WHAT IF...Rob Liefeld drew WATCHMEN?

[Nexus]

Or DARK KNIGHT, or The Phoenix Saga, or whatever comic floats your boat. Would you still want the OA?

 

That, to me, is the ultimate test of Art Vs. Story. Did you like those comics for the art or the story? 99% of my OA purchases is motivated by wanting something from a comic I read and liked. There's a long discussion on the Comicart-l list about basic art fundamentals (and the lack of it in most American comic book art). A fascinating and educational discussion, but I wouldn't let the lack of said fundamentals sway me away from buying a piece I really liked.

 

Liefeld is an extreme example, but if he had drawn WATCHMEN, I'd still want a page from it. But, boy, am I glad he didn't:P

[MutantKeys]

Would you still want the OA?

 

No

 

 

[GotSuperPowers?]

I probably would, purely from the point of view that pages right now are untouchable, but if Rob had drawn it, the pages would suddenly be within range for me!

 

I have a Mark Bagley New Warriors page based purely on the fact that I enjoyed the series so wanted the example, but Bagley isn't an artist I care too much for.

 

Best

Simon

[delekkerste]

Or DARK KNIGHT, or The Phoenix Saga, or whatever comic floats your boat. Would you still want the OA?

 

At the end of the day, I collect "original art", not "original stories" - I'm pretty sure there is no story that Rob Liefeld could have drawn where I would want to own the original art.

[shiverbones]

hahaha! If Liefeld drew watchmen,I would still be throwing up about it every day.

 

and no, I wouldn't want the art.

[Mister Trent]

Or DARK KNIGHT, or The Phoenix Saga, or whatever comic floats your boat. Would you still want the OA?

 

That, to me, is the ultimate test of Art Vs. Story. Did you like those comics for the art or the story? 99% of my OA purchases is motivated by wanting something from a comic I read and liked. There's a long discussion on the Comicart-l list about basic art fundamentals (and the lack of it in most American comic book art). A fascinating and educational discussion, but I wouldn't let the lack of said fundamentals sway me away from buying a piece I really liked.

 

Liefeld is an extreme example, but if he had drawn WATCHMEN, I'd still want a page from it. But, boy, am I glad he didn't:P

 

Generally, If I liked the story but disliked the artist, I'd stick to having the printed comic-book or graphic novel.

 

With original art, I like to be excited by or appreciative of the image.

 

The ideal scenario is to like the artwork that illustrates a good story (thumbs u

 

With something like WATCHMEN, I've never been overly-fond of the illustrations (and I'm usually the first to champion the work of UK artists!), so despite all the adulation - I have no interest in owning any of the original artwork.

[Pirate]

Or DARK KNIGHT, or The Phoenix Saga, or whatever comic floats your boat. Would you still want the OA?

 

That, to me, is the ultimate test of Art Vs. Story. Did you like those comics for the art or the story? 99% of my OA purchases is motivated by wanting something from a comic I read and liked. There's a long discussion on the Comicart-l list about basic art fundamentals (and the lack of it in most American comic book art). A fascinating and educational discussion, but I wouldn't let the lack of said fundamentals sway me away from buying a piece I really liked.

 

Liefeld is an extreme example, but if he had drawn WATCHMEN, I'd still want a page from it. But, boy, am I glad he didn't:P

 

I didn't like it with gibbons, definitely won't with leifeld

[NelsonAI]

Felix

Great spin-off from Jonathan's poll. As noted at that thread, I collect for art.

 

I also respect everyone's viewpont. When the stars align and you have BOTH great story and great art, prices for the art skyrocket.

 

Over the long run, prices certainly wouldn't be as expensive as Gibbons or Bolland but initially prices would have been high. Keep in mind, people used to line up at conventions handing over cash to Rob for his artwork. I personally saw Rob selling X-Force covers for $1,500 cash as soon as he could place them on the table. Rob was commanding prices higher than Gibbons and Bolland at that point in time.

