Happy Anniversary Batman! He doesn’t look it, but he’s been around 85 years. Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of the Dark Knight anywhere, was released on this day in 1939. And this year, Bruce is having his portrait done.
DC has announced the Batman 85 Artist Series, a collection of specially commissioned artwork inspired by Bats’ first story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” It might interest you to know the identity of Batman was kept a secret throughout the story, with several suspects for the reader to ponder over, until the last panel revealed it was Bruce Wayne. Things like Wayne’s origin, backstory and motives were not part of it and were fleshed out later.
There are seven portraits in the Batman 85 series, created by artists from around the world….some you may have heard of and some that may be new to you.
Caledonia Curry aka Swoon, a Brooklyn-based artist widely known as the first woman to gain large-scale recognition in the world of street art.
Hebru Brantley – a Los Angeles-based artist known for his distinctive, narrative-driven work that revolves around his conceptualized characters.
João Marco, an illustrator and a researcher on the use of comics in education, based in Brazil.
Sandra Fabara aka Lady Pink – a New York-based artist who started her career specializing in graffiti art.
Mirka Andolfo – multiple award-winning Italian writer and artist known for her strong female characters in comics.
Ram Han – a digital painter based in South Korea, her work explores visual stimuli obtained from media and visualizing experimental fantasies.
Yoshitaka Amano – based in Tokyo and known for his work as a character designer, illustrator, theater and film scenic designer, and costume designer.
The plan is for the Batman 85 Artist Series to be shown off at select events around the world including Tokyo, Japan, Weeze, Germany, and Guangzhou, China. But you don’t have to travel to get your hands on this art (as long as you’re fine with a copy instead of the original). Batman 85 merchandise is now available at shop.de.com that has this art on t-shirts, sweatshirts, posters and more. Get an Amano Batman for your bathroom!
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