Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Alan Grant, Batman, Comics, dc, dc comics, entertainment, Norm Breyfogle

You Can Take The Man Out Of The Bat But You Can't Take The Bat Out Of The Man – Talking To Norm Breyfogle

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2013 19:00:30 -0600

Tommy Zimmer writes;

Norm Breyfogle has answered the question of how he got into comics many times. He started reading Batman comics when he was a kid but could never quite nail his mask. So, he ended up putting Batman in a Robin-domino mask. While many of us thought he had departed, Norm Breyfogle was indeed still here, and was nice enough to sit down and chat with me.

Talking further about his time with Batman, I asked him about his awareness of the character during his childhood.

"Apparently, it must have been before the Batman TV show," Breyfogle said.

He said the Batman TV series didn't come out until about 1966, so he was aware of the character before that time.

"It's amazing to me because I often thought it was the Batman TV show that got me interested in him," Breyfogle said.

He said he was not really sure or how; maybe it was his step-brother. Breyfogle seemed to have gotten his drawing abilities from his father but he said it had to be genetic.

"My mom got divorced when I was three, so there was no real way for my dad (who was an artist himself) to influence me," Breyfogle said.

He said he never really saw any of his father's artwork and that it was really just a hobby for him.

"In kindergarten, I thought I was a little bit better than my peers in art and finger-painting," Breyfogle said.

He then discovered comic books, and it just encouraged him further to draw more and more. Breyfogle originally planned to be a scientist or astronomer because he thought that would be of a contribution to humanity or human knowledge. He considered comics to be more frivolous, and was not sure whether to devote his life to it. As a religious kid growing up, he prayed a lot about it but didn't hear anything citing the bible's thoughts on silence. He said at the end of the day, it was because he drew well than he could do well, and decided at age thirteen to become an artist.

"My mother started getting me up on Saturday mornings to go to a professional artist for personal instruction," Breyfogle said.

After that, he had the moment where he decided to be an artist. Breyfogle pulled out a pretty good self portrait of himself, and compared it to today which was impressive. He joked he was a prodigy, and didn't live up to his potential. At age fourteen, he moved up to Michigan, and he had two choices to attend school: Cranbrook Academy of Art or Northern Michigan University. Cranbrook was further away, and he felt more comfortable attending Northern as it was closer to home for him. At Northern, he joined the art department, majored in illustration and did not graduate with a degree; he was one credit away. He originally was a painting major, and when his mother moved them to California, Mike Mobius, president of StarReach productions, an agency for comics' artists, who contacted him, wanting to represent him. He did some gigs for New Talent Showcase, and then some individual gigs in one shots. His first major gig was Bob Violence, a backup for First Comics' American Flagg. He penciled that as he was a drafter and technical illustrator at Vandenburg Air Force Base in California. When he got Whisper, also published by First Comics, it was full time work, and he stopped his work at Vandenburg. He did the pencils, the inks the lettering and painted covers for it which he cites as learning his craft.

"That almost killed meeting those deadlines because I had to reach for reference on a regular basis," Breyfogle said.

He was only a professional for three years before he got Detective Comics from DC Comics where he worked with writer Alan Grant.

"My agent was representing me to Marvel and DC," Breyfogle said.

He said Dick Giordano, Vice President of DC Comics, met him halfway in Santa Barbara during the San Diego convention. Breyfogle brought samples, and was offered the book a few months later.

"I had wanted to draw Batman all my life," Breyfogle said.

He said it would have been his top choice. After speaking with Giordano, he had a dream where Batman and Robin met him in person where they were talking to him but he does not remember them what they said. For the first year, he did not talk to Alan; everything went through the editors at the company.

"It wasn't until Alan came to visit NYC, and I traveled to the DC Comics offices to meet with my editor Denny O'Neil that I met Alan for the first time," Breyfogle said.

He said Alan and him are still good friend though, they rarely speak.

"I was at a convention in Mexico last year, and it was the first time I had seen him in a while," Breyfogle said.

He compared it to good friends having a relationship like no time had passed.

"We had never really lived near each other hanging out or nothing but we are just naturally good friends," Breyfogle said.

He plans to see him in Edinburgh, Scotland at a convention where Alan lives. In his '20s, he went to a bunch of cons as he met the deadlines on Detective. After that, what followed for him was Batman and Shadow of the Bat. Breyfogle then started exploring the independent comics scene He jumped at the chance when Malibu offered him a healthy signing fee and the chance to do his own concept for a book.

"Prime was fun because it was so different than Batman," Breyfogle said.

Otherwise, he would have been the artist on "Robin" with Denny O'Neil because O'Neil asked him to draw the character, he said. Prime was a character that could bring down buildings, and that attracted Breyfogle because he had never done a character with such powers. Though he loved doing that, he would have loved to do both.

"I think I am the best to draw Robin," Breyfogle said.

He said he used lighting and shadow to make him look heroic, not just youthful. Recently, Breyfogle worked on Batman Beyond: Unlimited. Beechen and Breyfogle had different sensibilities on sound effects because every time Breyfogle would try to change things, Beechen would change them back. While he especially enjoyed drawing The Joker King and Dick Grayson, he doesn't understand why he was taken off.

Breyfogle said it was sudden, and he was surprised since they had further stories to tell.

Breyfogle is currently finishing 48 pages for "The Dangerous Dozen" finishing a story arc he started 7 years ago for the company A First Salvo, and has a number of other illustration jobs coming up including magazine and CD covers in Europe.

Tommy Zimmer is an up and coming freelance writer and journalist from Detroit, MI. He has freelanced for various websites and local newspapers like the Detroit Free Press and Detroit Metro Times. He also is working on many comic book projects, his first which is to self published soon. At the same time, he is still writing for the Free Press, and is very happy to be with Bleeding Cool and the website ComicBookSyndicate.com. You can check all of his goings-on at zimmert101.wordpress.com

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