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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Comic Books Jerry Robinson, Creator of the Joker, Dead at 89

Posted by Erik Henriksen on Thu, Dec 8, 2011 at 4:55 PM

I'm late on this—the news broke this morning—but key Batman creator Jerry Robinson died yesterday. Via the LA Times:

Jerry Robinson, a pioneer in the early days of Batman comics and a key force in the creation of Robin the Boy Wonder; the Joker; Bruce Wayne’s butler, Alfred; and Two-Face, died Wednesday afternoon in New York City. He was 89.

Like entirely too many comics creators, Robinson never got the credit he deserved. Blockquote again:

Working with [Bob] Kane—who was a decade older—opened up new frontiers for the gifted young artist, but Kane took the credit when Batman became a sensation. It was Robinson, who started working on Batman in 1939 with Kane and Bill Finger, who came up with the name “Robin” for Batman’s sidekick, and he was the creator or key contributor to the first and formative appearances of enduring characters such as the Joker, Two-Face and Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s butler. As comics historians now credit writer Bill Finger with co-creating the Caped Crusader, they also acknowledge that the polished, high-verve style of Robinson is clearly evident in many issues that do not bear his name.

Batman wouldn't be Batman without the Joker—a hero is only as good as their villain, and the Joker's one of the best bad guys in comics. Despite Robinson's other comics contributions—some of them, believe it or not, not bat-related—it'll be the Joker that sticks around the longest, in comic after comic, and movie reboot after movie reboot.

 

Comments (3) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment
1
My favorite fictional character to hate. RIP, Mr. Robinson.
Posted by Sok on December 8, 2011 at 5:08 PM · Report
2
"It's like my surgeon used to say: if ya gotta go, go with a smile!"
Posted by Spindles on December 8, 2011 at 6:25 PM · Report
3
And not once did he ever get to kill Batman, once and for all. Sad...
Posted by DamosA on December 9, 2011 at 4:06 AM · Report

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