GA BEST ARTIST SURVIVOR SERIES POLL: RD.5

[Ze-man]

Why am I having trouble with this poll? Normally I can pick a clear loser, or at least one I dont like that much.. but 3?

 

I read this list.. and find some merit in all of the artists listed. Ack... they are like children, how can one pick a least fav?

 

I will do it fast, like taking off a Band aid.

 

Happy now?

 

 

 

So which children did you throw to the wolves?

 

I threw Kurtzman, Crandell and J. Cole under the bus. It made me feel dirty, but I did it.

 

 

 

 

 

[selegue]

I may get blasted for this but I voted for LB Cole and Schomburg. LB Cole because his art seems too simplistic and Schomburg because I could never get used to the way he drew faces, seems like every character he drew looked like Cabbage Patch kids.

 

No blast from me. No 3rd vote?

 

Those were 2 of my votes too. L B Cole was a good designer with his poster-like covers, but not a really all that great at drawing (to my taste). He was capable of more (like the funny animal and painted cover examples that I posted and like a lot) but this is a tough crowd he's competing with. Some of the same comments apply to Kurztman.

 

Schomburg's crowded, distorted, overly busy covers are fun and classic Golden Age, but don't push him to top-10 status for me. I like his airbrushed work better but not as much as other on the list.

 

I'm surprised at all the votes for Crandall, who strikes me as one of the finest draftsmen of the bunch.

 

Looking at the current survivors, amazing that superhero artists are not dominating the list at all. That sure won't be the case in Silver Age.

 

Jack

 

 

 

 

[Scrooge]

I may get blasted for this but I voted for LB Cole and Schomburg. LB Cole because his art seems too simplistic and Schomburg because I could never get used to the way he drew faces, seems like every character he drew looked like Cabbage Patch kids.

 

No blast from me. No 3rd vote?

 

Those were 2 of my votes too.

 

Who's your third vote? 'Fess up. I voted L.B. Cole, Schomburg and Kirby so I'm right there with you and Vaughn. Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time. I'd better start ducking right now.

 

As for Raboy as his photo-copies, it's a well known fact that a lot of poses in the later books were simply photostated and pasted onto the new art board. There's an interview somewhere in Alter Ego with an eye-witness to that. I think it's Alter Ego # 6 with an interview of Bob Rogers, Mac Raboy's background artist. Makes me want to pull it tonight to go over again.

[tth2]

Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time.

How is that agreeing with Dale? He said he preferred GA Kirby to SA Kirby.

[Scrooge]

Oh, and I meant to mention. I have very disappointed (even though I can't say I'm surprised) that Jack Cole is receiving so many votes. More votes than L.B. Cole!?! Come on.

 

Williamson is receiving less votes than Jack Cole!?! I'd be fine with that if Crandall received even less votes than Williamson. Forget where Cole falls but Williamson over Crandall is not right IMO. Don't get me wrong, Williamson is an incredible artist, probably better than Wood overall but there shouldn't be that much discrepancy with Crandall. Plus, we've been knocking Frazetta (or at least some of us have tried) for his small output ... Where in the world was all that Williamson GA art published? I know that soon my sights will be on Williamson ...

[tth2]

Interesting that the net result of displaying some of Reed Crandall`s work in the last round (most of which I have to say was stunning, and I`ve always loved the covers he did for EC) was to cause him to rocket into 2nd place to get booted off this round!

[Scrooge]

Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time.

How is that agreeing with Dale? He said he preferred GA Kirby to SA Kirby.

 

The SA didn't start until 1962 / 1963, did it? I hate the 1956 cut-off. My dates are not SA. Call me an original ...

[tth2]

Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time.

How is that agreeing with Dale? He said he preferred GA Kirby to SA Kirby.

 

The SA didn't start until 1962 / 1963, did it?

If it did, then I have a much bigger GA collection than I realized!

 

[Sal]

Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time.

How is that agreeing with Dale? He said he preferred GA Kirby to SA Kirby.

 

The SA didn't start until 1962 / 1963, did it? I hate the 1956 cut-off. My dates are not SA. Call me an original ...

 

1956, bro.

[rjpb]

Strangely, I agree with Dale. I like Kirby best in the late 50's and early 60's. Give Challengers of the Unknown Kirby any time.

How is that agreeing with Dale? He said he preferred GA Kirby to SA Kirby.

 

The SA didn't start until 1962 / 1963, did it? I hate the 1956 cut-off. My dates are not SA. Call me an original ...

