thehefner | I want you guys to see something

This is the first page of BATMAN #441, part 3 of the "A Lonely Place of Dying," storyline. I first read this back when it originally came out in 1989. I was six. This was the very first comic I had ever read in my life (not counting sunday funnies, I mean *real* comic book), and this was the first page of comic I ever read. It is perhaps no coincidence then why both Batman and Two-Face have been so deeply ingrained into my consciousness ever since.

The artist was Jim Aparo, who passed away earlier this week. He had been penciling Batman since the early 70's, when artists like Aparo and Neal Adams were making way for more realism in comics. Aparo had drawn many characters, but he was most strongly associated with Batman, and he drew the Dark Knight's adventures all the way up to 2001, when he finally retired. He was there for some of Batman's most important moments, from the death of Robin (Jason Todd) to the breaking of Batman's back. For many, myself included, he is known as the definitive Batman artist (ok, admittedly, it's between him and Adams). However, his name is largely unknown to current comic readers, since to so many it would seem like they haven't read anything that's more than six years old. It is my sincerest hope that all the news of his death and his influence will encourage others to discover the man's work.

I still regret that I was never able to meet him at a convention so I could have gotten an original Two-Face drawing.