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Feel free to add in more artists. ;)

My favorite is Jim Aparo but I also love Bob Kane, Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Norm Breyfogle's work.

After long and painful deliberation, I had to select Breyfogle.  His big competition was Kelly Jones.  Jones' work is far more atmospheric and Burton'ish in my mind but ultimately Breyfogle's art has really meant a lot to me over the years.  When I think of Batman in the comics, his version is what pops to mind.

Ranked in order of awesomeness...

1. Jim Aparo
2. Marshall Rogers
3. Graham Nolan
4. Bob Kane
5. Kelley Jones
6. Norm Breyfogle
7. Bruce Timm

Tim Sale is my favourite Batman artist. The Long Halloween, Dark Victory and Haunted Knight are all at the top for me.

I love Neal Adams' style as a very "classic" look. I'm also a big fan of some excellent IMO work he did for Savage Sword of Conan. I also love Jim Aparo's. As others said, Kelley Jones' "weird" take is my favorite, the most Burtonesque (he even drew spirals in the cape, if I remember right). The Vampire trilogy is one of my top-10 Batman stories, "elseworlds" or not.. I also like the artwork from Batman: Gothic, who did that? Alcatena?

Brian Bolland who did The Killing Joke IMO created some of the best incarnations of all the characters that appeared in that story (I'm not familiar with the rest of his work,  :( any recommendations?). Very gritty and realistic... the colours, the small panels... simply fantastic, that comic didn't look like a superhero comic ;)

There's more styles I loved in several comics, by I'm not familiar with names.

What a hard question!
From this list, mines are:
1 - Jim Lee
2 - Neal Adams
3 - Jim Aparo
4 - Dick Sprang

Ah, yes. I forgot about Brian Bolland. He draws my favorite Joker!

Frank Miller and Jim Lee are my favorites, but everyone on that list is pretty darn good.

Odds are none of you need any convincing about the brilliance of Marshall Rogers but he should get some love in this thread.  To me, it says a lot that he drew so little Batman and yet is so fondly and lovingly remembered.  If he'd stuck with the character longer, I bet he'd rival Jim Aparo in terms of overall legacy.  I'm grateful for what we did get, dont' get me wrong, I just wonder how many more Batman stories he had inside of him.

When you look back on the character's history, it's easy to see that Batman has some really unbelievably talented artists in his legacy... maybe a better, more impressive line of artists than any other character.

nice to see jim aparo getting some love - i rarely see his name mentioned in comic based polls.

Tim Sale

Here's my favorite Batman artists.

As for my favorite Batman artist before my time, it's going to have to be Neal Adams, one-half of what I call the "Thank God" team for Batman & his universe. The man brought a whole new approach to Batman visually, as his drawings were so fluid & realistic. He set the standards for not only later Batman artists, but for other artists working on different characters, as well. I don't think I have to explain any further. Why do you ask? Just take a look at Adams' iconic image of Batman in The Joker's Five Way Revenge. That tells you everything you need to know about artistic depth.

Now as for my favorite Batman artist who worked on the Batman/Detective Comics during my time (even though he started a few years earlier), it's definitely Norm Breyfogle. When I started reading Batman comics, he was the artist who did the work. I loved how his images were dark, gritty, & very fluid. And the way he drew Batman was just fantastic. As Colors said earlier, this man's contribution to Batman means a lot to me. Pure 90's Batman, through & through.

Quote from: Gotham Knight on Sun, 15 Mar  2009, 00:25
Tim Sale

Abso-flippin'-lutely! I LOVE his take on Poison Ivy! And his Penguin is the best of both worlds(comic dandy and grotesgue rogue)!

I also have been severely enamored with Bruce Timm's artwork for the comics as well as the Animated Series.

Jim Aparo (his Batman will forever be what comes to my mind first when thinking of Batman. As he was still working on the Batman title when I began collecting comics, and needless to say already having a huge interest in getting as many Batman comics as possible)

Bob Kane (Having read, and re-read the Batman archives during my youth, which is being re-collected at a much cheaper price with the Batman Chronicles, I took a liking to Kane's art style right away. It certainly left an impression on me, and is definately a favourite of mine. Good stuff)

Brian Bolland (just a great artist, and TKJ was another favourite book that was on my radar soon after I began collecting comics. How could it not be? It's by far the most accepted version of the Joker's origin, and that alone was required reading material for me. Bolland's Joker just reeks of awesomeness as well)

Frank Miller (mainly due to The Dark Knight Returns)

Neal Adams (such a great artist, with one of the best Batman ever seen in comics, hands down)

Dick Sprang (Sprang's Batman is just awesome, and I'll always have an affinity for it. Really enjoyed seeing him do some covers for Detective Comics during the early 1990s. And of course the Two-Face Strikes Twice 2 parter)

Kelley Jones (I began to seriously collect Batman comics right around the time that Knightfall was about to start. His covers are extremely memorable to me, and I honestly enjoyed his work on the Batman title a few years later)

Jim Lee (Lee's artwork ... Hush ... All Star ... there's just not much to dislike to be quite honest here!)

Tim Sale, though I do really like the slender, long-eared Batman that Kane started to perfect later in 1939 before he started to bulk up when Robin showed up.

While Sale is one hell of an artist, I think his only flaw in my opinion is that I'm not too crazy of his Batman. He looks like a shaved caveman to me sometimes.

Quote from: Dark Knight Detective on Sat, 23 May  2009, 22:03
While Sale is one hell of an artist, I think his only flaw in my opinion is that I'm not too crazy of his Batman. He looks like a shaved caveman to me sometimes.

My one complaint is his Joker. The grin just gets ridiculous at times. Still, overall I think he has one of the strongest styles, always leaves his fingerprints, and yet still manages to have an appealing sense of design.

Neal Adams is my favourite Batman Artist because when ever some asks me whats your image of Batman I just show them Neal Adams`s Batman. Its that iconic for me, everything is right about how he draws him from the costume, height, weight and look. My second favourite would have to be David Mazzucchelli`s Batman from Batman Year, for the 80s and changing decade of The Dark Knight it was a perfect fit and suited the gritty, dirty, noir and corrupt Gotham City that Frank Miller portrayed in Batman Year One. My third favourite would have to be Brain Bolland espically with his art on Batman The Killing, to me apart from Adams he draws the defintive Joker. And the way he drew and described Batman was intersting on the Batman 89 documentry, Legends of The Dark Knight, "Batman to me has always been a 2D, shodowy figure" And those panels when you see Batman like this are just spectacular. Some of my other favourite Batman Artists in no order, Bob Kane (Particually the first Year of Dectective Comics), Dick Sprang, Jim Lee, Lee Bermejo, Frank Quietly, Tim Sale, Alex Ross, Andy Kubert and Jim Aparo.

Couldnt decide between Aparo and Breyfogle, since those 2 guys did all those Bat comics I grew up with. I guess i do prefer Norm. I Liked Tom Lyle a lot too

Adams, Aparo, Nguyen, in that order.

My top 5 Batty artists:

1-Norm Breyfogle
2-Bruce Timm
3-Brian Bolland
4-Jim Lee
5-Tom Grummett