SA ARTIST SURVIVOR SERIES: RD.17

[Karma23]

I'm seriously drunk , but it's still time for BA Adams to go

[piper]

BA Adams please exit the building.

 

There is no way Ditko should be going out this round!

[Dale Roberts]

Yeah, I know how the contest works, but to disqualify anyone based on the statement above, just doesn't make sense. You can say that about most anyone if you want to take out their best works.

 

 

[Aman619]

I know its a Favorite contest. But honestly Im not voting that way.

 

Actually, thinking about it, I dont think this elimination format is best process for that result since we keep voting for LEAST favorite, and thats not the same thing. We'd have to always vote for MOST favorite, and the one with the fewest vots gets kicked off. That way we end up with the artists to whom the majority like best.

 

or, we all fill out our ballots in advance, favorites from #1 to 25 and the moderator reveals the voting one place at a time as we discuss it step by step. We also would eliminate changed votes as a result of what we say here each round.

 

[Mac Man]

Wow... can't believe Romita Sr. got bumped off before Adams.

 

Adams has to go- he really hit his stride in the BA but I just wouldn't place this far up in the SA. Regardless of the breadth of Ditko's SA work, look at it's impact. Massive. Simply massive. He should at least make it through this round past Adams. I'd possibly even argue for him over Steranko.... but Adams w/o a doubt.

[Dr. K]

Seems pretty obvious to me that there is a Marvel bias in the voting. But come to think of it the Silver Age really happened because of Marvel. I doubt very much that DC could ever have revived the super hero (and the comic book industry) if Stan, Kirby and Co. hadn't shifted comics from the 12 year old reader to the 14 - 18 year old crowd. And since Kirby and Ditko defined Marvel they are in my book the two most important Silver Age artists. I don't see this poll as being about who the best artist is or even who had the most influence on other artists but rather who defined the period and for me that's Kirby and Ditko hands down (although I must say that even at the time I couldn't understand why I liked Ditko, I recognized that he wasn't really a very good artist but he had such an eccentric style and that two finger hand pose that he used for Spidey and Doc and the strange way he drew bums was all so right ...). That being said I have an appreciation for Kubert that I didn't get until a decade later. The only word I can think of to describe his work is elegant or maybe laconic, like Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda. But even though he was a defining DC artist of the period, War comics and Hawkman are not what made the Silver Age. Then there's Sterenko. While I agree that his output was slight compared to the others, I loved him then and still do. In a way he seemed to gather up the essence of the Silver Age and distill it. Sure he started out channeling Kirby but follow his work on the SHIELD books and its really unbelievable how quickly he developed a style uniquely his own. To me he is the perfect culmination of the Silver Age ethos. Oops, sorry to make this sound like an undergrad essay but doggon it where else can I talk comics without someone holding up a crucifix and a handful of garlic. Anyway for me its Kirby, Ditko, and then I still don't know, Sterenko or Kubert.

[JohnT]

Seems pretty obvious to me that there is a Marvel bias in the voting. But come to think of it the Silver Age really happened because of Marvel. I doubt very much that DC could ever have revived the super hero (and the comic book industry) if Stan, Kirby and Co. hadn't shifted comics from the 12 year old reader to the 14 - 18 year old crowd. And since Kirby and Ditko defined Marvel they are in my book the two most important Silver Age artists. I don't see this poll as being about who the best artist is or even who had the most influence on other artists but rather who defined the period and for me that's Kirby and Ditko hands down (although I must say that even at the time I couldn't understand why I liked Ditko, I recognized that he wasn't really a very good artist but he had such an eccentric style and that two finger hand pose that he used for Spidey and Doc and the strange way he drew bums was all so right ...). That being said I have an appreciation for Kubert that I didn't get until a decade later. The only word I can think of to describe his work is elegant or maybe laconic, like Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda. But even though he was a defining DC artist of the period, War comics and Hawkman are not what made the Silver Age. Then there's Sterenko. While I agree that his output was slight compared to the others, I loved him then and still do. In a way he seemed to gather up the essence of the Silver Age and distill it. Sure he started out channeling Kirby but follow his work on the SHIELD books and its really unbelievable how quickly he developed a style uniquely his own. To me he is the perfect culmination of the Silver Age ethos. Oops, sorry to make this sound like an undergrad essay but doggon it where else can I talk comics without someone holding up a crucifix and a handful of garlic. Anyway for me its Kirby, Ditko, and then I still don't know, Sterenko or Kubert.

 

You've come to the right place to make your comments, although I did have to look up what "laconic" meant.

 

Let's face it, we have a top 5 of giants. I'm not a rabid Steranko fan--but appreciate his creativity.

 

The Silver Age ranges over a long time period, and it had several distinct stages, and some of these artists are from totally different periods. First, there was the great DC flowering of superheros and adventure comics from 1956-1961. The giants of this period were Infantino, Anderson, Kane, and Kubert. Then came the great early Marvel years (1962-65), which added characterization and personality to superheroes, with Ditko and Kirby defining the period. DC basically ignored this trend, and stuck to one-dimensional heros. Then you had the Age of Marvel (1966-1969) which added "realism" and social themes to comics, with Adams and Steranko and Buscema coming to the fore. DC finally began to change and started to follow the Marvel lead.

 

So when you talk about an artist being Silver Age, you can mean different things. I'm a big fan of the first two SA periods, not so much the late 60's. That's probably why my top three would be Kirby, Kubert, and Ditko, in that order.

 

 

 

 

 

[tth2]

After all was said and done, we ended up with a pretty decent Top 5. As a result, this was the first round that was hard for me.