 

For full disclosure I have a few pages of Rob's early work in my CAF gallery. IMHO his early work and sense of anatomy were actually decent on New Mutants. People forget that he co-plotted many of the New Mutants and X-Force storylines. He created Cable; still a popular character in Marvel X-Men lore.

 

I don't particularly care for his artistic style now but I still respect him for making it in an industry most can only dream about.

 

Bill Woo purchased the entire X-Force issue # 1 artwork for $100K at auction. Obviously there were at least 2 bidders willing to go that high at that auction.

 

If the art was done in his early style and pages cheap enough, I probably would have picked up a few back in the day.

 

Cheers!

N

[dem1138]

Bill Woo purchased the entire X-Men #1 by Jim Lee. And considering what some of his covers/pages have been selling for - 100K now looks like a bargain!

 

 

The true test of this is that Rob Liefield DID ACTUALLY pencil an Alan Moore series:

 

SUPREME

 

Look it up - Alan was brought it to do the same for that character that he had done for Miracleman - changing and enriching the character and his history. And, not suprisingly, the art is so horrible that it makes it difficult to enjoy the writing. I actually couldn't finish the TPB because Rob's art was such an absolute mismatch with Moore's writing. Those that have plowed through it tell me that it is a great story. How much better would it have been with Gibbons or Bolland? I think the answer's obvious...

 

SO...does anyone own any pages from Supreme? Didn't think so...

[malvin]

I would in fact buy a Rob Liefeld Supreme page (only during the Alan Moore run) for the right price.

 

If anyone has any that they do not want, let me know!

 

Malvin

[NelsonAI]

While New Mutants # 87 is not in the same classic storyline as the Watchman, it is the first appearance of Cable. I'm sure many collectors would love to own the cover even if they hated Rob's art.

 

off topic clarification

 

Bill bought BOTH Jim Lee X-Men # 1 for $100K AND Rob Liefeld X-Force # 1 art for another $100K at the same auction.

 

Cheers!

N

 

 

[Sal]

Even if I collected OA, my answer would be "no" to at least the Watchmen question. Dave Gibbons added so much to that story that any artist with less depth from a creative standpoint - I don't recall seeing many pouches on Rorshach, although the Comedian and Nite-Owl might have had some - would have made the story less powerful in my eyes

[Mighty Hal]

A fun question, Nexus. Thanks for posting it.

 

You could have posted, "What if Greg Horn had drawn WATCHMEN"...or Erik Larsen or Dan DeCarlo or Adam Hughes or Jim Balent -- and that would have been fun mind candy, too.

 

None of these guys would have made WATCHMEN work. 'Cause a project only really cooks when the right writer meets the right artist. So, no, I don't want a Liefeld-drawn WATCHMEN. (And Jim Balent can just stay away from the project, too.)

 

Doesn't mean I wouldn't love a Rob Liefeld NEW MUTANTS cover, though.

 

 

 

[brandolsn]

Or DARK KNIGHT, or The Phoenix Saga, or whatever comic floats your boat. Would you still want the OA?

 

That, to me, is the ultimate test of Art Vs. Story. Did you like those comics for the art or the story? 99% of my OA purchases is motivated by wanting something from a comic I read and liked. There's a long discussion on the Comicart-l list about basic art fundamentals (and the lack of it in most American comic book art). A fascinating and educational discussion, but I wouldn't let the lack of said fundamentals sway me away from buying a piece I really liked.

 

Liefeld is an extreme example, but if he had drawn WATCHMEN, I'd still want a page from it. But, boy, am I glad he didn't:P

awesome question - Alan Moore is the man, but you have to give props to Gibbons for what he brought to the story - there was a time when I thought any artist could have drawn Watchmen, Alan Moore's -script was bulletproof - but something special happened with both of them on that story, which makes me think I might not look to buy a Watchmen original if another artist was involved - and I'm not a huge Gibbons fan - wouldn't buy one of his originals outside of Watchmen, including the For the Man Who Has Everything.

