Eisner Award "Best Artist/Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team", 1999
Timothy Roger Sale (May 1, 1956 – June 16, 2022) was an Americancomics artist, "best known for his work on the DC Comics charactersBatman andSuperman and for influencing depictions of Batman in numerous films."[1] He is primarily known for his collaborations with writerJeph Loeb, which included both comics work and artwork for the TV seriesHeroes. Sale's renditions of Batman particularly in his works,Batman: The Long Halloween andBatman: Dark Victory, influenced modern cinematic depictions of the character, with film directors and actors directly citing Sale's work.
He spent most of his early life inSeattle, Washington, having moved there with his family at age six.[4] He attended theUniversity of Washington for two years before moving to New York City to attend theSchool of Visual Arts, as well as the comics workshop run by artistJohn Buscema. Mr. Sale completed the "John Buscema Art School, which was advertised in the pages of Marvel Comics and held in a New York City hotel for a short time in the 1970s."[1]
He returned to Seattle before graduating from SVA.[5]
Sale worked on artwork for the television programHeroes, where his frequent collaborator Jeph Loeb served as a writer and producer. Sale's artwork appeared in the show as the work of theprecognitive artistIsaac Mendez as well as other artists on the show.Eric Powell was hired as the colorist for Sale's work. Sale also created thefont used in the show's captions and credits, which he based on his handwriting.[18][19]
In 2021,The Long Halloween was adapted for a two-part animated film from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.[1]
Sale lived in theSeattle metropolitan area. On June 13, 2022,Jim Lee announced Sale had been admitted to the hospital with severe health issues. Representatives of Sale later confirmed he was in the hospital while asking for privacy.[21] Three days later, Sale died on June 16, fromkidney failure.[1][22][23] "He is survived by his mother; his sister, Maggie Sale; and his partner, Susan Bailey."[1]
DC Comics publisherJim Lee praised Sale, saying, "Tim Sale was an amazing artist, draftsman and storyteller. Beyond the taut chiaroscuro style which became his trademark. Tim clearly put a premium on storytelling, clarity and pacing — cherishing emotion above all. His stories were beautifully visceral, nuanced and evinced deep humanity. Tim simply had no use for surface banality."[1]
FilmmakersChristopher Nolan andMatt Reeves, both of whom directedBatman films, have citedBatman: The Long Halloween and its sequel,Batman: Dark Victory, as an influence on those films. In an interview with the website World of Batman,Christian Bale, who played the character, characterized the "really fantastic imagery" with which Sale rendered those works. Commenting on Sale's figurework, Bale stated, "I would kind of imitate those positions."[1]
Tim Sale: Black And White hardcover (Active Images, 2004); Revised and Expanded Edition (Image Comics, 2008). An art and career retrospective of Tim Sale. ByRichard Starkings and John "JG" Roshell with Tim Sale.
Batman: Haunted Knight collectsBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1 (Dec. 1993),Batman: Madness A Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1 (1994), andBatman: Ghosts Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1 (1995), DC Comics, trade paperback 192 pages, September 1996,ISBN978-1-56389-273-8
Robert E. Howard's Myth Maker (1999). One-shot drawn by several pencillers such asJohn Bolton (also cover artist of the issue),Richard Corben orKelley Jones. Tim Sale drew several pages, with script byRoy Thomas.
Vampirella: Rebirth #1 (Harris Comics, 1999). Eight-page short story with writer Jeph Loeb, and variant cover.
^Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.).DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, England:Dorling Kindersley. p. 261.ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9.Editor Archie Goodwin was on to something when he paired Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale on the first holiday special of the popularBatman: Legends of the Dark Knight series.
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 275: "The acclaimed team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale reunited to chronicle a dark year of the Dark Knight's past withBatman: The Long Halloween, a thirteen-part limited series."
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 289: "The superstar team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale was back, and just as dark as ever. In this thirteen-issue [sic] sequel to the pair's acclaimedBatman: The Long Halloween maxiseries, the creative team picked up right where they left off during Batman's early years."
^Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 284: "This four-issue prestige-format series was a bright counterpoint to Loeb and Sale's noir Batman collaborations."
^Cowsill, Alan "2000s" in Dolan, p. 315: "Writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale returned to the Batman universe for a six-issue murder mystery starring Catwoman."
^Manning, Matthew K. (2008). "2000s". In Gilbert, Laura (ed.).Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. London, United Kingdom:Dorling Kindersley. p. 306.ISBN978-0756641238."The creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale...examined the early life of some of Marvel's iconic characters. First they tackled Daredevil in this six-issue miniseries.
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 312: "Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale reunited for their second examination of the origins of Marvel's icons with this six-issue miniseries."
^Manning "2000s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 317: "The team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist Tim Sale united once again for this six-issue miniseries retelling the Hulk's origin."
^Ching, Albert (June 12, 2015)."Loeb & Sale's Long-DelayedCaptain America: White Scheduled for September".Comic Book Resources.Archived from the original on July 25, 2015.Originally announced in 2008,Captain America: White is now officially on its way to readers. Marvel.com announced Friday that issues #1 and #2 of the long-awaited Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale collaboration are scheduled for release this September...A #0 issue came out later in 2008 and will be reprinted inside of September's issue #1, but the rest of the series has yet to be released.
^Cowsill "2000s" in Dolan, p. 328: "Writer Darwyn Cooke and artist Tim Sale began [the series] with 'Kryptonite', a six-part tale of Superman's first contact with the energy-sapping green element."
