From the shadows, Iowa City has played a quiet role in the mythology of the Batman, all thanks to the co-creations of Norm Breyfogle. When we saw Ratcatcher save the day in James Gunn’s version of The Suicide Squad? That character came from an IC kid. Any time Jeremiah Arkham showed up in a show, that was Norm. He also gave the world Victor Zsasz, a psycho killer who has graced everything from Batman Begins to the Batman: Arkham video games that have sold over 32 million units worldwide.
The 1990s marked an explosion for the comic book industry, with sales that broke records and artists who became rock stars in their own right: Todd McFarlane, Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld and more. Breyfogle was among this vanguard, and actually turned down the invitation to join the front lines of Image Comics when it was founded in 1992. He was that good.
Born Norman Keith Breyfogle in Iowa City in 1960, the superhero-obsessed kid would pull issues of Neal Adams’ Batman off of spinner racks at the downtown Thrifty Drug Store.
“He would draw his own comics in pencil,” Kevin Breyfogle, his younger brother, said over a phone call. “Batman was his favorite.”
“We used to go into separate rooms and draw scenes of gladiators fighting,” he continued with a laugh. “Then we would compare them.”
As a young teen, Norm’s sketch of Robin appeared in an issue of Batman Family as part of an amateur contest that would tether his destiny to the caped crusader for life.
Norm settled down in Los Angeles after college, going after technical and commercial gigs that paid the bills, but never taking his eye off of Gotham City. He landed some back-up stories here and there, hopping between Marvel Fanfare and a ninja series called Whisper with First Comics. His big break came in 1987 with a back-up story in Batman Annual #11.
The man could carve a nasty panel. His Batman was sharp and mean, menacing the streets of Gotham like a demon borne from the night. NB always brought energy to the page with experimental layouts that broke borders and forced the eye forward. These kinetic visuals, along with hardboiled scripts from Alan Grant, meant readers were trying to keep up in the best possible way.
He pushed the format and had fun doing it, too; you never knew when the edge of a page would just bleed off into an inky cloud of bats. His versions of Clayface, featured in the historic Mud Pack storyline, each brought their own heartbreak, gravitas and goo. The tale set the gold standard for what the character could be; fans can expect some of these moments to ooze into the upcoming Clayface film coming out next fall.
When Neal Adams redesigned the new Robin, Norm was the creator who put a bo staff in his hand. It remains one of his most notable traits to this day.
Beyond his drafting skills, Breyfogle’s delivery was prolific. Between 1987 and 1992, he drew hundreds of pages, pumping out over 65 issues between the Detective Comics, Batman and Shadow of the Bat titles alone.
“I don’t know how he did it,” Kevin, a professional painter himself, confesses. “He was pencilling two books a month, which is 44 pages. Plus he made thumbnail sketches of each page.”
According to The Comics Journal, this era bridged the gap between Frank Miller’s Dark Knight and Tim Burton’s landmark film. In the midst of this, somebody had to do the consistent, month-to-month heavy lifting, bringing fresh takes to well-worn characters and taking us to new depths of darkness within the walls of Arkham.
In this, Norm Breyfogle remains the most underrated Batman artist of all time. This guy was our MVP, the Cal Ripken Jr. of the cowl. It’s a crime that his work is not more recognized in the pantheon of comic book legends.
Alan Brennert, Breyfogle’s writer and partner on the 1991 graphic novel Batman: Holy Terror, agrees.
“The first time I saw his pencils,” Brennert tells me over the phone, “I was awestruck.”
Breyfogle was tasked with creating a Gotham that had been shaped by a theocratic government, with spires and buttresses soaring into the fog. It was no easy task, taking an already-industrial river town and somehow making it more gothic and grim.
“Some folks would think that Norm had a sketchy style, but he was capable of doing incredible rendering,” Brennert said. “His sense of architecture was just wonderfully detailed and ornate.”
The book also raises serious ethical questions about overt religious influence over the realms of science, justice and family values. Holy Terror takes us into the bowels of labs where outsiders are imprisoned, tortured and experimented upon, denied their rights granted by nature and God. People are snatched from their families and communities before they are given a chance to realize their full potential as heroes. It’s a little spooky to look at, given the current political climate, but Holy Terror is worth revisiting for Breyfogle’s masterful hand alone.
While Gotham by Gaslight is technically the first of its kind, Holy Terror was the first comic to officially bear the Elseworlds imprint on its cover. It remains a benchmark of quality.
“I really credit Norm with most of the power of the story,” Brennert said. “He created the most fully realized alternate world that DC has ever published.”
Breyfogle died in 2018, years after a stroke had taken away his ability to draw. His legacy lives on in various products that have popped up over the years. New Era recently designed a cap based on his style, and the McFarlane Toys Breyfogle Batman figure sold out within months.
And hey, if you want to discover Breyfogle’s dark magic for yourself, there are back issues of his work in the long boxes at Daydreams Comics in downtown Iowa City. Get to digging.
This article is from Little Village’s December 2025 Peak Iowa issue, a collection of stories drawn from Hawkeye State history, culture and legend. Browse dozens of Peak Iowa tales here.
