Jerry Robinson, 1922–2011
The cartoonist who created the Joker
The summer before Jerry Robinson was to head off to Syracuse University, he showed up at a resort’s tennis court wearing a white linen jacket covered with his own cartoon drawings. Bob Kane, then in the process of developing the Batman comics, saw them as proof of Robinson’s talent and invited him to join his budding team of illustrators. Robinson quickly transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he not only became a seminal figure in the comic world but also created one: Batman’s nemesis, the Joker.
Kane himself always claimed credit for dreaming up the Caped Crusader’s most famous enemy, but comic-book historians tend to give Robinson principal credit, said The New York Times. “Villains, I always thought, were more interesting,” Robinson once said, claiming that his most famous creation was inspired by the image of the joker on playing cards. No one disputes that Robinson also created Batman’s sidekick, Robin, as a “character youngsters could connect with.” His inspiration for that figure, he said, was an N.C. Wyeth illustration of Robin Hood.
After leaving the Batman team, Robinson created a number of less memorable superheroes, said the London Telegraph, including one named London, who fought Nazi plotters. But he was most proud of his political cartoons, which he produced six days a week for 32 years. Eager to have cartoons considered works of art rather than entertainment, Robinson curated exhibits, wrote books, and taught at New York’s School of Visual Arts. Yet there is little doubt that his “vivid Batman illustrations, created during the golden age of comic books,” remain his most lasting legacy.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'US tests ties with Israelis'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Marc Quinn's Light into Life: an 'al fresco treasure-hunt' of sculpture at Kew
The Week Recommends Massive metallic sculptures dotted across the gardens explore 'links between nature and humanity'
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Natalie Elphicke: the Tory defector facing a backlash from both sides
Speed Read MP for Dover's hawkish stance on immigration and defence of sex offender ex-husband raises eyebrows among her new colleagues
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Benjamin Zephaniah: trailblazing writer who 'took poetry everywhere'
Why Everyone's Talking About Remembering the 'radical' wordsmith's 'wit and sense of mischief'
By The Week UK Published
-
Shane MacGowan: the unruly former punk with a literary soul
Why Everyone's Talking About The Pogues frontman died aged 65
By The Week UK Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Legendary jazz and pop singer Tony Bennett dies at 96
Speed Read
By Devika Rao Published
-
Martin Amis: literary wunderkind who ‘blazed like a rocket’
feature Famed author, essayist and screenwriter died this week aged 73
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian folk legend, is dead at 84
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Barry Humphries obituary: cerebral satirist who created Dame Edna Everage
feature Actor and comedian was best known as the monstrous Melbourne housewife and Sir Les Patterson
By The Week Staff Published
-
Mary Quant obituary: pioneering designer who created the 1960s look
feature One of the most influential fashion designers of the 20th century remembered as the mother of the miniskirt
By The Week Staff Published