| Mike Parobeck | |
|---|---|
 Parobeck in the 1990s | |
| Born | Michael J. Parobeck (1965-07-07)July 7, 1965 |
| Died | July 2, 1996(1996-07-02) (aged 30) Key West, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Nationality | American |
Notable works | Batman Adventures |
Michael J. Parobeck (July 7, 1965 – July 2, 1996)[1] was an Americancomics artist best known for his work on theBatman Adventures comic book. His artwork featured a fluid animation-inspired drawing style coupled with clear, clean layouts well-suited to the book.
Mike Parobeck, one of six siblings,[2] grew up inLancaster, Ohio. He studied at the Central Academy of Commercial Art in Cincinnati.[3]
Parobeck got to knowDC Comics editorBrian Augustyn, to whom he repeatedly sent photocopies of his sample artwork. Augustyn eventually contacted Parobeck to give him a job penciling a few pages of aDoctor Light story inSecret Origins #37. This led to his first regular series work onEl Diablo, with writerGerard Jones, which lasted sixteen issues. Other important series on which he worked wereThe Fly for DC's short-livedImpact Comics imprint, as well as the 1992Justice Society of America series,[3] on both of which he worked together with writerLen Strazewski, and theElongated Manmini-series, also from 1992.
His big breakthrough toward both critical and commercial success came with his work onBatman Adventures, a comic book tie-in to the animated TV seriesBatman: The Animated Series, on which he took over fromTy Templeton with issue 7. Parobeck was the regular artist until his death. Parobeck named issue 14 as his favorite issue to have drawn, as that issue focused onRobin, who was Parobeck's favorite character to draw.[3]
By 1995, Parobeck was living in Chicago.[3] Halfway through his run onBatman Adventures, Parobeck was diagnosed withType one diabetes, which can be controlled by takinginsulin. According to his friends, however, he was somewhat lackadaisical in this regimen, which ultimately led to his death in Key West.[4][5]
| International | |
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| National | |
