From: lim@addvax.llnl.gov (Doug Lim)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Favorite Artist Summary
Date: 22 Dec 92 19:07:00 GMT
Reply-To: DougLim@llnl.gov
Organization: LLNL
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

Thanks to all those who responded to my favorite artist question! The following
is a summary of the results. The (number) preceding the artists' names indicate
the number of mentions the artist got. Sorry, I did not summarize the most
hated artists lists because that was not a part of my original question and I
felt that including those would not be fair. If someone else with LOADS OF
FREE TIME would like to compile such a list, they are welcome to do so. I
freely admit that the results are NOT IN ANYWAY SCIENTIFIC and that the high
number of mentions my cousin got was due to the fact that I mentioned him in
my post.

By the way, I mentioned this summary to my cousin when I spoke to him and he
was really suprised by the variety of artists mentioned by people on this
newsgroup. For the most part, he felt the people who responed had pretty good
taste. He also had some opionions of his own, especially about inkers, but
he felt it prudent to keep those opinions between he and I :-(.

The list is in alphabetical order.



                  F A V O R I T E   C O M I C   B O O K
                      A R T I S T S   S U M M A R Y


(3) Arthur Adams
    "Apparently too slow to work on regular books, but still outstanding."

    "Took some getting used to, but for 'fun' stuff, he's right up there.
     Sort of did the Liefield frown before Liefield did it."

(1) Jim Aparo

(7) Terry Austin
    "Terry Austin can work wonders with almost anyone's pencils."

    "just gotta love it"

    "To which the Uncanny X-Men in the X-cruciating Song attest wholeheartedly,
     not to mention Wonderbar Man #1 (no, I didn't get #2! :))"

    "The inker's inker. Always solid. He could even make my pencils look good."

(2) Chris Bachalo
    "Nice form, finished work always nice and consistent."

(1) Mark Badger
    "cool!"

(1) Peter Bagge

(1) Kyle Baker
    "Cartoony people, fantastic facial expressions.   I have a fondness in my
     heart for the 'Baker Yell' (the one where the character has eyes and
     mouth wide open, usually thrusting both arms up overhead in a V.)  The
     'Baker Squinge' is also in my Expression Hall of Fame."

(1) Eduardo Barreto

(1) Hilary Barta
    "...Great spoofy cartoons."

(1) John Beatty
    "[one of my favorite inkers]...he took a little getting used to in JLE"

(3) Simon Bisley
    "His penciled stuff is good, his painted stuff is awesome."

    "Never cared for LOBO much, but when he gets to really rip out with his
     painted work at its most barbaric, it's just got that ultra-masculine
     appeal!  RRaaarr!"

(2) Stephen Bissette
    "Shocking and stunning."

(5) Brian Bolland
    "Great detail. The Animal Man covers are some of the best pencil covers."

    "all-around keen.  Been good since JUDGE DREDD days..."

(1) John Bolton

(1) Simon Bond
    "similar style to Jamie Hewlett"

(1) Tim Bradstreet
    "...stuff is awesome.  He's my Hellblazer dream artist."

(2) Norm Breyfogle

(1) Mark Bright
    "Green Lantern #26 was gorgeous! Valor is a waste of his energies."

(2) Pat Broderick
    "GL #20-24 were pretty good."

(2) Rick Burchett
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(2) John Buscema
    "Master of the 'heroic pose'. Excellent sense of drama. When I think
     'hero', I think of him.  Definitely deserves more credit than he has
     gotten."

(2) Sal Buscema
    "One of the most underrated artists around...didn't anybody see 'Death of
     Vermin'?"

    "To say Sal Buscema is underrated severely understates the
     situation!  Yes, I saw 'Death of Vermin', and I'm still reeling!"

(10) John Byrne
    "This guy defines `consistency'. A pity his faces are so consistent."

    "on a good day"

    "not as adventurous in his art anymore, but still solid"

    "will always be the most talented"

    "...boy, was I impressed!  Needless to say, I look forward to each issue of
     Next Men."

(1) Eddie Campbell

(1) Greg Capullo
    "I dropped Quasar after #36 for budget reasons...but his was the best
     artwork on the series.  He also had some pretty amazing covers, too.
     (#22,29,32,33,34, and 35 stand out.)"

(1) Richard Case

(2) Paul Chadwick

(1) Ernie Chan
    "Savage Sord of Conan is AWESOME!..."