 

That's why I consider Atom Age to be an overlap age, encompassing many post-code non-superhero books through the dime era. I mean there were plenty of code books prior to Showcase #4 - what age do they belong in?

 

I'm perfectly fine with the continuing DC hero books being considered Silver Age once the code started even when they predate Showcase #4, but then GA titles that straggled into the code era like Plasticman and Sub-Mariner really belong with their Gold/Atom age runs. Plenty of Western, Romance and other genres show little or no difference in pre and post code content, and that's even more so for Funny Animal books - don't even get started with Dell, which eschewed the code entirely. Allowing the term Atom Age to include some books up through 1961 avoids having to definitively answer when the Golden Age ends and the Silver Age starts for runs and titles that don't easily fit in either.

 

The inadequacy of the Gold and Silver designations is that they were originally coined to refer to Super-hero eras, and not comic publishing in it's entirety.

[Scrooge]

Allowing the term Atom Age to include some books up through 1961 avoids having to definitively answer when the Golden Age ends and the Silver Age starts for runs and titles that don't easily fit in either.

 

The inadequacy of the Gold and Silver designations is that they were originally coined to refer to Super-hero eras, and not comic publishing in its entirety.

 

Guys, listen to Richard, he is a very wise man! (thumbs u

[october]

5 votes for Lou Fine?!?! 16 for Raboy?!?! Sheer lunacy.

 

I am thinking a lot of the people voting aren't familiar with all the artists on the list.

[Point Five]

To no one in particular (since I came in late to the discussion of Crandall) --

 

Reed Crandall's work for EC is breathtaking, and he's one of my favorite interior artists. As nice as the posted 40s pages were (thanks Scrooge!), IMO his 50s work was even better. Definitely check out some of his work in the horror and crime ECs when you have the chance.

 

Here's a beautifully cinematic page from "Carrion Death", Shock Suspenstories #9, about a guy handcuffed to a corpse & lost in the desert. One of my favorites.

 

[Scrooge]

5 votes for Lou Fine?!?! 16 for Raboy?!?! Sheer lunacy.

 

I am thinking a lot of the people voting aren't familiar with all the artists on the list.

 

So who did you vote against this round?

[Doctor Svord]

What are you saying, that Raboy lightboxed all of his work? Where are you getting that from?

 

For the most part, Yes, because that's a classic illustration technique. It's the reason Raboy's artwork looks the way it does. (see also Moldoff)

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the Library of Congress photo archives to prove this point. So far, one of the most likely suspects is Life Magazine 5/10/1943

[Point Five]

5 votes for Lou Fine?!?! 16 for Raboy?!?! Sheer lunacy.

 

I am thinking a lot of the people voting aren't familiar with all the artists on the list.

 

So who did you vote against this round?

[october]

5 votes for Lou Fine?!?! 16 for Raboy?!?! Sheer lunacy.

 

I am thinking a lot of the people voting aren't familiar with all the artists on the list.

 

So who did you vote against this round?

 

The only one I know for sure that I voted off was Kirby. Can't remember the other two. Crandall and Kurtzman maybe. Kirby got the axe because his Atom Age work wasn't nearly as spectacular as the output of the rest of the people on the list. Kurtzman's art is cool, but he always seemed over rated to me.

 

This is really a tough list. Not sure who I will vote off next. Al Williamson or Matt Baker probably.

 

Lou Fine or Frazetta gets my vote as the best though.

[Scrooge]

What are you saying, that Raboy lightboxed all of his work? Where are you getting that from?

 

For the most part, Yes, because that's a classic illustration technique. It's the reason Raboy's artwork looks the way it does. (see also Moldoff)

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the Library of Congress photo archives to prove this point. So far, one of the most likely suspects is Life Magazine 5/10/1943

 

This? -

[Norrin_Radd]

See, this is what makes this type of thing so interesting. I actually like GA Kirby about a billion times better than his silver age stuff. Actually, I am really not a SA Kirby fan at all. I love his Caps and his Sandman stuff and I like some of the esoteric stuff that he did as well.

 

I wholeheartedly agree. (thumbs u

 

I like his dynamic GA Cap much more than the SA version. His SA art is more refined but I don't find that to be good thing. It just doesn't have the raw energy that the first 10 issues of Captain America Comics had.

 

 

This isn't the best example (I'll try to post more later), but I love his splashes in GA Cap.

 

[Dale Roberts]

I really like LB Cole's stuff. It was just so different from anything else at the time, or ever really.