newton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don Newton. Show all posts

My favorite Batman artists: Don Newton

Continuing are look at some of the best Bat-artists, Don Newton is an artist now getting some acclaim for his 1980s work on the Caped Crusader, but wasn't as celebrated as he should have been in his time.

I like the sense of power Newton brought to Batman. His version, much like Neal Adams', seems like a real -- really strong -- guy in a Batsuit, who is intense and committed to his one-man war against crime. More than Adams' though, Newton's work reminds me of Will Eisner. There's hunched, roundness and heft to his figures and a noirish quality to the lighting that reminds me of Eisner's celebrated post World War II work on The Spirit.

Newton drew many Batman stories for Batman and Detective Comics, for a wonderful period alternating on each of those titles with the great Gene Colan. He also made his mark as a great Captain Marvel artist in the pages of World's Finest. He also did quite a bit of work for Marvel and, before hitting the Big Two, did some excellent work on The Phantom for Charlton.

Despite turning out excellent, distinctive work for many years on many titles, it seemed like he never enjoyed celebrated status among fans during the height of his creativity. Tragically, like his fellow Bat-artist Marsall Rogers, he died too early, at age 49 in 1984.

It's good to see his work gaining more appreciation now. DC has collected a good share of his Batman work in DC's hardcover collection "Tales of the Batman: Don Newton," published last year.

Here's a look at some of Newton's Batman work: