Showcase '93 #11 p.1 - Nightwing & Robin!

Okay, let me first address the horribly intrusive dedication and signature. It's gigantic and intrusive, that's obvious. I also wish it weren't there, as I'm sure everyone else does too. The only redeeming thing about it for me personally is that it was dedicated to fellow collector John Cogan, a buddy who is originally from my own fair city.

Now that the elephant in the room is out of the way, I'd like to focus on the exquisite beauty of these pencils. Back in 1988, I was buying around 80 different titles per month, and as my primary interest in comics has always been the art form itself more so than the stories, I never hesitated to buy titles only for the art, even if I had no interest in reading them. In some cases, such as the four Star Trek titles that DC was publishing at that time, I did read them, but I only bought them strictly because I loved the cover artist's work. That man's name is Jerome K. Moore. I never saw Moore do any interior work, and I have always assumed it was because he just wasn't fast enough for the grind of monthly comics, but I don't know for sure. All I know is that interior sequential art by Moore is an absolute rarity.

That is one of the reasons I was so thrilled to acquire this piece, as it is the first and only piece of sequential storytelling I've ever seen by Moore. But also, I've always loved the Dick Grayson character, both as Robin and especially as he grew up, matured and became Nightwing. Just as I thought about his Start Trek family of covers, Moore's pencils here are simply stunning. His line is so beautiful, I can stare at it indefinitely.

I don't know why Moore was ultimately told to stop drawing this story and then replaced by Bob McLeod, but I assume it had to do with Moore not being able to meet the deadline he had. Either way, I'm thrilled that it happened the way it did, as it enabled me to add this original to my collection. I've included a scan of the published page so you can compare if interested. Personally, I've always been a career long fan of McLeod's, but in this case his version can't hold a candle to Moore's wonderfully Gothic & Art Deco design elements.