(2) Howard Chaykin
    "Uses dots the way Bolland uses lines."

    "...I miss 'American Flagg!'"

(1) Gene Colan

(1) R. Crumb
    "although I don't much like his writing"

(1) Geof Darrow

(7) Alan Davis
    "He helps Byrne defines consistency but his faces look different."

(1) Jack Davis
    "even though most 'comic art afficionadoes' refer to his TALES FROM THE
     CRYPT stuff as some of his worst work ever, I think it's great..."

(1) Kim DeMulder
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Steve Dillon

(3) Steve Ditko
    "Underrated, yet highly influential and innovative."

(2) Coleen Doran

(1) Dorman
    "He does painted covers, and that Aliens: Tribes HC.  Great stuff!"

(1) Mike Dringenberg

(1) Ben Dunn
    "His original title, _Ninja High School_, a spoof of Japanese comics and
     animation...His style really doesn't match most of the work put out by
     American artists, though some comes close."

(1) Ben Edlund
    "Perfect for The Tick.  SPOON!"

(1) Randy Elliott
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Elmore
    "He does occasional Savage Sowrd covers"

(3) Mark Farmer
    "I like his [inking] stuff on Hulk."

(1) Phil Foglio

(1) Harrison Fong
    "This is primarily for the...mini-series put out by Dark Horse Press called
     _Mecha_.   He is about the only American artist who can do giant robot
     warriors and come off better than most of the best Japanese artists.
     His giant robot designs are original...and creative. I doubt anyone at
     Marble or B.C. could do any better."

(1) Frank Frazetta
    "DUH, people!"

(1) Paul Fricke
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Dave Garcia
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Jay Geldhof
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(3) Dave Gibbons
    "he makes it look easy."

    "One fo the best artists around when it comes to conveying emotion."

    "Not a fan of his, per say, but he did Watchmen.  His work on that book
     was a masterpiece."

(1) Keith Giffen
    "his Video Jack through LSH style.  Don't much care for his Lobo or New
     Universe stuff."

(1) Michael T. Gilbert
    "a unique cartooning style.  Does lots of interesting things with
     paste-ups and interesting layout."

(3) Dick Giordano
    "I like Dick Giordano's inks."

(2) Al Gordon
    "really top notch"

    [one of my favorite inkers]

(3) Mike Grell
    "Mike Grell was *good* on GA and Legion -- he's a good *writer* too, GA is
     the only DC book I pay any attention to. I wish he'd write & draw, even
     if it went bi-monthly."

(1) Tom Grummett

(2) Jackson Guice
    "wish would get a life and do real comics and quit doing the DC titles"

(1) Gulacy
    "He does James Bond and Terminator for Dark Horse. That last issue of
     *EndGame* had the best drawings."

(1) Scott Hampton

(1) Scott Hanna
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Hempel & Wheatley

(1) Gilbert Hernandez

(1) Jaime Hernandez

(1) Jamie Hewlett
    "Wugga wugga!  Inspired, twisted, colourful..."

(1) Matt Howarth
    "A brilliant multi-media kind of artist with a unique style.  Particularly
     effective is his lettering."

(1) Adam Hughes
    "Great-looking people.  Very adept at drawing humans."

(1) Dennis Janke
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Klaus Janson
    "Give More Credit to Inkers!!!"

(1) Jeff Johnson
    "I don't read Wonder Man anymore...but I love his stuff."

(1) Kelley Jones

(1) Dan Jurgens
    "if only he would draw and not write..."

(1) Wm. Michael Kaluta
    "Bring back StarStruck and the Galactic Girl Guides!!!"

(2) Gil Kane

(5) Dale Keown
    "[his] stuff on Hulk."

    "Great potential.  Very hesitant about the Image thing, though. The best
     monthly artist, IMO, just prior to the return of the green Hulk."

    "I miss his Hulk already.  I hope PITT comes out soon, or I'll die of
     Keown-deprivation!"

    "Keown is also excellent -- late but worth the wait"

(1) Karl Kesel
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(4) Jack Kirby
    "...I used to hate this guy's stuff.  When the NEW GODS graphic novel from
     DC came out, I just looked at it and said to myself, 'Jeez, someone's
     still cranking out this tired, crappy old style?  It doesn't even look
     real!'  But that approach sure grows on you after a while.  And he could
     lay out a mean page.  Pioneered a lot of stuff like splash pages in the
     middle of the story."

