A "sigh of relief" does not usually come very easily for me. When one does come, it can feel as good as the warmth of a spring morning. It's your body's confirmation that your brain knows it'll all be OK.

When I see artist Rick Burchett's name on anything, I know that I can always breathe easier. I know that the art will be top-notch. I know that I will not have to guess at anything. I know that a hand will look like a hand.

I first laid eyes eyes on on his work in the back of a old Femforce comic. I was a bit too young to care about the spandex-laden women but was blown away but its' gangster-laden back-up feature. Depression-era men dressed in sharp suits, menacing scowls upon their faces. Surronding them, the finest cars money and expert rendering could buy. It was a pure, unadulterated snazz. Burchett's art forever branded his name into my mind and for years I looked for his name on other comics with little success that was until he resurfaced, for me, DC's Blackhawk.

There it all was again, those gorgeous layouts, that beautiful unwasted line. Heaven was, once again, found within a DC comic.

Burchett may be best known for his work on the DC "animated" Universe of books. When many of The Bat-books floundered under terrible writing and dubious artist choices, Burchett's art was the one thing keeping me in The Bat-verse. That said, Burchett has become one of the few artists I'd follow wherever he goes.

Recommended Reading: Batman/Huntress: Cry For Blood, The Batman Adventures, Volume 1 & the newly released Queen & Country: Declassified, Volume 2.