Tim Burton is most well known as a director, but you might know that he’s also a talented artist. The early part of his career, for instance, was spent as an animator for Disney. In fact, Burton’s quirky, macabre technique has as passionate a fanbase as his films and you’ll often see people drawing other movie characters in his style.
Case in point: Andrew Tarusov, a Russian animator who’s also been employed by Disney, has taken Burton’s ways on board and has produced 10 images that give some of the most famous superheroes around a suitably dark, melancholic twist.
Obviously, one of them is a no-brainer. Burton himself directed 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, so Tarusov’s illustration of Bruce Wayne brooding over his parents’ portrait could have come right out of one of those movies. Others, meanwhile, are inspired Burton-esque takes on heroes you could already imagine being given the director’s touch.
Our favourites include the Captain America image featuring a creepy Red Skull silhouette and a swirly shield, a steampunk Iron Man hiding in an attic like Edward Scissorhands and a take on Hulk that emphasizes his status as a mad Frankenstein-like scientist. Oh, and Tarusov’s Spider-Man is suitably monstrous – he’s got Mary Jane tied up and ready to eat.
Burton’s movies are some of the most divisive around, but fans have him to thank for Batman, one of the first films in the genre that really solidified superheroes as major moneymakers. Without it, we might not have the glut of comic book movies we’re enjoying right now.
While Burton hasn’t had much to do with superheroes in a very long time, thanks to this artist, fans can now imagine what the director would do if he got his hands on some modern comic book franchises. Personally, we think he’s a pretty good pick to helm DC’s Justice League Dark, but that’s just our opinion.
Tell us, is there any comic book property floating around that you’d love to see Tim Burton take a stab at? Head to the comments section with your thoughts!
