The Most Underrated Artists!

[*paull*]

Here's a few...

 

A.C. Hollingsworth - I've only seen a few stories of his, but man... is that good stuff

 

Norm Breyfogle

 

Alan Davis / Paul Neary's work on Detective

 

Paul Chadwick

 

James Sturm

 

After seeing those Planets above.... I gotta agree on Maurice Whitman!

 

any artist that produced wonderful work in the Iger Studio for the Farrell / Ajax titles (Haunted Thrills, Voodoo, Strange Fantasy, Fantastic Fears).

 

and lastly, I want to cite an artist who, while getting recognition, is still underrated: Jack Cole. I marvel at this guy's work every time I see it, but he usually is not mentioned in a list of the greatest GA artists. He's very close to the top for me.

[Brian Peck]

I agree Al Willinghamson is underrated. Another is Jackson Guice especially inking himself.

 

[Mighty Hal]

Al Williamson underrated? Not in my house, where he's considered one of the greats.

 

There are at least four or five books out there about Williamson's work (with the words AL WILLIAMSON in the title) although, I admit, we rarely discuss his work here. Still, I think he's rated too highly to be underrated.

[jjonahjameson1]

Al Williamson underrated? Not in my house, where he's considered one of the greats.

 

There are at least four or five books out there about Williamson's work (with the words AL WILLIAMSON in the title) although, I admit, we rarely discuss his work here. Still, I think he's rated too highly to be underrated.

 

Even with the number of books out there, I honestly think you'd be surprised at the number of folks in the industry, comics, and art collectors that don't know who Al is nor what he's worked on.

 

There was also a nice book on Gray Morrow a few years ago, but is there any mention of him on this board, or comicart-l? Massive talents both; underrated...you betcher @$$!

[Meeley Man]

Great stuff, gang. I'm seeing names I never would have even thought of. (thumbs u

[Jeffro.]

I have always considered Bob McLeod to be highly underrated. He gets no fanfare or hobby love, but is so solid at his craft.

 

McLeod is underrated, I agree.

 

how about paul ryan? keith pollard? ron wilson?

 

Definitely agree about Pollard.

 

I'd have to say Frank and Nestor Redondo. Both did really nice work for DC in the 70's and 80's.

[Artemaria]

Great suggestions all - especially Keith Pollard, just don't know why he doesn't get his due.

 

Always like it when this thread pops up.

 

Here's five new suggestions, one gone, two no longer working in the industry, one working a little bit, and one who seems to still be getting some work.

 

Gene Day - Most people knew Gene Day as an inker, who was at the top of the game when he died in his early thirties. I would venture to say his most visible work was inking George Perez on Marvel Two In One and elsewhere. However, his best work was on Shang Chi Master of Kung Fu, where his inventive layouts and moody pages showed his ambition to become a modern day Steranko. A tragic loss.

 

Jerry Bingham - not working in the industry any longer, but he did fill in ably whenever needed and did have some decent stints on some titles.

 

Ed Hannigan - another strong and steady artist who filled in whenever needed. Produced some of the most memorable cover images of the 1980s. Does not seem to be working in the industry any longer.

 

M.C. Wyman - a solid artist in the mold of John Buscema. Dynamic poses, good action pages and some nice covers. Got the book out on time and did a nice job doing it. Does not seem to be doing alot of work in the industry right now.

 

Tom Grummet - another very solid artist whose style picks up from John Byrne and John Buscema. Again, dynamic poses, good action, good expression and gets the job done. Glad to see that this solid get-it-done and do-it-well artist is still getting some work from the big two.

 

The reason I listed these artists as being "under appreciated" is not because they may be the best artists or because their work will go up in value, but because they got the job done, did a good job and put the book out on time every month (usually).

 

These artists were the backbone of the industry when others could not get things done. That keeps the industry going. They produced books that I and many others read when there were no other options, and kept the soap operas going month after month. For that alone, they should be appreciated.

 

Just another perspective.

 

- A

 

 

[jonjesper]

My List:

 

All my favorite artists that are not loved by everyone else...

