Best artists

[anarky]

I'm surprised we don't have this already.

I'd like to throw out the name Andrew Wildman. Sure, I don't think he ever drew a character who wasn't screaming at the top of his or her lungs, but the guy is the best fucking giant robot artist ever. I like his earlier stuff on Transformers, inked by (Stephen?) Baskerville, before he started putting Liefeldian levels of line work in. His more recent stuff appears to be closer to his early work, so my assumption is the lines were actually the work of an incompetent inker.

Close second (in the giant robot category) is Geoff Senior, who has a deceptively cartoony approach and uses some heavy lines.

Jim Lee, of course, the only Image guy to live up to his hype. (Even Larsen is better as a storyteller than a finisher.)

Mike Wieringo, even though I wouldn't touch any of the books he draws with a ten-foot pole because he went and signed an exclusivity contract with Marvel.

Brian Stelfreeze and Norm Breyfogle from Batman a while back. Whatever happened to them?

[jjreason]

Man, is art ever a contentious issue - good stories are good stories, but one man's masterpiece can look like toilet paper to EP (and I'm talking about Humberto Ramos here specifically!).

Mike Deodato Jr. is up there. He's amazing. Frank Quitely (though again, some hate him) is great to me, as is John Cassiday (if you hate him, you hate sunshine). Bryan Hitch. Mark Bagley. John Byrne (circa 1980, less as time went on). George Perez. The longer I think the more I could type here....

Oh, and I'll leave the Silver Age Marvel Mainstays Ditko and Kirby out of this, because lumping them in with the others would almost suggest they were human.... which they weren't.

[Diabolical]

Ashley Wood- Probably the only artist I would buy a comic for without knowing anything about it. Whether its drawing or painting, he's got a definite style that leans away from comic book art and more toward fine art.

Frank Miller - Even though Jim Lee was/is good, I wish Frank had done the All-Star Batman artwork.

Cassiday is awesome. Good realism in his characters.

Steve Dillon is a love him/hate him artist. When he first started Punisher, I hated him, but after a year or so I got pissed when there was a fill-in artist. I think his style fit the tone and content. I hated his Wolverine Origins work at first, but it's growing on me.

Great old schoolers: John Romita Jr., Jim Lee, and Todd McFarlane. Breyfogle was great at Batman.

[Eternal Padawan]

Mike McKone, Tom Grummett, Jim Balent, Jim Cheung all get mentions.


Jae Lee is turning in some terrific work on Dark Tower.

Michael Turner does good covers.

Ed Benes is the new Jim Lee.

[jjreason]

One of the finest comic artists ever has to be Travis Charest. He was the guy (from France, I believe) who started doing the art on WildCATS the 2nd time it started up - and it was SICK. He couldn't do the deadline thing, however, so I think he's fallen right out of comics. I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend just having a look at some Vol 2 WildCATS early issues to see what I mean though..... incredible.

EDITED: and it looks like I'm FINALLY able to provide you with a sample after about 30 tries. Okay, more like 4, but you get my drift.

[The Grip]

Zee best arteest? Ah'd say eet ees Diabolahcail's mothair, simplay for zee crazy zings she does veet her tongue, non?

[Eternal Padawan]

Is that a shit mustache from where the Grin sat on your face? You tongue fucking ass licker.

[Eternal Padawan]

No mention of Neal Adams? Shame on us. That guy drew the definitive Batman.

I always enjoyed Ron Lim's art on Silver Surfer and later Captain America. His stuff recently hasn't impressed me as much, probably because of a different inker(?)

Dale Keown did a wonderful Hulk. Even better than Gary Frank's Hulk in my opinion, and Frank does a magnificent Hulk. I'm not so hot on his regular people as he tends to draw everyone with this wide eyed "stare".

Alan Davis is great, but I've soured a little on his style in recent years, mostly because my own tastes have changed. When he brings his A-game, though, it's magnificent.

[Diabolical]

Brian Stelfreeze and Norm Breyfogle from Batman a while back. Whatever happened to them?

Wikipedia

normbreyfogle.com

[jjraeson]

He gets a bad rep, y'know, but I think that Rob Liefeld is underrated, eh?

Also Jose Delbo, the best Transformers artist ever, eh? You got to love the eyeballs, eh? And he's aboot the greatest student of anatomy this side of Mr Liefeld, eh?

[Eternal Padawan]

Sean Chen is climbing my list. Currently drawing Nova at Marvel.




58.

[jjreason]

Frank Cho is actually the first mainstream superhero artist to make me get semis. His Avengers women have the sexiest bodies in Marvel history.

[Eternal Padawan]

Frank does do some classic "good girl" art. I like him way better than Lienil Yu.

[vynsane]

I like him way better than Lienil Yu.

understatement of the year... i like getting kicked in the balls way better lienil yu.

[jjreason]

He's just not well suited to Avengers (or FF, or Thor, or any other "Feel good" Marvel title). Toss him on Wolvie or DD, where the stories tend to be gloomier, darker and more convoluted... and it's a much better fit. The contrast in art between the two books is really something - so pronounced that I'm sure it must be on purpose.... but I can't explain what the significance is. I think Olivier Coipel should get New Avengers, he's doing some very nice work these days.