MARSHALL ROGERS
1950-2007 |
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"Marshall was
one of the radical young stylists bringing new looks to DC
in the '70s, especially with his memorable collaboration
with Steve Englehart on Batman...his debonair smile and
charm were every bit as endearing as his art was energetic,
and his colleagues at DC are all shocked to have a great
artist pass so young."
-DC Comics President & Publisher Paul Levitz |
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MARSHALL ROGERS DIES...Artist
Marshall Rogers, who won acclaim for
his stylish depiction of Batman and
is best remembered for his art on the
acclaimed "Joker Fish" storyline, has
died at age 57. His work was
characterized by the depiction of
characters with relatively human
proportions rather than exaggerated
musculature, and by detailed
rendering of buildings and
structures.
Born January 22, 1950, Rogers studied
architecture at Kent State University
before pursuing a career in comics.
His earliest comics work appeared in
1976 for Marvel Comics in their black
and white magazine Deadly Hands of
Kung Fu. At DC his art first appeared
in a backup story in DETECTIVE
COMICS, the title with which he is
most identified.
Rogers quickly moved up to penciling
the lead stories in DETECTIVE,
working with his frequent
collaborators, writer Steve Englehart
and inker Terry Austin. Rogers' work
with Englehart in Detective Comics
#471-476 is considered a definitive
interpretation of the darker moodier
Batman, although their version tended
to be more cerebral and less angry
than those of their contemporaries.
During this run Rogers and Englehart
also introduced the characters Rupert
Thorne (Gotham Mob Boss) and love
interest Silver St. Cloud. At this
same time he also drew a memorable
run of MISTER MIRACLE.
Rogers returned to Batman frequently
after his initial run on DETECTIVE,
contributing stories to BATMAN FAMILY
and other titles, including a new
look at the Dark Knight's beginnings
in SECRET ORIGINS. In the 1980s,
Rogers began working for Eclipse
Comics, with projects including
Coyote, Scorpio, the graphic novel
Detectives, Inc., and his own
creation, Cap'n Quick and A Foozle.
By the mid-1980s, Rogers was working
for Marvel Comics, where he
illustrated Dr.Strange, G.I. Joe,
Howard the Duck and more, as well as
a long run on Silver Surfer. He
became the artist on the Batman daily
comic strip at the end of the decade.
More recently, Rogers illustrated the
miniseries GREEN LANTERN: EVIL'S
MIGHT, then returned to the Dark
Knight for a 5-part story in BATMAN:
LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT. He re
teamed with Englehart and Austin for
the 2005 miniseries BATMAN: DARK
DETECTIVE, a follow up on their
classic work of the 1970s. |
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COMIC
NEWSBYTES... |
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MARVEL NEWSBYTES: |
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INDY NEWSBYTES: |
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MISCELLANEOUS
NEWSBYTES... |
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IN MEMORIUM:
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 OBITUARIES,
no one's
getting out alive and so when someone
of note to us passes on, we
memorialize them here. |
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MARSHALL ROGERS SELECTED
WORKS |
 DC
COMICS:
Batman
Family #11-13 (1977), pencils
Batman: Dark Detective #1-6 (2005),
pencils
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
#132-136 (2000), pencils
Detective Comics #466-468, 471-479,
481 (1976-1979), pencils
Green Lantern #187 (1985),
pencils/inks
Green Lantern: Evil's Might #1-3
(2002), pencils
House of Mystery #254, 274, 277
(1977, 1979, 1980), pencils/inks
Justice League Europe #20-22
(1990-1991), pencils
Mister Miracle (volume 1) #19-22
(1977-1978), pencils
Mister Miracle (volume 3) #5-6
(1996), pencils
Mystery In Space #111 (1980),
pencils/inks
Realworlds: Batman (2000), pencils
Secret Origins #6 (1986), pencils
Shadow Of The Batman #1-5 (1985-1986,
reprint mini-series collecting his
Detective Comics work)
Superman #400 (1984), pencils
Superman Family #182, 194 (1977,
1979), pencils
The Shadow #7 (1988), pencils
Unexpected #191 (1979), pencils
Weird War Tales #51-52 (1977),
pencils
World's Finest Comics #259 (1979),
pencils |
