The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino

By Carmine Infantino
with J. David Spurlock
Published by Vanguard Productions
59-A Philhower Rd.
Lebanon NJ 08833
creativemix.com/vanguard
ISBN # 1-887591-12-5
176 pgs. $19.95

If you have read any comic books in the last roughly 60 years, odds are that you have seen the work of Carmine Infantino, even if you were not aware of it at the time. In a genre filled with look-alike artistic styles, he has stood out as a true original. Now we are given a career overview by the artist himself, and his incredible body of work.

Mr. Infantino is not long winded in his writing style, instead allowing what he has created to do the talking for him, and I found that to be refreshing, lavishly illustrating the book in beautiful black and white and a stunning center spread in full color. The strips and books he has worked on, the characters he has created, or co-created, reads like a veritable who’s who of comic mainstays. Characters such as Green Lantern and Flash in the 1940’s, through to Adam Strange, Deadman, Batgirl, and The Elongated Man in the 1960’s, all for DC Comics. In the 70’s, it was Daredevil, Spider-Woman, and Star Wars for the cross-town competition, Marvel Comics. However, it may be his work on two characters in particular for which he will always be remembered- The Flash, and the ‘New Look’ Batman.

Super-Heroes fell out of favor in the 1950’s, and the comic industry languished in tepid romance, lame humor, and books which had to provide a moral, lest the young readers minds become perverted and they all turn into juvenile delinquents. The only remaining heroes, Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, became vague reflections of themselves.

In the 1960’s, sensing the time might be right for the rebirth of the super-heroes, DC Comics decided to revive one of their heroes for the 1940’s, but in name only. Turning to Carmine to handle the rebirth, he redesigned and reinterpreted The Flash for a whole new generation, his fluid art styles making him move with a style and grace that made him an instant hit, and opened the floodgate for more heroes to follow.

Batman needed help as well. In wanting to make him more palatable, the powers-that-be devolved him from a creature of the night, to one having interplanetary travels, and fighting criminals on giant props. Sales were ebbing, and on the verge of cancellation, when the edict went out that Batman had to be reinvented-and that job also fell on the mighty pencil of Carmine Infantino. Carmine, along with editor Julie Schwartz, turned him back into the world’s greatest detective and added the yellow circle around the bat emblem on his chest. Sales stated to climb quickly, and paved the way for the Batman TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward as the Dynamic Duo.

Only the space limitations that I have here keep me from mentioning his other accomplishments in detail, but they include: being Publisher and President for DC, helping to establish the first company crossover when their Superman met Marvel’s Spider-Man. His ghost writing on Superman: The Movie, the work on strips for newspapers, and advertising, the ground breaking characters and formats he pioneered during his tenure in charge at DC-there is no end to this things that all became possible due to the amazing abilities of the man to whom all comic fans owe a thanks.

The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino is an appropriate title for this compelling book covering the career of a remarkable creator in one of the truly original American art forms, and I am glad to see it get the recognition which it so richly deserves.