 

After a bit of internal debate, I decided to go with Adams because he'll likely get a nice consolation prize of winning the BA artist contest. Steranko's body of SA work was small, but man, his work looked so incredibly different from everyone else's at the time. Yes, he owed much more to Will Eisner than many people realize, but the wild covers and layouts he was doing fit the late 60s so incredibly well. His star burned briefly, but it burned very brightly.

[tth2]

Actually, thinking about it, I dont think this elimination format is best process for that result since we keep voting for LEAST favorite, and thats not the same thing. We'd have to always vote for MOST favorite, and the one with the fewest vots gets kicked off. That way we end up with the artists to whom the majority like best.

I think the current format has worked out just fine. It results in interesting and controversial choices during the early and middle rounds, but I have to say that for the most part, the Top 5 in both GA and SA have ended up being pretty close to the "right" Top 5s. Sure, you can quibble on a name or two, and perhaps Crumb and/or Kane should've been in the SA Top 5, but I didn't ever really expect them to be and Kane actually lasted longer than I thought he would, considering the Marvel-centricness of these boards.

[grandz-migration]

My man Jazzy John Romita is gone, so I'm done voting. The Bronze age will be even tougher.

 

The Copper Age will be the easiest one for me.

[toro]

My man Jazzy John Romita is gone, so I'm done voting. The Bronze age will be even tougher.

 

The Copper Age will be the easiest one for me.

 

For me, the Bronze age is easy, just put Adams and Wrightson into the final vote.

[Subliminal]

STOP THE NEAL ADAMS BASHING!

 

Or I'll Kill Jack Kirby next round with hack bot votes...please??

 

 

[JohnT]

For me, the Bronze age is easy, just put Adams and Wrightson into the final vote.

 

Barry Smith

[Pirate]

are we voting for most popular at the time or who could actually draw? Based on who could actually draw normal human anatomy, the voting is skewed.

[Aman619]

we are voting for favorite artist... and anatomy is no meassure of anything for an artist unless he is a medical illustrator.

[The Black Hand ®]

I Voted offNeal Adams. The other four seem more silver age to me. Except for Kirby, who transcends GA and SA. As much as I'm pulling for Ditko, I feel that Kirby deserves the crown for his contribution to both ages.

[catrick339]

Steranko. Although I greatly admire his work in the field, he's minor compared to the other choices.

[CAP Freak]

Neal Adams

[Shadow]

I went with the angle of "style of art" and what I thought was important in the SA. So, I voted off the pedestrian Ditko. Spidey is the only thing that has kept him this long and he did design some great characters. Steranko was a close 2nd choice but I think he built upon Kirby and continued the "layout/design" pattern that Miller picked up later.

[Dale Roberts]

Seems pretty obvious to me that there is a Marvel bias in the voting. But come to think of it the Silver Age really happened because of Marvel. I doubt very much that DC could ever have revived the super hero (and the comic book industry) if Stan, Kirby and Co. hadn't shifted comics from the 12 year old reader to the 14 - 18 year old crowd. And since Kirby and Ditko defined Marvel they are in my book the two most important Silver Age artists. I don't see this poll as being about who the best artist is or even who had the most influence on other artists but rather who defined the period and for me that's Kirby and Ditko hands down (although I must say that even at the time I couldn't understand why I liked Ditko, I recognized that he wasn't really a very good artist but he had such an eccentric style and that two finger hand pose that he used for Spidey and Doc and the strange way he drew bums was all so right ...). That being said I have an appreciation for Kubert that I didn't get until a decade later. The only word I can think of to describe his work is elegant or maybe laconic, like Gary Cooper or Henry Fonda. But even though he was a defining DC artist of the period, War comics and Hawkman are not what made the Silver Age. Then there's Sterenko. While I agree that his output was slight compared to the others, I loved him then and still do. In a way he seemed to gather up the essence of the Silver Age and distill it. Sure he started out channeling Kirby but follow his work on the SHIELD books and its really unbelievable how quickly he developed a style uniquely his own. To me he is the perfect culmination of the Silver Age ethos. Oops, sorry to make this sound like an undergrad essay but doggon it where else can I talk comics without someone holding up a crucifix and a handful of garlic. Anyway for me its Kirby, Ditko, and then I still don't know, Sterenko or Kubert.

 

You've come to the right place to make your comments, although I did have to look up what "laconic" meant.

 

Let's face it, we have a top 5 of giants. I'm not a rabid Steranko fan--but appreciate his creativity.

 

The Silver Age ranges over a long time period, and it had several distinct stages, and some of these artists are from totally different periods. First, there was the great DC flowering of superheros and adventure comics from 1956-1961. The giants of this period were Infantino, Anderson, Kane, and Kubert. Then came the great early Marvel years (1962-65), which added characterization and personality to superheroes, with Ditko and Kirby defining the period. DC basically ignored this trend, and stuck to one-dimensional heros. Then you had the Age of Marvel (1966-1969) which added "realism" and social themes to comics, with Adams and Steranko and Buscema coming to the fore. DC finally began to change and started to follow the Marvel lead.

 

So when you talk about an artist being Silver Age, you can mean different things. I'm a big fan of the first two SA periods, not so much the late 60's. That's probably why my top three would be Kirby, Kubert, and Ditko, in that order.

 

 

 

There is only a Marvel bias because Marvel comics were so much better than DC comics in the time period discussed.

 

Joe Kubert would never make my top 3 and not even my top 5 because I simply don't enjoy the majority of his art enough to warrant it. He is a good artist. A solid artist. But completely unspectacular. Never did a sequence of art anywhere nearly as good as Amazing Spider-man #33 by Ditko. Not even close.

 

Steranko is great, but he really didn't do enough to warrant still being in the contest. Adams did over 100 covers and several books and almost single handedly brought DC back to relevance. Steranko did about 10 covers, about 15 books and is still in.

 

Seems to me there is a bias against Neal Adams.