 

 

[Meeley Man]

Ed Hannigan - another strong and steady artist who filled in whenever needed. Produced some of the most memorable cover images of the 1980s. Does not seem to be working in the industry any longer.

 

Yeah, Ed was certain one of the Marvel "workhorses" of the 70's and 80's. He also helped to co-created Cloak & Dagger (he even drew their first appearence). Most folks usually think it was Rick Leonardi, because he drew them in their first mini and regular (although short-lived) series. But Ed Hannigan was the first artist to draw them in Spectacular Spider-Man #64.

 

Great choice here. (thumbs u

[Mister Trent]

John Severin. Been producing sterling work for over half-a-century, yet he doesn't seem to get the acclaim some of the 'flavor-of-the-month' guys get.

 

To me, Severin's up there with the giants of comic-book illustration.

 

Also, Warren Kremer, of Harvey Comics.

 

I'd consider Kremer on a par with Carl Barks.

[comix4fun]

 

I completely agree with McLeod and Pollard and several of the others mentioned.

 

I have gotten commissions from them in the last couple of years which were as good a cover quality piece as you would get from anyone in the biz, and that's a fact.

 

Another guy I want to add....Steve Lightle.

 

His work on those Classic X-men covers was amazing and he nailed them month after month. They guy deserves the love.

 

Chris

[comix4fun]

And more on McLeod...the guy gets better and better with age. A lot of guys that were around in the 80's might have lost a step, but Bob is better than ever. He did this for me last year.

 

 

And these were two Con Sketches done at Heroes Con 2007 and 2008 respectively...Bob's level of effort and skill comes thru even on his con sketches.

 

[comix4fun]

And for Pollard fans...he pencilled this piece for me in 2008.

 

The pencils were ornate and detailed to the last line. Joe Rubinstein inked the piece and preserved exactly what Keith had accomplished.

 

I would love to see Keith doing some covers or interiors again...

 

[jjonahjameson1]

Russ Heath is another top notch artists that deserves more recognition.

And Dale Eaglesham is another. Check out his stuff on JSA!

[comix4fun]

Russ Heath is another top notch artists that deserves more recognition.

And Dale Eaglesham is another. Check out his stuff on JSA!

 

 

 

Totally agree...Russ is great and Dale's work on JSA knocked my socks off.

 

C

[MedicAR]

For modern artists, Vatche Mavlian is incredibly underrated. He did the most recent Spider-Man/Wolverine mini as well as the Spider-Man/Daredevil one shot from a few years back. He does fantastic work with a pen, very Frazetta-like and puts his own unique spin on everything he does.

[NelsonAI]

 

Al Williamson and Russ Heath are superstars in my book so I can't call them underrated.

 

I agree with most of the names listed on this thread.

 

How about long time Marvel Two In One artist Ron Wilson?

I always thought his pencils conveyed a sense of "power" when he drew the Thing. He style was reminiscent of the old school Marvel style - Kirby, Buscema, etc. Perhaps if he drew the Hulk, he would have been appreciated more.

 

Don Newton?

Perhaps one of my favorite Batman artists.

 

 

Cheers!

N

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tilleycs]

I would agree on Ron Wilson. The Thing is my all-time favorite character, and Wilson was great at drawing him.

[GroddGuy-migration]

Paul Pelletier. The man is a workhorse for Marvel, but they usually only put him on 2nd or 3rd tier books.

[otherworldsj33]

Val Mayerik

Mort Meskin

Paul Smith

Mike Mignola

Joe Orlando

Don Newton

Art Adams

Paul Chadwick

Trevor Von Eeden

Alfred Alcala

J. Disbrow

Jeff Smith

Fred Ray

Spang

John Bolton (Very underrated)

Craig Russell

Ernie Colan

Jae Lee

Sam Keith

Kelly Jones

Dave Gibbons

Arthur Suydam

Matt Wagner

Simon Bisley

Frank Thorne

 

Anybody disagree with that list, maybe some on that list already have gotten fair recognition? Maybe the majority here on this thread belive a few artist's on this list are not underrated, but just not very good?

But I think most would agree there are many, many others not mentioned who are underrated. Comics have and had a lot of hacks, but also so many great and talented artists over the years to make it such an enjoyable medium.