Sitting Down with Norm Breyfogle

Norm Breyfogle was the first Batman artist that made me sit up and take notice. Before getting the chance to backtrack and enjoy the work of the Adams, Rogers, Miller, Mazzuchelli and Aparo crew, Breyfogle defined the Dark Knight Detective as a fluid, dangerous and visually stunning creature of the night. But one that wasn't afraid to crack a smile or have a bit of a life outside the cape and cowl.

Working mainly with writer Alan Grant on both Detective Comics and Batman (with a shorter stint on the Batman: Shadow of the Bat series), Breyfogle helped bring new life (or life, period) to a stable of classic villains, including but not limited to Killer Croc, the Penguin, Scarface, Anarky and the Joker. I caught up with Breyfogle for a quick chat about his Bat-work, trouble with DC Comics and what he's been up to since. Sit and join us.


ALEX SEGURA JR.: A lot of people know you for your Batman and Anarky work. Looking back, how would you rate your time on those books? What was it like working on characters you grew up reading? And, would you ever consider returning to those books?

NORM BREYFOGLE: My time on the Batman titles was the fulfillment of a childhood dream. I just wish it had occurred a few years later, so the work would even better stand the test of time, because I've improved a lot since then.

Anarky was fun, but the industry was going through a tough time when that title was released. My favorite memory of my Anarky time has to be my long philosophical debates with Alan Grant, which helped to awaken the writer inside me.

I'd be happy to draw either of those characters - or any others - again for DC Comics, but I've apparently been put on some kind of secret shit list at my old professional home. I don't understand it. Maybe because my page rate is too high -- and when I offered to reduce it so that I could compete in the market with younger and cheaper talent, Mike Carlin told me I couldn't do that; so much for the "free market,"eh? -- or because of institutionalized ageism, or because I'm not part of the good old boy's club. Whatever it is, they don't seem to want to give me the time of day there now.

I'd be happily working right now on any number of titles for DC otherwise...

SEGURA: Recently DC came out with a Batman in the Eighties anthology. You made it known on your messageboard that you felt slighted about not having any of your stories included in the volume. Did you ever get to clear that up with DC? Do you expect to be in the next edition, Batman in the Nineties?

BREYFOGLE: No, I never asked DC about it. I assume it'll all come out in the wash. I have no idea if I'll be in the next volume or not. It would be pretty strange if my work was left out, though, wouldn't it? I did draw Batman for six or seven years, after all ...

SEGURA: What are you working on these days? I think the last time I caught your work was on the Spectre. What new projects are in the works, and what characters would you like to tackle some day?

BREYFORGLE: Since Spectre I pencilled and inked the interiors and covers for a year on the title Black Tide from Angel Gate Press, then I spent a while writing my novel and a lot of poetry and doing commissions -- and a few short comics stories for various publishers -- and now I'm a full-time comics artist again, pencilling and inking the interiors and covers for a new title, Of Bitter Souls, for a new production house (Relative Comics) to be published by Speakeasy Comics. I call it "Cajun ghostbusting with Matrix style." It's written by my friend Charles Satterlee. The first issue will be on sale in August.

I'd like to someday draw all the characters I haven't had a real shot at yet. Among my top choices would be Dr. Strange and The Hulk, but I'd love drawing any and/or all of the rest.

SEGURA: What comics do you read today? Are there any titles or creators that make you stand up and take notice? Why?

BREYFOGLE: I don't read comics today, so my favs are mostly from the seventies and eighties.

SEGURA: Do you still talk to longtime collaborator Alan Grant? Or any of the former Bat-writers?

BREYFOGLE: Alan Grant and Denny O'Neil every now and then, no one else. Once in a blue moon I'll contact Doug Moench.

SEGURA: You've got a pretty snazzy website. What made you want to start your own, and how has the experience treated you?

BREYFOGLE: I was approached by fans who thought I should have one about 5 or 6 years ago. The latest one is designed by Darren Close, an aussie friend of mine.

I've really enjoyed getting a computer and having a website. When my work schedule slowed down around 2001, the internet helped me feel I was still connected to my fans and to my fellow pros. And answering all these emails keeps my inner writer in fighting trim!

SEGURA: Stepping back a bit, what's your view on the comic book industry today? Specifically, mega-events like Avengers Chaos and Identity Crisis. Do you find these stories help or hinder comics ability to gain more mainstream appeal?

BREYFOGLE: Like I indicated above, I'm not very aware of present comics events. My general attitude, however, is that I prefer contained-in-one-issue stories. Still, it's all in the handling. A cross-over or any other type of mega-event can be well done, too.

SEGURA: Of your work, what issues stand out as great examples of your work? Which issues/runs would you rather forget?

BREYFOGLE: I'd have to pick individual panels to forget instead of entire runs.

I loved all the issues I drew of Batman, Detective Comics and Shadow of the Bat, and I prefered the ones that I inked myself. My fully-painted origin of Ras Al Ghul graphic novel Birth of the Demon, written by Ras' creator, Denny O'Neil was another fav, as were the last two Batman jobs I did: Batman: The Abduction and Batman: Dreamland in 1999 or so.

Prime and Metaphysique were the other 2 highlights so far that compare with my Batman years.

SEGURA: Anything else you'd like to add?

BREYFOGLE: Yes: I'm really enjoying my present work on Of Bitter Souls!