The Voice

Today the world found out that Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman across so many animated shows and video games, not to mention his live-action stint as Bruce Wayne, passed away at 66, too young an age.

My parents wouldn’t know who he is, and yours probably wouldn’t either, unless they were a particular kind of nerd parent. But for most of us under fifty who fell under the spell of the original BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES, Kevin Conroy is Batman. With the live action Batman actors there’s a low tolerance for their voices among the public. Too fake, too gravelly, too unaffected. But I think a lot of that is because it’s just not Kevin Conroy’s voice, the man who not only perfected Batman, but Bruce Wayne as well.

I genuinely don’t think there’s been a Batman writer in this last century who hasn’t had his voice in our heads when we write the character’s dialogue. It was dark, powerful, and imbued with compassion. It was Batman.

I never met the man, but the stories about him are legendary. Kind and caring, able to fill the role of hero both in the recording boot and in the world.

This weekend, go watch the perfect Batman movie, MASK OF THE PHANTASM, and experience just exactly how multi-layered and human his performances were in modern fiction’s greatest dual role. So damned good.

What a terrible loss.

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I’m going to keep it short today, I just wanted to point everyone to this cool restoration project by comics editor Chris Robinson. It’s the kind of thing that I love on Kickstarter, revitalizing older works and giving them the attention they deserve.

In this case it’s 1947’s ALL-NEGRO COMICS, the first comic book anthology created exclusively by Black creators featuring Black characters. Go support the project. I bet Batman would do it.

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And now, since it’s the weekend, and I know you can’t bear to go two entire days without hearing my terrible voice, I was a guest on Sifu Mimi Chan’s podcast where we talked comics, life and, of course, General Hospital.

GOOD TIMES

Love,
Chip