ARTIST MATURATION

[*paull*]

I agree with you that Jae Lee has lost some dynamics since his early days on Namor and other Marvel/Image books, but he did greatly improve his backgrounds and illustration skills. Those old Namor issues had basically no backgrounds at all.

[blowout]

I agree with you that Jae Lee has lost some dynamics since his early days on Namor and other Marvel/Image books, but he did greatly improve his backgrounds and illustration skills. Those old Namor issues had basically no backgrounds at all.

 

We can agree on that much.

[Spider-Variant]

Okay, great discussion.

 

How about some of the legends? Does anyone think that they got better with age?

 

I'll start with John Romita (who I absolutely admire) definitely improved from his early Spider-Man (mid-sixties) to his work in the seventies (circa ASM issue #108, 109), but the couple of pages he did for Spider-Man # 500, just didn't seem up to par.

[shady64]

As has been said, Jae Lee I think has grown leaps and bounds over his overly exagerrated figures from the early part of his career. He's a master of creating a distinct mood in all of his art and his stuff is pretty distinct from most other comic book artists.

[COMICKINGS]

Okay, great discussion.

 

How about some of the legends? Does anyone think that they got better with age?

 

I'll start with John Romita (who I absolutely admire) definitely improved from his early Spider-Man (mid-sixties) to his work in the seventies (circa ASM issue #108, 109), but the couple of pages he did for Spider-Man # 500, just didn't seem up to par.

 

I don't want to bag on alot of the guys I used to love during the '70's because they just don't do it like they used to. But one guy that is still kicking it out and pretty damn good is George Perez. The detail he put in on the late '70's early '80's stuff was just awesome,and he still packs it in there these days!

[pkveronese]

Okay, great discussion.

 

How about some of the legends? Does anyone think that they got better with age?

 

I'll start with John Romita (who I absolutely admire) definitely improved from his early Spider-Man (mid-sixties) to his work in the seventies (circa ASM issue #108, 109), but the couple of pages he did for Spider-Man # 500, just didn't seem up to par.

 

I don't want to bag on alot of the guys I used to love during the '70's because they just don't do it like they used to. But one guy that is still kicking it out and pretty damn good is George Perez. The detail he put in on the late '70's early '80's stuff was just awesome,and he still packs it in there these days!

 

Good call - I loved seeing Perez's work in IC. Also, I appreciate all his work for A.C.T.O.R. .

[Weird Paper]

Take a look at some of the last work Bill Everett did on Sub Mariner in the early to mid-1970s, especially when he was inking himself. Was his work ever more detailed and more refined than during this period?

It is certainly an exception for an artist to improve beyond a certain point. Adams, Wrightson, (especially)Byrne, BWS -- all these guys have topped the hill a long time ago.

[OldGuy]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

[Darrell F]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

 

Amen on both of those.

[KingOfRulers]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

 

You've got that right.

[pkveronese]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

 

You've got that right.

 

Why the JR JR hate? Did you all like him better when he was a generic Marvel penciler? If anything, his art now is truer to his typical form, especially that of his run on Uncanny in the 80s.

[Spider-Variant]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

 

You've got that right.

 

Why the JR JR hate? Did you all like him better when he was a generic Marvel penciler? If anything, his art now is truer to his typical form, especially that of his run on Uncanny in the 80s.

 

I guess I did like JR JR as a generic Marvel penciler better than his blockish, cartoonish figures from his recent Spider-Man run. No doubt he is a good story teller with his art, just don't like the look of the figures.

[Mighty Hal]

J. G. Jones is a much stronger artist than he used to be. Compare any of his 52 covers to his first work...Dark Dominion with Defiant...and you won't believe it's the same artist.

 

paull, I agree: David Lapham is doing much stronger, more original, work these days. I'd say the same of Frank Cho.

 

Somebody that lost my interest as he grew older was the King. In his later years, Jack Kirby seemed to repeat himself and I never again saw the kind of artwork that made me stop and just stare. I can't say that his artwork lost its style but SOMETHING happened. No Kirby hate here, how could there be?, but there is a little sadness. Maybe it wasn't the artwork after all. Maybe it was just the stories....

[KingOfRulers]

it ain't byrne

 

or JR JR

 

You've got that right.

 

Why the JR JR hate? Did you all like him better when he was a generic Marvel penciler? If anything, his art now is truer to his typical form, especially that of his run on Uncanny in the 80s.

 

Well, being a "generic" penciller then is to be a "great" penciller now. The mid-late 1970's was the high point for art with Layton, Perez, Cockrum, Byrne and Simonson all at the peak or around the peak of their greatness. JRJR was apart of that and was great, even though he might have had many similarities to guys like Layton and Byrne. But what JRJR does now might be different...too bad different doesn't automatically mean good.

[pkveronese]

King - "good" is a subjective quality in this case.

 

By the way - isn't this topic like 3 months old?

[KingOfRulers]

So, you don't like any of those guys I mentioned when they were in their prime?

 

And, Hal brought the topic back up. So, I just added my 2 cents

[aardvark88]

Don't forget the importance of the inker in the late 70s:

Byrne/Austin on Claremont's X-men, Marshall Rogers/Austin on Detective Comics, JR Jr with Bob Layton on Iron Man.

[Kevin76]

An artist doesn't get worse as time goes by,only thier style changes. Just cause say.. neal adams' line work has changed since the 70's doesn't make him a horrible artist.

[vodou]

Both Ed McGuinness and Tim Sale have 20 yrs or close to in comics. Check out their early work (EdM - indy stuff w/Vigil brothers, Sale inking Hannibal King on Grendel) and prepare to cringe. Certainly not the case these days!

[Mighty Hal]

Yep, I brought the topic forward. I'll try not to disturb the old stuff again...or, at least, very often.

 

You know what happens when you're new to a board...and you discover a subject that really, really interests you (OA) but few people in the cold, outside world talk about it? And, so, you go through the old discussions, just enjoying the chatter -- but, every now and then, you wish you could post on one of the older subjects? That's what happened here.

 

And aardvark's comment about the '70's inkers is absolutely true. [embarrassing lack of self control] inks were crippling. Dynamic inks dazzled. Sometimes, though, an inker's own style would overpower the original pencils.