Jim Aparo 1932 - 2005

[Adam Tyner]

In case you missed the article on Toon Zone News, Jim Aparo died this morning. This is awful news; Jim's among my top 5 favorite Bat-artists of all time, and he drew one of my absolute favorite comics growing up ("Batman and the Outsiders" and the Mando "The Outsiders").

[Clayface]

This is awful news; Jim's among my top 5 favorite Bat-artists of all time

He's in my top 5 as well. When I think back to my childhood and the charater of Batman, it's Jim Aparo's images that spring to mind - he was man that defined the character's look for me. Terrible news to hear that he's gone now - I think I've always held out hope that someday he'd return to a Batman title as the regular artist.

[A.Magik]

Jim Aparo has drawn a good amount of important events in Batman history:

-Batman quitting the Justice League (a precursor to the present Batman's 'my-way-or-the-highway' attitude) and forming the Outsiders.
-Batman giving Dick Grayson Robin independence (both versions!)
-The death of Jason Todd Robin
-Tim Drake becoming Robin III (I think)
-Bane crippling Batman

A.Magik

[Simpler Simon]

Aw man...Aparo is definitely one of the artists that defined Batman for me, and his square-jawed Bruce Wayne is instantly recognizable (that same face also became Jean Paul Valley and Lt. Kitch during the Knightfall saga). The last, newest work I have of his was that four-parter in LotDK where Joker teamed up with Ra's Al Ghul. Can anyone point me to something more recent, DC-related?

RIP Mr. Aparo.

[halinar]

wow... he's the reason I picked up my first batman books.

He will be missed.

[Patrick Bateman]

That's terribly sad news. I was hoping to see one last special Batman project from him. Jim Aparo, to me, was the quintessential Batman artist. His versions of all the characters (Most notably Bruce Wayne and Two-Face), are what I consider to be the measuring stick for how they're drawn by others. Hell, he was able to make Nightwing look cool in his original costume, regardless of how ugly the thing was.

You'll be missed, Mr. Aparo. God Bless, and thanks for the fantastic imagery.

[Mr_Mayhem]

He's in my top 5 as well. When I think back to my childhood and the charater of Batman, it's Jim Aparo's images that spring to mind - he was man that defined the character's look for me. Terrible news to hear that he's gone now - I think I've always held out hope that someday he'd return to a Batman title as the regular artist.

Same here, so many of us from "generation X" remember Jim Aparo's work as our first exposure to the Batman from the comics. I know he was mine. Back in the eighties I remember his work from such classics as the Untold Legend of Batman, A Death In The Family, A Lonely Place of Dying, and just a number of the Batman comics from that time.

Around '95 I can remember depising the artwork of Kelly Jones, and yearned for a return to Aparo's Batman. He drew the characters straight, and that allowed for the story to flow much better. Sometimes that ultra wacky artwork can be ruin the story for me. Though, I have learned to accept some it alittle better now. Thank god for Jim Lee! He for the most part, keeps the artwork straight. Nevertheless, I'll never forget Aparo's work. His Batman is without a doubt one of the most heroic looking.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

Mark Evanier posts a tribute to Jim Aparo, written with his usual verbal flair and knowledge of the industry. Apparently, Aparo was one of the most reliable artists in the biz, capable of producing a fully pencilled, inked, and lettered comic at a page-a-day rate.

My first known exposure to Aparo was in a 3-part Batman story called "The Many Deaths of the Batman," which had some assassin killing off all the assorted people who had tutored Batman over the years. Probably written by Denny O'Neil and pencilled by Aparo. I'm not sure what it was that drew my attention to his name in particular, but I noticed his name on things perpetually after that.

Lots of memorable Batman artists have come and gone, but he and Neal Adams are the ones who cemented the classic, modern-era Batman to a whole pile of readers. RIP, Jim.

-- Ed/Ace

[James Harvey]

The first Jim Aparo Batman comics I can remember reading are The Many Deaths of Batman and Batman: Ten Nights of the Beast. Both weren't the best of stories, but they hold a special place for me. He was one of my favorite Batman artists growing up, and made a definitive mark with his rendition of the Dark Knight. He was apart of many important moments in DC history, providing a look and style only he could deliver.

Those two stories were the first books I can remember reading with his art. I can also only vividly remember his late 1980's/1990s work, and his pre-Knightfall work. His rendition of a Venom-addicted Riddler in Batman #490 was just incredible. Oddly enough, just last night I was reading a couple of his No Man's Land contributions he made during the years long storyline. I think I may go back, dig out every Jim Aparo comic book I have, from Batman and the Outsiders and The Untold Legend of Batman to Green Arrow and Batman.

Batman has truly lost one of his greatest allies. He will be missed.

[JLU Dude]

His was some of the first work I was exposed to when I started getting into comics. He was good. He'll be missed.

[Beyond Batman]