Batman '66 "scratchboard" silkscreen poster

[mwilbury]

I don't know how this slipped past me TWO YEARS AGO, but it's too good not to share.

If you know much about illustration or advertising art, Mark Summers (the artist, not the TV host) is THE MAN when it comes to scratchboard. I don't think there's a more famous living artist in this medium.

French Paper commissioned a poster with our beloved characters. It is still for sale on their site:
On Sale Here

After shipping to the States, it's pretty expensive, but I can tell you that it's still a good value for an 18-color silkscreen from an edition of 150. Those out-of-print Mondo posters, usually by inferior artists, sell for at least twice this amount. (I couldn't help but notice a little something weird going on with the top of Batman's cowl, but it's still a beautiful work.)

[Yellow Oval]

This would be a perfect rendition with the exception that, yes, the left bat ear is badly done looking more like a blue popsicle stick than a bat ear. That, and the top of the cowl isn't circular with the front part higher than the rear on either side of said ear effectively giving him a pointy head. Too bad as everything else is great.

[AndyFish]

One of the difficulties with scratch board is it gives everything a sort of grit-- intended or not- and Robin has a sort of five o'clock shadow thing going here.

It's oddly off balance with a lot of negative space at the bottom-- but it's an interesting piece.

[BiffPow]

It is excellent work. I also see the imbalance AndyFish noticed. A bit more light space above the head and in front of Batman might have helped. Still, much better than I could do! Ha!

Overall, reminds me of something from the 1940s.