    "He's the king.  Of course."

(2) Bernard Krigstein
    "Forerunner to Steranko.  Mastered the 'cinematic-style'"

(1) Kubert
    "Those Kubert guys, Joe and Adam (or is it Andy?) -- A. Kubert does the
     best Venom ever in the 'Spirits of Vengeance' thang"

(2) Greg LaRocque
    "I don't read Flash anymore...but I absolutely loved his work when it was
     inked by Jose Marzan, Jr."

(3) Erik Larsen
    "simplistic at first glance, but then you realize that he just makes it
     LOOK easy.  I don't buy that he's a McFarlane ripoff."

    "You bet I like the Dragon, but Larsen draws in your face art and he has
     some of the best battle scenes anywhere."

    "I absolutely hated his stuff in Amaz.Spidey, but that was because of the
     inker.  His stuff on Savage Dragon just buries his Spidey stuff."

(1) Jim Lawson
    "best Turtles"

(2) Jae Lee

(8) Jim Lee
    "Only his old Punisher War Journal stuff. His new Image character ahould
     be close to Punisher so I should like it too."

    "The boy can draw some good-looking women and he always finishes off a
     scene.  Every picture seems to be complete.  I really liked his work on
     the X-Men."

    "WildCATs is incredible, artwise."

    "color me fan-gender, but the boy does know how to draw."

(1) Mike Leeke

(1) Rick Leonardi
    "check out SM 2099 ... Hoo hah!  Deadly!  Give me this over Image any day!"

(2) Rob Liefield (alias Rob 501)

(1) Steve Lightle
    "He's the #1 LEGION of SUPERHEROES artist, and a great pencil pusher.
     Don't waste money on the drivel they're passing off as Legion now, get
     some of *his* issues. He's mostly doing covers now. I wish he'd do an
     Image book, cos being slow is a Good Thing at Image! If it came out
     ANNUALLY I'd buy it!"

(14) Ron Lim
    "I wept manly tears when Ron left Captain America."

    "RON LIM IS MY FAVORITE ARTIST!!!! (HELL, I'm even wearing my Silver
     Surfer #50 T-shirt as I type! really!  See Look!!!)"

    "I've been a big fan of his ever since the original EX-MUTANTS (a series
     that went real bad real soon after it was swiped from him and Lawrence).
     I have his Hero Alliance poster on my dorm room wall!!!!  This is so
     cool!!!  I even have both versions of his legends of the Stargrazers
     story (authorized and unathorized!).  Wow!  He is like a total god!
     ----SCAVENGER is so psyked!"

    "...he is underrated."

    "I used to really like his work 'cause he was new, fresh and somewhat
     experimental.  I even met him about 5 or 6 years ago and told him how
     much I liked his stuff.

     However, he's hit a rut.  He can make some nice pictures and layouts, but
     his figures (particularly faces) are somewhat annoying.  His faces in
     particular are in a wierd cartoony proportion that sometimes bother me
     (like the eyes being way above the 1/2 way point on the head)."

     A Response: "Why should he bother to do better, when he's getting such
     lame stories from the new writer.  Does anybody who reads this LIKE
     Ron Marz?"

     "Nobody does outer space like Lim..."

(1) Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

(1) Jim McFarlane
    "What can I say, I like the art in Spawn a lot.  The covers are awesome
     and the whole comic just portrays a sarcastic and grim mood."

(7) Todd McFarlane
    "Spawn. not Spidey- that stuff was ecchh..."

    "...if only he'd draw just a little better he'd really be great, but he
     needs an editor, really"

    "He's still got it, and the paper quality helps, too!"

    "McFarlane can be a bit too 'busy' for my poor eyes sometimes, but rather
     impressive and pretty to look at just the same."

(4) Dave McKean
    "His covers are overrated, his pencils are not."

    "[his] covers"

    "for his Cages series alone.  Great mesh of story and art. it really fits."

(1) Bob McLead

(2) Kevin Maguire
    "his expressions are the best"

(2) Larry Mahlsteadt
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Tom Mandrake

(1) Esteban Maroto

(1) Jose Marzan, Jr.
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Val Mayerik
    "Best Howard the Duck and Man-Thing, seems to be stuck on martial
     arts stuff [now]."

(3) David Mazzuchelli

(3) Mike Mignola
    "...Chiaroscuro to the max, dewd.  Luv it."

