Bruce Timm is best known for his work on the critically acclaimed “Batman; the Animated Series” , "Superman; the Animated Series" and the excellent “Justice League Unlimited” shows. Although I watched these shows at the time, it wasn't until 1994 when I picked up the “Batman Adventures: Mad Love” comic book that I bacame aware of the man behind this amazing new animation style, I have been a fan of his work ever since. Although Timm hasn’t produced a great deal of actual comic strips he has created many striking comic book covers. Below are a few of my favourites to go along with the above cover to the “Adventures of Superman” issue 4.
Bruce Timm and Paul Dini co-created Harley Quinn in 1992 as a comic relief partner to the Joker for the Batman Animated series. Although Harley Quinn has become one of the most popular comic book / film crossover characters in recent years, she has morphed from the original vision that Timm and Dini had for her into an unhinged psychopath. The above cover to "Harley Quinn's Little Black Book" issue 23 perhaps hints at this with the original Harley's exasperated comments to a "Margot Robbie" inspired film version.
The 1999 Avengers 1½ special written by Roger Stern with a full strip drawn in the Timm style with a nod to early Jack Kirby.
Above: Variant cover to "Cage!" issue 2 from 2016 - this is a very different Luke Cage and is a great cartoon style series by Genndy Tartakovsky the animator on Samurai Jack, Dexters Laboritory etc. I'm still on the look out for this issue - cover taken from the Grand Comic Book Database.
Not and actual comic book but I love this Bruce Timm cover of Tigra from "Back Issue" magazine issue 17 from 2006.
I was probably about seven years old when I walked into my local newsagents in Cambuslang (near Glasgow) with my pocket money firmly he...
Following on from my last post featuring some of my favourite Marvel comic book covers from 1973, I thought I would show some of DC's ...
Nearly a half-century on I still consider 1973 to be the year that cemented my destiny in becoming a lifetime comic book fan. It was a yea...
I'm a big Bruce Timm fan. He has a wonderful animation inspired style that reduces characters to their core elements, much like what Darwyn Cooke was able to do.
ReplyDeleteTimm's seemingly simple drawing style is in fact quite intricate when you look closely at it - it is indeed similar to the late/great Darwyn Cooke's work . Timm drew a fun tale in the giant sized (as in the size of the pages) "Kung Fu Bible stories" (Image) which if you haven't seen you should try to track down Rip, you'd live it.
ReplyDeleteIs the "Mystery Guest Villain" on the Avengers cover meant to be a joke because it's pretty obvious it's Dr Doom!
ReplyDeleteLol its meant as a nod to the original Marvel comics of that time when the baddie was sometimes shown in shadow but as still clearly recognisable.
ReplyDeleteBruce Timm gets nowhere near the recognition that he deserves for his design work on the Batman animated TV series, or his contribution and influence on the various comic books that were inspired by the TV animated series. Perhaps this is because the books are regarded as non-canon, or superficially targeted at younger readers. But I loved getting those comics each month - especially Gotham Knights - as they captured that feeling of FUN that was, and continues to be, missing from the mainstream Batman titles.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover of that Avengers 1 1/2….I will seek it out.
He certainly doesn't seem to get the credit for his comic strip art but I think (hope) his animation design is held in high regard. He has certainly influenced lots of artists but your spot on perhaps the books he picks aren't highly regarded. For me he, and the late Darwyn Cookes books were some of the only superhero titles I could read without being bored or lost in overly complex art layout pages. Ave Gers 1 1/2 is a fun read as is his FF comic he did a few years ago.
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