Batman debuted in 1939 from the creative team of Bill Finger and Bob Kane. After Kane presented the first version of Batman to the world, dozens of artists have drawn the character over the years. Batman has changed design many times, from cartoony and fun to dark and gritty and everything in between.
The costume has also gone through changes, with different shades of blue and grey and sometimes almost a stark black with the bat symbol a black shadow by itself or sometimes surrounded by the yellow circle. However, the main design of Batman remains constant, with the cape and cowl, the bat symbol and utility belt, and the dark design that blends into the shadowy underworld of Gotham City. Through 80 years of comics, here is a look at the 10 best Batman artists of all-time.
10 DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI
David Mazzucchelli didn't do much work on Batman. Most fans know him thanks to his fantastic work with both Denny O'Neil and Frank Miller on Daredevil comic books — specifically the Daredevil: Born Again storyline. Thanks to his work with Miller, he picked up a chance to work on a Batman story in 1988.
The story was Batman: Year One, and it was a four-issue series, initially printed in Batman #404-407 before hitting in a single graphic novel after that. Considered one of the best Batman stories ever created, Miller and Mazzucchelli created a masterpiece. On a side note, Mazzucchelli also worked on a backup Batman story in World's Finest Comics #302 in 1984.
9 DICK SPRANG
Dick Sprang was a Batman artist during the Golden Age of comic books and worked on the Caped Crusader from the '40s through the '50s. He was the artist that redesigned the Batmobile in 1950 and is who created the iconic look that The Riddler is most known for to this day.
He also helped give Batman the more expressive face, the squared chin that defined him, and the barrel chest. What is most interesting is that, at the time, most fans didn't know that Sprang was drawing Batman as he worked as a ghost artist for Bob Kane.
8 KELLEY JONES
Kelley Jones gained a lot of fans thanks to his work with Neil Gaiman on his The Sandman series, penciling stories in Dead Country and Seasons of Mist. However, before and after that, he worked for DC Comics as well. He is the man responsible for changing the look of Deadman into his more skeletal appearance.
Jones then drew the Batman series Batman: Dark Joker - The Wild and Batman & Dracula: Red Rain. He did the covers for several of the chapters of Batman: Knightfall. He returned most recently to draw Batman: Gotham After Midnight, Batman: The Unseen, and one part of the Batman: Endgame series with "The Pale Man."
7 CARMINE INFANTINO
Carmine Infantino was part of the silver age of comic books in the '50s and '60s when DC reintroduced the world to the idea of superheroes on a grand scale. His first job was the first for DC when they relaunched their superhero line, and he created the updated version of The Flash in Showcase #4.
In 1964, Infantino joined up with John Broome to revive the fading Batman title and reinvigorated the entire franchise. He got rid of some of the silly aspects of Batman and Robin and made them look more detective oriented and mature, a style that remained in effect from that point on.
6 NORM BREYFOGLE
Norm Breyfogle worked on Batman from 1987 until 1995 and worked on some of the Caped Crusader's seminal titles of that era. He started his Batman career on Detective Comics with Alan Grant. Together they introduced several popular villains and allies, including Ventriloquist, Ratcatcher, and Tim Drake — the third Robin.
He also worked on Batman as well, creating some significant villains in Mr. Zsasz and Jeremiah Arkham. He returned from 2012-13 to draw the Batman Beyond Unlimited digital comic but sadly lost his ability to draw in 2014 due to a medical condition and passed away in 2018.
5 GREG CAPULLO
Greg Capullo got his big break in Marvel working on titles like X-Force and What If? before he moved over to Image to start working on Spawn. Capullo then took on several projects at Image and became one of their top artists before leaving Haunt to join DC.
That new job saw Capullo take on the art duties of Batman in the New 52 relaunch with writer Scott Snyder. The two creators worked together on Batman for five years, reinventing and updating several of Batman's most popular characters. Capullo most recently drew all five issues of Dark Nights: Metal and contributed to Detective Comics #1000.
4 FRANK MILLER
Frank Miller is controversial, but his work on Batman was something that remains a masterpiece to this day. Of course, Miller gained his most significant acclaim when he took on the title Daredevil, where he worked as the writer and penciler and introduced the character of Elektra to the series.
In 1985, Miller moved over to DC and then, in 1986, released his four-issue miniseries titled Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Paired with Alan Moore's Watchmen the same year, DC released two of the best adult-oriented comic books in history.
3 JIM APARO
Jim Aparo worked in comic books as n artist in the '60s and '70s. He signed on with DC in the late '60s when his friend Dick Giordano took an editorial position there and offered him Aquaman. Aparo, as he did with his previous work, penciled, inked, and lettered every issue he did until the book was canceled.
Starting with issue #100, Aparo became the main artist on The Brave and the Bold, a series where Batman teamed up with other characters. He penciled that series for 100 issues, until its cancelation. During the same time, he also worked on Detective Comics and Batman. Aparo is the man who penciled the Death in the Family storyline with the death of Jason Todd and KnightFall when Ban broke Batman's back.
2 NEAL ADAMS
Neal Adams is widely considered one of the most important Batman artists in DC Comics history. The first time he ever drew Batman was for the cover of The Brave and the Bold #75. A few months later, he drew Batman inside a comic for the first time in World's Finest Comics #175.
Neal Adams is known as the man who redefined the look of Batman's cowl and the anatomy that became the standard in the industry. He created the original designs for characters like Tim Drake, Ra's al Ghul, and Man-Bat. He also brought in the modern-day version of Two-Face in 1971 and revitalized Joker in 1973.
1 JIM LEE
Jim Lee was one of the artists that left Marvel Comics in 1992 to form Image. However, in 1998, Lee decided to sell his creator-owned studio WildStorm Productions to DC Comics and ran it under their umbrella. By doing that, Lee picked up the project that he became world-renowned for.
In 2003, he worked with Jeph Loeb on what became one of Batman's seminal storylines when they created the 12-issue Batman: Hush. In 2005, Lee penciled the polarizing Frank Miller comics All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. The writing was critically panned, but Lee's artwork was praised.