    "This man is a master of panel design and shading.  His splash pages and
     cover shots are superb, but he's a little disappointing when he does a
     full book."

(10) Frank Miller
    "Some of his stuff (Eg Ronin) is mindblowing."

    "Revolutionized comics with TDKR and Sin City"

    "for mood and use of shadows"

(1) Rags Morales

(3) Dean Motter
    "Another great 'visual artist'. Unfortunately he doesn't do nearly enough
     of his own work, instead I most often see his name as 'Publication Design
     Specialist' or some such thing. A good example of how his art savy can
     really make a comic book work is in the Hellblazer story 'Sundays are
     Different' (#33 for all of you who should run out and buy it)."

     "Motter's work is brilliant, but especially as a graphic designer."

     "the DC Prisoner thing was excellent!"

(1) Jose Munoz

(1) Paul Neary

(1) Norem
    "He does occasional Savage Sowrd covers"

(1) John Nyberg
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(3) Jerry Ordway
    "I loved his Infinity Inc. and can't wait for WildStar!"

(2) Tom Palmer
    "Tom Palmer is *the* inker..."

    "This guy is the #1 inker/finisher of all time. He makes *anyone* look
     good, even some of the *lame-o* fillins on the Avengers. And he's
     consistent, loving the Avengers, not the guy who hops around from
     book-to-book-to-book. I like the dedication. Him inking Buscems is a
     dream come true -- I *love* those Avengers issues."

(2) Mike Parobeck

(1) Bruce Patterson
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Mark Pennington
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(6) George Perez
    "espicially when he inks his own stuff."

    "George Perez has been my favorite artist since his work in both Teen
     Titans and JLA (the first incarnation)  More recent works by him in
     recent years really cemented my opinions (especially the first two years
     of Wonder Woman and his return to TT).  Why?  Perez just draws
     excellently -- he does superb facial features and expressions, as well as
     finely-detailed backgrounds and scenery.  I was disappointed that he was
     unable to complete his work on Infinity Gauntlet; hopefully his upcoming
     work on Hulk: Future Imperfect will make up for the interruption."

(5) Wendy Pini
    "Her original ElfQuest series opened the way for a large number of today's
     independent artists and publishers. Her (admittedly) manga-inspired
     artwork is reminiscent of some of the better artists of the Art Deco
     period"

    "A timeless, classic, #1 artist."

(2) Whilce Portacio
    "just as inker"

(1) Steve Pugh

(4) Joe Quesada

(2) Darick Robertson
    "His style took a little getting used to on JLE, but New Warriors just
     blows me away."

(1) Marshall Rogers
    "His run on Detective, not currently, however."

(2) John Romita Jr.
    "I used to like John Romita JR, but his recent stuff -- take Cable -- is
     not that great."

(1) Joe Rosas
    "I hate to admit it, but there was a time when I'd buy a comic just because
     Joe Rosas was doing the colors."

(1) Dave Ross
    "Okay, I haven't seen too much from this guy, just a little bit from way
     back when, a spot issue of Alpha Flight or two in the forties, but I
     liked it."

(1) Joe Rubinstein

(2) Steve Rude
    "Really impressive stuff, I'm looking forward to the new Baron/Rude NEXUS
     series next year."

(1) P. Craig Russell

(1) Paul Ryan
    "(sometimes) (D.P.7)"

(1) Scott Saavedra
    "One of the best cartoonists in the biz.  Simple, no-nonsense line drawing
     which serves to convey the humour of Dr. Radium perfectly."

(1) Tim Sale

(1) Mark Schultz
    "from XENOZOIC TALES.  Classic styles meshed into a near-perfect artform."

(2) Bart Sears
    "He's coming to Valiant!  Ohboy!  His stuff in JLE was absolutely
     magnificent, especially the later issues (with Randy Elliot on inks.)--
     #23-28 just blew me away."

(1) James Sherman

(1) Masamune Shirow
    "(Dominon, Appleseed, Black Magic) -- great tech, part cartoon/part
     'realistic' people.   Even when he's being lazy, it's fun to look at.
     Obviously likes to draw women in their underwear holding big guns."

(5) Bill Sienkiewicz
    "Most of his stuff is just all-around phenomenal...His _Stray Toasters_
     is a masterwork. About the only thing of his I've been disappointed with
     was his recent Wolverine Annual."