[Nexus]

The true test of this is that Rob Liefield DID ACTUALLY pencil an Alan Moore series:

 

SUPREME

 

Good one! But SUPREME is no WATCHMEN. Would SUPREME have been a better read if a better artist had worked on it? I don't doubt it. Still, Alan Moore wrote a lot of stuff...but just one WATCHMEN.

 

Then again, maybe WATCHMEN wouldn't have been WATCHMEN if someone less capable than Gibbons illustrated it.

 

I have to say, when I first read the story, I thought Gibbons' art was pretty pedestrian. It definitely wasn't flashy or "sexy" like George Perez (to name one guy from that period who I thought was great). The more I look at it now, though, I've really come around. There is so much thought and planning that goes into each panel, nothing is put in there by accident. Can't imagine anyone else doing it now (so I agree with you, brandolsn!).

[Nexus]

Generally, If I liked the story but disliked the artist, I'd stick to having the printed comic-book or graphic novel.

 

Agreed. One of the best current comics is QUEEN AND COUNTRY (just a great read, highly recommended). However, the art is..."inconsistent". Consquently, the OA is not a big priority.

 

Same with Y: THE LAST MAN (which has been getting a lot discussion around here). I'd call co-creator's Pia Guerra's art "serviceable". Regardles, as that series has become one of my all-time favorites, I still had to get art from it. And it helps that the covers have been gorgeous.

 

But, ultimately, we're not talking about your average well-written series. We're talking WATCHMEN:)

 

The ideal scenario is to like the artwork that illustrates a good story (thumbs u

 

You bet! One huge reason why I love THE GOON. Not only a good story, but GREAT art. And, even better, all done by the same person. Now THAT'S rare.

 

 

[Nexus]

How about if I put it this way:

 

I'd rather have a Rob Liefeld WATCHMEN page than a [insert whomever you consider a hot/popular/fundamentally sound artist...let's say Adam Hughes] YOUNGBLOOD page.

 

And, yes dem1138, not even from the Alan Moore written YOUNGBLOOD (thumbs u

[comiconxion]

I'm pretty sure Bill didn't pay quite $100k/each for the X-Men #1 and X-Force. They both sold in the 1991 Sotheby's auction and also keep in mind that along with the art, Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld agreed to do a store appearance.

 

I can't remember the exact numbers, but I thought the X-Force book sold for around $35k while the X-Men book sold for $44k. At the time it was record breaking money however. In that same auction, Frazetta's cover to Vampirella sold for around $70k which set new records.

[Mister Trent]

]The ideal scenario is to like the artwork that illustrates a good story (thumbs u

 

You bet! One huge reason why I love THE GOON. Not only a good story, but GREAT art. And, even better, all done by the same person. Now THAT'S rare.

 

 

Johnny Craig's self written & illustrated stories . . .

 

Al Feldstein's self-written & illustrated stories . . .

 

Harvey Kurtzman's self-written & illustrated stories . . .

 

But we're not talking about any ordinary publishing outfit . . . we're talking EC.

 

[Jesusjon]

Same with Y: THE LAST MAN (which has been getting a lot discussion around here). I'd call co-creator's Pia Guerra's art "serviceable".

 

Serviceable reminds me of how I feel about a whole cadre of artists. I categorize Pia, Steve Dillon, Darick Robertson, David Lloyd, and Dave Gibbons all in this category, with Pia more at the start of her career. I feel like their art serves the story and doesn't overpower it. That Gibbons probably did some of the best work of his career on Watchmen, and Lloyd did some of his best on V certainly helps when considering a purchase of those pages. But what's most important is that those are vintage pages with the actual story on them.

 

In the art thread I mentioned that I'm more interested in the art aspect of comic art. But with Watchmen or V, story plays a massive role. Though on V I'd happily take one of the two great covers over a story page. Price just happens to be a massive factor.

 

If Rob Liefeld had drawn Watchmen it would really depend on what kind of work he did on it and the page in question. How much could he really screw up the "I DID IT!!" page -- no idea. Someone should have him recreate it as a commission and we'll see... If he had drawn the book it might not have become the milestone in comics that it is, it might not be an uncoming movie, and the pages might all be less than $1K so who knows!?