Brunettes the high cost of living : my 15 favorite super-heroes comic-book artists
Submitted by cramoukji on Wed, 03/09/2005 - 09:14
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- Sam Kieth (whether he uses pencils, inks, paints or other matters to draw, this complete artists who also writes, inks, colors and letters his own works is brilliant, definitely underrated and my absolute personal favorite) (The Maxx, Zero Girl, Sandman)
- Chris Bachalo (after slowly building his own style, this artist is now in complete control of his work and has developed three levels to his drawings: difficult, highly complicated and psychotically detailed, therefore the critics are divided but I'm not) (Death the high cost of living, Generation X, Steampunk)
- Gary Frank (his clear realistic drawing has a european feel to it that casts mister Frank apart from the traditionally outrageous graphical codes of mainstream super-heroes stories but everyone must agree that he is one of the best drawers of women in a sexy non-degrading way) (Gen 13, Midnight Nation, Kin)
- Dave McKean (this tremendously-talented and highly influential illustrator who worked in many fields outside of comic-books was first left out of this list before I was reminded that he did draw super-heroes stories that I have read) (Black Orchid)
- John Byrne (I started casually reading comic-books as soon as I knew how to read but this canadian's pencils got me hooked at around age seven when I discovered his soon-to-become-historical run (which must be credited to Chris Claremont and Terry Austin as well) on the Uncanny X-Men) (Uncanny X-Men, Alpha Flight)
- Bill Sienkewicz (one of the first artists in the 80's to destroy the mainstream graphical codes and impose his twisted artsy vision, reading his nighmare bear episode of the New Mutants when I was a kid probably changed my view of comic-books forever) (New Mutants, Elektra)
- Mike Allred (his mastering of a seemingly gentle cartoonish style, somewhat retro maybe, explodes in contact with his love of severed limbs and open wounds and makes it quite an experience that not everyone might enjoy) (Deadman, X-Statix)
- Art Adams (yes, his women tend to have breasts a little larger than physically healthy but mostly Arthur is of a generation of his own, a little later than the early 80's but a little earlier than the Image guys and he can be a writer too with a love for 50's B-movies) (New Mutants Asgard Saga, Monkeyman and O'Brien)
- Brandon Peterson (it might seem like a puny detail but noone draws hair better than Brandon and he is one of the all-time best when it comes to drawing magic and witchcraft) (Arcanum, Mystic, Doctor Strange)
- Travis Charest (there is something unique and unmissable in the technique of this artist that makes him different from everyone else and his french-speaking education enables him to work for european editors) (Wildcats, Les Métabarons)
- George Perez (this list was supposed to focus on 80's, 90's and current artists as I only included artists I enjoyed in my own lifetime but the recent comeback under the spotlight of the eternal Perez allowed me to discover what every critic knows) (JLA-Avengers crossover)
- John Cassaday (as much a fan of The Authority as I have been, I have never paid much attention to The Planetary until recently and though it is a fact that Ellis's writing makes it a modern classic, Cassaday's art ensures Planetary's place amongst the all-time best comic-books) (Desperadoes, Planetary)
- Alan Davis (as a teenager with more assured and discerning tastes in the art of sequential narration I discovered Davis's round, colorful, somewhat european (this artists is british, after all) art and will always hold dear his work on Excalibur) (Captain Britain, Excalibur)
- Alex Ross (every comic-book reader can remember the first time he saw a painting from this artist because Alex makes the charcaters come to life like noone ever did before) (Marvels, Kingdom Come)
- Jim Lee (the art of movement/motion is a vital part of super-heroes sequential narration and Jim is simply the current master at that) (X-Men, Wildcats, Batman Hush)
- we say bye-bye to Bryan Hitch
Author Comments:
Once again I am playing favorites here and not attempting an "all-time best" list in which case I would not be accurate at all... maybe you can propose names for an "all-time best" and we'll build a list from that later... anyway your comments are always welcome!!
My, what a comics fan! The only artists I know by name are Jim Lee and, of course, Alex Ross.
Well, I have been reading comics since I could read so it's more than twenty years now... Over here in Europe, it's never been considered very cool or fashionable to like super-heroes stories... but hey, I must be a nerd
I'm a bit more of a comics fan than lukeprog, so I can say that you've got some nice choices here. I'm a huge John Byrne fan. I'm also big on George Perez, Art Adams, and Alex Ross. Jim Lee is one of my very favorites, as I was a big fan of X-Men and WildC.A.T.s. Sam Kieth has come to grow on me after awhile. The rest I'm not into, or else I haven't seen their work. Some of my favorites not on your list: Frank Miller, Todd McFarlane, and J. Scott Campbell. Plus, I'm into several manga artists like Masamune Shirow.
Well, Frank Miller was amongst the first to notice Sienkewicz and to offer him work as an inker, probably on some Daredevil story but I can't be sure... I didn't include Miller on the basis that I haven't experienced much of his art personally but I know he is highly thought of by others... McFarlane I never really enjoyed though I have read the early Spawn adventures, maybe it's because he's been imitated and copied so much afterwards but McFarlane's style doesn't seem very unique and/or personal but again, maybe it was when he first broke selling records with his version of Spider-Man...
