Dick Sprang

Biography

Richard W. 'Dick' Sprang (1915–2000) was an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on the superhero Batman during the period fans and historians call "Golden Age" of comic books. Dick Sprang began his career during the Depression as an advertising artist and sign painter. In the early 1940s, he drew comic books and for the next 20 years, he worked mostly on Batman at DC. He is known for his dramatic cinematic angles and layouts and use of oversized every-day objects as props in the story. It was Sprang who defined Gotham City in the post-war years. His barrel-chested, smiling, square-jawed Caped Crusader seemed equally at home in whatever odd setting the writers threw at him, be it the distant past, the canals of Venice, or outer space. Sprang also contributed numerous vital details to Batman's world, co-creating characters including The Riddler, Tiger Shark, and Killer Moth, redesigning the Batmobile a number of times, and coming up with one of the finest mechanical innovations of the Golden Age: The Jokermobile. Dick Sprang spent his most productive years in relative anonymity. DC's arrangement with Bob Kane specified that Kane be the only name credited for Batman stories.