Michael J. Parobeck (7 July 1965 – 2 July 1996),
[ Social Security Death Index, SS# 278-64-1442.] was an
American comics artist best known for his work on the ''
Batman Adventures'' comic book. His artwork featured a fluid animation-inspired drawing style coupled with clear, clean layouts well-suited to the book.
Early life
Mike Parobeck, one of six siblings, grew up in
Lancaster, Ohio. He studied at the Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati.
['' Wizard'' #41 (January 1995). pp 121-122.]
Career
Parobeck got to know
DC Comics editor
Brian Augustyn
Brian Augustyn (November 2, 1954 – February 1, 2022) was an American comic book editor and writer. He often worked as editor or co-writer with writer Mark Waid, such as on ''The Flash'' in the 1990s. He wrote ''Gotham by Gaslight –'' which i ...
, to whom he repeatedly sent photocopies of his sample artwork. Augustyn eventually contacted Parobeck to give him a job penciling a few pages of a
Doctor Light story in ''
Secret Origins
''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters.
Publication history
''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...
'' #37. This led to his first regular series work on ''
El Diablo
Diablo or El Diablo may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional entities
* Diablo (Disney), a raven in ''Sleeping Beauty''
* Diablo (Marvel Comics), a Fantastic Four villain
* El Diablo (comics), several fictional characters from DC Comics
* ...
'', with writer
Gerard Jones
Gerard Jones (born July 10, 1957) is an American writer, known primarily for his non-fiction work about American entertainment media, and his comic book scripting, which includes co-creating the superhero Prime for Malibu Comics, and writing for ...
, which lasted sixteen issues. Other important series on which he worked were ''
The Fly'' for DC's short-lived
Impact Comics imprint, as well as the 1992 ''
Justice Society of America'' series,
[ on both of which he worked together with writer Len Strazewski, and the '']Elongated Man
Elongated Man (Randolph "Ralph" Dibny) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Flash (comics), The Flash'' #112 (February 25, 1960).
The character made his live-action debut in the The Fl ...
'' mini-series
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, also from 1992.
His big breakthrough toward both critical and commercial success came with his work on ''Batman Adventures'', a comic book tie-in to the animated TV series '' Batman: The Animated Series'', on which he took over from Ty Templeton with issue 7. Parobeck and was the regular artist until his death. Parobeck named issue 14 as his favorite issue to have drawn, as that issue focused on Robin
Robin may refer to:
Animals
* Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae
* Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including:
**European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'')
**Bush-robin
**Forest rob ...
, who was Parobeck's favorite character to draw.[
]
Personal life
By 1995, Parobeck was living in Chicago.[ Halfway through his run on ''Batman Adventures'', Parobeck was diagnosed with ]Type one diabetes
Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...
, which can be controlled by taking insulin
Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...
. According to his friends, however, he was somewhat lackadaisical in this regimen, which ultimately led to his death.[ Spurgeon, Tom and David Miller. "Artist Mike Parobeck Dead at 30", '' The Comics Journal'' #189 (August 1996), pp. 36-37.]
Notes
References
*
Mike Parobeck
at Lambiek
Galerie Lambiek is a Dutch comic book store and art gallery in Amsterdam, founded on November 8, 1968 by Kees Kousemaker (, – Bussum, ), though since 2007, his son Boris Kousemaker is the current owner. From 1968 to 2015, it was located ...
's Comiclopedia
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Parobeck, Mike
Deaths from diabetes
1965 births
1996 deaths
American comics artists