Now, Campbell was considered for induction in my list because I have had such a thing about Gen13 ten years ago but I kind of remembered DangerGirl and though that threesome of sexy spies was highly enjoyable it was not exactly a lasting piece of work so Bryan Hitch's violence factor won over Campbell's sex factor, go figure...
Neal Adams, Murphy Anderson, Jim Aparo, Gene Colan, Jack Cole, Reed Crandall, Will Eisner, Russ Heath, Carmine Infantino (needed the right inker), Gil Kane, Joe Kubert, Russ Manning, Curt Swan, Berni Wrightson,... I could go on. Some of these guys didn't do too much super-hero stuff but what they did was good. Byrne was okay if he had the right inker, someone like Dick Giordano.
Yes, some of these should definitely be considered for a "best of" list... Adams, Colan, Infantino, Kane, Kubert, Manning would be considered and of course, Will Eisner created most of the graphical codes and symbols of the genre... now, what about Steranko, Ditko and Kirby ?
As noted elsewhere, this favorite 15 of mine are based upon artists I was able to enjoy in my own lifetime of reading comics, i.e. roughly from 1980 until today...
Steranko, Ditko, Kirby would have made it I kept on naming names. All the artists I named had their peak periods so everything they ever did doesn't necessarily rank too high. Ditko did his best super-hero in the early 1960s... Capt. Atom, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man. My favorite work of his was some of his mystery, horror work. My favorite Kirby was probably when inked by Joe Sinnott or Dick Ayers.
If you like (or is it love) Bill Sienkiewicz then I'm surprised that you don't love (or is it worship) Dave McKean. Of course, that might be too obvious a choice to deserve the label of "favourite."
Speaking of inkers, I've always (ever since I had to read him) thought that Mike Grell could use a good kick in the ink.
If Gary Frank is the guy who I think he is then I think he's excellent. His men are lean and rangy, not the usual steroid balloons running at 200 psi. But I must say that, heroes or not, guys should never have hair that scrumptious.
I am familiar with the breasts of Art Adams and the characters attached to them. They fill me with dread and dismay.
I'd like to nominate David Mazzucchelli for the perpetual "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" category... but not necessarily for greatness. But maybe. Then again.
Where in the world would you buy superhero pomade?
Pop quiz! Name a subject you know nothing about.
...
...
...
Time's up! F-
Okay, kids, we're gonna play Where's The Cheat? Can you say, a-the Cheat?
The Cheat... (Christopher Columbus)
Not good enough. F--
Don't mistake verbosity for knowledge.
I knew you couldn't do it.
Well, I did not include Dave McKean because I can't seem to recall any super-hero story from him... he did lots of comic-books covers, wrote and drew the masterpiece "Cages" but that's got nothing to do with super-heroes, he's also famous for illustrating record sleeves (Toad The Wet Sprocket's COIL comes to mind) but I have never read super-heroes stories with art from Dave McKean... therefore, as much as I enjoy his illustrating work, I can't include him in this list...
That's the same reason why I didn't include Kyle Baker in this list... I immensely enjoy Baker's graphic novels (Cowboy Wally Show, Why I Hate Saturn, You Are Here) but they can't even remotely be considered super-hero comics so he didn't make my list either.
Arkham Asylum is now over sixteen years old and has been re-released as a 15th Anniversary Edition. It is a brilliant and painful and twisted story in which The Joker entices Batman to return to the asylum to encounter
Harvey Dent, Black Mask, Mad Hatter, Clayface Croc.
and others.
It's easy to forget that Black Orchid is a superhero. The artwork is beautiful and disturbing. Batman, Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter and others show up... even Lex Luthor, if memory serves.
As stated elsewhere, I lack knowledge of mainstream DC Comics for the main reason that they are not as easily available over here as Marvel Comics... on the other hand, DC-owned Wildstorm-label-published stories are available in TPB... anyway I must confess that I never read Arkham Asylum but with Morisson writing and McKean illustrating, I guess I should look for it.
I own Black Orchid though, bought it on TPB while on holiday in SEA/Philippines last year and I liked it a lot though I haven't read it many times and yes, it's a super-hero story... so definitely McKean will have to find his place in my list because Black Orchid is enough to warrant him a place there... thank you for reminding me...
Somehow The Jewish Museum keeps kicking graphic tuchis. Following up on last summer's sublime Sendak exhibition TJM is teaming up with The Newark Museum to wreak vengeance upon the forces of evil... and put on a Masters of American Comics series.
Matt Groening and Stanley Crouch will both be participating in Comic Conversations in October... but not together (which is probably fortunate.) This raises an interesting question: Are short, round, bearded men automatically considered experts in the Jewish graphic arts?
But what I'm really wondering is when Art Spiegelman and Michael Chabon are going to make an appearance... and how in the world does the exhibit manage to stay open on Saturdays?
If you're in NYC tomorrow don't miss Jewzapalooza and the chance to see a whole bunch of bands along with the Hasidic Hendrix... for free. Such a bargain it is.