Grayson in a Box

Remembering Norm (1960–2018)

In Memoriam: Norm Breyfogle

Earlier this month (24 September), it was announced that Norman Keith “Norm” Breyfogle has died. At fifty-eight, he was much too young to go. He was an American artist, best known for his comic book art on the Batman franchise from 1987 to 1995. During his time on the Batman book, he co-created the villains Ventriloquist, Ratcatcher, Anarky, Jeremiah Arkham, Victor Zsasz, and Amygdala. In 1992 he was tapped to redesign Batman. However, two years prior, he was also approached, along with a number of artists, to redesign Robin. While DC Comics eventually chose the design from Neal Adams, Norm Breyfogle submitted many designs and even penciled the first instance where Tim Drake official became Robin (center). Imaged Used:

It’s Batman Day today (15 September)! To commemorate, I’ve done a photoset of fellow Robins: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne that have used the title: Batman in any continuity, possible futures, and different worlds. Related Post

Batman Day 2015

Batman Day 2016

Batman Day 2017

Image Source:

Batman (Vol. 1) #687 by Ed Benes

Batman (Vol. 3) #45, Batman: Battle for the Cowl #1–2 by Tony S. Daniel

Batman and Robin Annual (Vol. 2) #1 by Ardian Syaf

Countdown #30 by Jesús Saíz

Detective Comics (Vol. 3) #965 by Eddy Barrows

Damian: Son of Batman #1–2 by Andy Kubert

Injustice 2 #46 by Daniel Sampere

Justice League: Generation Lost #14 by Aaron Lopresti

(Tales of the new teen titans #37 and Batman and the outsiders #5)

So, a while back I saw a claim about one of the Robin’s height that really threw me off. My first thought was ‘oh man, really? that Robin was super TINY’ and then a few moment’s later I realized that considering Batman is 188(6′2′’)ish there was no way that Robin could be that height because that would mean that they only came up to his hip, which… we’ve got some small Robin’s but not THAT small. I was pretty curious how tall they actually were so I tried to look it up, but sadly only a characters current stats are available (if even that *cough* Carrie Kelly *cough*). At this point, it’s really bugging me so I decided to look. though a lot of the early comics to try and see if I could figure it out.

“The following is a list of people who can suck it. Number One: The Joker. I don’t think I need to explain that one. Number Two: Cluemaster. Fuck you, you stole my bit, and I will be like a plague unto your house. Number Three: King Tut. You also stole my bit, but did it while killing people and got me arrested for murder. Also, I’m, like, 93% sure you’re a white guy and your costume is racist.

“Number Four: The Scarecrow. I know you ate my leftover Chinese, Jon, even though I wrote my name on it. I was saving that for lunch. I had to eat a goddamn peanut butter and jelly sandwich like a five-year-old. It was all you had in the hideout. For fuck’s sake, go shopping, not all of us can live like a bridge troll.

“Number Five: The Penguin. You- No, no, wait, wait… That one should be crossed out. He replaced that and apologized. Never mind, Oswald, you’re fine. Drinks at 7:00 tomorrow, right?

“Anyway, where was…? Ah, yes. Number Six: The Mad Hatter. You carded me and left me like that for six hours because I, and I quote, ‘would not stop talking about Mythbusters.’ Well, excuse me for trying to make intellectually stimulating conversation on a level you could understand. I suppose every time you prattle on about mome raths and borogoves it’s goddamn Shakespeare? Well… Well, it’s Carroll, but… Oh, you know what I mean!

“Number Seven: Catwoman. You left me hanging by one hand from a ledge five stories up and holding a twenty-pound bag of jewels and very pointy  objets d'art while you ‘distracted’ the Dark Knight. I know you were making out with him, Selina. You were gone for fifteen minutes. My shoulder almost dislocated. Very unprofessional.

“Number Eight: Kite Man.”

Here the Riddler pauses, lifting his narrowed gaze to glare at the camera, voice dropping to an ominous tone.

“You know what you did…”

His demeanor shifts quickly, and he’s back to reading from his list almost cheerfully.

“Number Nine! Th-”

He’s interrupted by a crashing noise in the background and looks over his shoulder just an instant before a deep voice angrily growls, “Riddler!”

“Oh, for the love of-” He turns to glare at the camera, speaking quickly. “Number Nine: Batman! Interrupting me while I’m on television making very important- Hm-mmph!”

Batman: Riddler, you’ve hijacked the TV airwaves and you know that’s wrong but I think this is actually theraputic. So I’m giving you five minutes, and then I’m taking you to Arkham

This starts a dialogue with a number of other youtube users who both attempt to answer his riddles and pose their own riddles in return.

Riddler conquering Youtube with his daily/weekly vlogs. Gaining a cult following who subscribe to his latest challenging puzzles and riddles. Culminating in some yearly massive worldwide challenge in which viewers are dwindled down to a head-to-head competition against the Riddler himself, basically providing a test for his successor to the internet video throne.

And then having his friends on as guest stars. “Please welcome my old roommate back at Arkham, Dr. Johnathan Crane! He’s got a devious challenge for all you Enig-masses today.”

Such a touching scene, the whole issue was really.

Batman is absolutely awful at dealing with emotions and feelings. Luckily, Dick is there to pick up the emotional slack and be the support system that all his siblings need! 

Robin (1993) #156

Dick was about to head out the door, but drops everything when Tim says he needs to talk (and Tim was struggling with suicidal thoughts in this comic so it is even more important that he has someone to talk to). 

Nightwing (1996) #25

And Tim feels comfortable coming to Dick with tough topics. 

Batman: Family #7

Even though Dick isn’t as close to Cass at this point, he makes sure that she knows he’s there for her during a tough time. 

Birds of Prey (1999) #8

And he is there for Barbara and is understanding when she talks about her need for revenge after the injury that resulted in her being put in a wheelchair. 

Batman #33

While all the others are shocked by Damian’s emotional reaction, Dick is reassuring and comforting (indicating to me that this isn’t the first time he’s comforted Damian in this way). Dick is one of the few people who treats Damian like the child he is.

Batman #416

He even offers support to Jason (which may surprise some people), though he initially did not approve of Jason being Robin. 

Batman and Nightwing #23 

And he does the same thing for Batman. This moment in particular is heartbreaking to me, because Dick completely neglects his own feelings about Damian’s death to support Bruce. 

Dick is always encouraging communication and keeping everyone together. He is so important to the Bat family, the glue that keeps them together. Dick Grayson actual therapist everyone.