Jerry Robinson, Co-Creator of The Joker & Robin Has Died
Legendary comic book artist Jerry Robinson passed away in his sleep last night at the age of eighty nine.
Best known as the co-creator of Robin, and the primary influence for The Joker, comic book artist Jerry Robinson passed away in his sleep last night at the age of eighty nine. Word of his passing came from the Graphic NYC Blog, who learned the news from Batman film producer Michael Uslan's Facebook page. L.A. Times' Hero Complex later confirmed the news. Born in Trenton, New Jersey on New Years Day 1922, Robinson was hired as an inker by Batman creator Bob Kane at the age of 17. Over the next several years he had as much a say over the look of the character and his world as Kane. Even though he is primarily credited with creating The Joker (the character is modeled on actor Conrad Veidt, best known for his portrayal of a disfigured circus performer in the silent movie The Man Who Laughs), Kane and himself clashed several times over the truth behind the villain's creation in later years. He followed up his work on Batman by becoming a staff artist for DC Comics, then known as National Comics, drawing many of the most striking covers of the Golden Age of comics. In his early days, he moonlighted as an artist on several projects, such as the infamous created in one night issue of Daredevil, and forming a studio which produced material for short-lived publisher Spark Publications. 
As the publication of comic books wound down near the end of World War Two, Robinson moved into newspaper comic strips, becoming known for political satire, such as his long running Still Life With Robinson. He stayed in this medium for nearly thirty years. In the 70's, he became known as a comics historian and advocate for the rights of artists. He started to curate showings of comics at fine art galleries, such as The Kennedy Library in Washington, and wrote The Comics, a comprehensive study of comic strips as an art form. He was also a supporter of supporter of Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster in their long struggle with DC comics to win full recognition and compensation as the creators of Superman. On May 26th 2007, he was hired by DC Comics as a creative consultant, working on such projects as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which drew heavily from Robinson's early work for it's portrayal of The Joker.