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 MARVEL
COMICS:
Daughters Of The Dragon Special #1
(2005, reprinting Deadly Hands of
Kung Fu work)
Excalibur #10-11 (1989), pencils
GI Joe 61, 75, 77, 79,81, 82, 84, 86
(1987-1989), pencils
Silver Surfer #1-10, 12, 21
(1987-1989), pencils
Spider-Man #27-28 (1992), pencils |
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 ECLIPSE
COMICS:
Cap'N Quick & A Foozle #1-2
(1984-1985), writer/pencils/inks
Eclipse Magazine (Coyote) #1-8
(1981-1983), pencils/inks
Eclipse Monthly (Cap'N Quick) #1-4
(1983-1984), writer/pencils/inks
Scorpio Rose #1-2 (1983),
pencils/inks |
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 GRAPHIC
NOVELS/TRADES:
Batman: Dark Detective (2006), DC
Comics, 144 pages, ISBN 1-4012-0898-3
Batman: Strange Apparitions (1999),
DC Comics, 176 pages, ISBN
1-56389-500-5
Coyote - Volume 1 (2005), Image
Comics, 128 pages, ISBN 1-58240-519-0
Demon With a Glass Hand (1986), DC
Comics, 144 pages, ISBN 0-930289-09-9
Detectives Inc.: A Remembrance of
Threatening Green by Don McGregor and
Marshall Rogers (Eclipse Enterprises,
1985) |
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 PORTFOLIOS:
the Batman - Portfolio #1 (1981), S.Q.
Productions Inc, 5 plates, s/n 1000
F.O.O.G. (Friends Of Old Gerber)
(1982), 1 plate (Cap'N Quick &
Foozle)
Heroines (1979), 1 plate (Pulp
Heroine)
Heroes, Heavies & Heroines (1981), 1
plate (Nightcrawler)
Strange (1979), Schanes & Schanes, 6
plates, s/n 1200 |
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A PERSONAL NOTE |
 Most
people don't remember (or wern't
around) but DC's in the mid-seventies
really, really sucked and the "Batman
Family" of titles were no exception
to this. After Adams and O'neil's
re-introduction of the Joker in the
summer of '72 there was almost
nothing of any note that happened in
either "Detective" or "Batman".
Stories in these titles were
pedestrian to awful and the art
chores were genuinely handled by
either Iron Men Irv Novick or Jim
Aparo, both of whom I liked but will
be the first to admit their styles
were less than "flashy". Over in
"Brave and the Bold" Bob Haney was
busy driving his Batman team up
stories full bore into a creative
brick wall every other month (it was
a bi-monthly then) and the new title
"Batman Family" was a combination
platter of poorly printed reprints
and new absolute drek from writer (a
term I use advisedly here) Bob
Rozakis. The 100 Page Super
Spectacular's and a Walt Simonson
Manhunter x-over were the only bright
spots in the Batcave during this
period.
And then came Englehart and Rogers.
Today, you cannot begin to understand
what a creative breath of fresh air
they were. Englehart's stories were a
"Marvel-ized" breath of creative
fresh air. Characterization,
continuity and a respect for the
character's past were all in play
every issue. However all the writing
excellence was over shadowed by
Roger's art. Imaginative panel design
(and I do mean design) combined with
an obvious expert's control of
anatomy and all topped off by
agonizingly detailed backgrounds.
Rogers Batman blew me away in the
mid-late 70's and gave me reason to
hope that DC could actually rise
above the creative swamp it was stuck
in.
As we've all come to realize since
then, truely creative artists burn
bright, burn short and ultimately
burn out all to quickly in comics. As
you can see by the list above, Rogers
did a relatively small amount of work
for the years he was in the industry.
His best work is almost universally
acknowledged as his Batman run on
"Detective" which dates back thirty
years now. And of course while
Mr.Rogers was off doing other things
in the 80's and 90's the industry
passed him by and he was forgotten;
it was sad to see the Englehart/Rogers
team almost totally ignored by fans
in 2005's "Dark Detective"
mini-series.
Of course any artist can only be
"ground-breaking" so many times and
despite the "should of's" his career
embodies, his collection of work will
stand the test of time. Tank you
Marshall for a great collection of
work.
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All
Books/Characters/Individuals pictured herein are © Copyright 2007
by their respective owners.
No rights given or implied
by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
News © 2007 Alternate Reality, Inc. |
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