(5) Marc Silvestri
    "#1 in my book. Too bad *he* doesn't get another Cyber Force book out. I
     loved him on the X-Men, kinda liked him on Wolverine, and love CF."

    "...with Cyber Force, not NM."

    "draws really dinky feet, and sometimes, his faces look flat in
     three-quarters profile, but when you're looking for easy on the eye and
     nice layouts, he does the job."

(4) Dave Sim & (2) Dave Sim\Gerhard
    "Work so well together."

(6) Walt Simonson
    "Classic stuff that gets better year after year."

    "I haven't seen anything he's drawn that I don't like. From
     Robocop/Terminator all the way back to Manhunter, it's all gorgeous. He's
     perfected 'fanboy squiggles' long before anyone else.  He's not big on
     detail, but his shapes and layouts are amazing."

    "His work on Thor got me hooked on comics.  He draws awesome covers and
     way he drew made you anticipate the ending of each comic. He did a great
     job on X-Factor also.  The best IMHO!!!"

    "Great, but Robo vs. Term bored me."

(1) Bill Sink
    "Too abstract for me now. Go back to the style used in Moon Knight!"

(1) Bob Smith
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Robin Smith
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Art Spiegleman

(1) Chris Sprouse

(2) Jim Steranko
    "still waiting, hoping for a Nick Fury Marvel Masterwork"

    "revolutionary, highly influential, stunning layouts. The complete artist:
     penciller, inker, colorist and letterer. A phenomenon."

(1) Karl Story
    "The two guys (Karl Story and some other artist) who did 'Star
     Trek: Debt of Honor [sic]' -- Oy vey!  Get it ... NOW!"

(1) Larry Stroman
    "Wow!  Check out his early X-Factor stuff, and Darkstars #1-3. Really
     great stuff here.  And Tribe looks to be good, too."

(1) Joost Swarte

(1) Romeo Tanghal
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(4) Ty Templeton
    [one of my favorite inkers]

    "Well, based entirely on his work on Stig's Inferno, which looked a whole
     lot better than anything I've seen him do since.  Wish he would finish
     that book."

(3) Mark Texeira (alias Tex)
    "He draws a mean S.O.B Punisher"

    "I just love the Ghost Rider cover's he drew.  The art in Ghost Rider will
     always be a favorite of mine.  Too bad he's messing with Wolverine."

    "Why did he leave Ghost Rider?  Why??!!"

(1) Art Thibert
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Alex Toth
    "I'm surprised he doesn't get more mention here..."

(1) John Totleben
    "Amazing [inker].  His Swamp Thing was stunning.  His paintings are even
     more so."

(1) Tim Truman

(2) Chuck Vess

(1) Tim Vigil
    "hey, I'm a sickie.  He has his problems artistically, but his style works
     well for the material he works on."

(1) Trevor Von Eeden

(2) Martin Wagner
    "Really cool B&W art. He isn't too good at colour art."

(3) Matt Wagner
    "Highly original, always interesting."

    [one of my favorite inkers]

(1) Chris Warner

(2) Lee Weeks
    "(sometimes) (Justice)"

    "Constantly improving, a respectable and solid artist."

(1) Kevin West
    "...Comet #5 and #12-13...but his Guardians OTG stuff sucks (It's not the
     right style, and the wrong inker is on the book)!"

(1) Andy Wildman
    "Check out Transformers #69-80 for some really great stuff. (PLUG) I hope
     he returns to TF when the new series comes out! (PLUG)"

(1) Scott Williams
    [one of my favorite inkers]

(2) Al Williamson
    "Mr. inks.  A brilliant finishing style."

    "classic beauty"

(2) Bill Willingham
    "all the way back to AD&D modules"

(1) Barry Windsor-Smith
    "I almost bought Bloodshot just for his cover...Pioneered on X-Men in the
     60's, his Machine Man l.s. is stupendous. His art prints are fantastic."

(1) Wally Wood
    "An amazing illustrator."

(3) Bernie Wrightson
    "great stuff, man."

    "Quite possibly the greatest black and white comic artist of all time."

(1) Mike Zeck
    "sometimes"

| | | |     +----------------------------------------+
| | | |     |      Doug Lim - DougLim@llnl.gov       |
| | | |__   | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
| | |___/   |        Computer Scientist - ASD        |
\ \____/    |    (510) 423-6019 FAX: (510)423-2419   |
 \____/     +----------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc,rec.arts.comics.xbooks,rec.arts.comics.strips