|
|
Post by berkley on Dec 29, 2014 4:19:14 GMT -5
Interesting to read that comment of his about superheroes. Doctor Strange might have been a good book for him to work on back then, though perhaps not later, as my impression is that under Roger Stern it became more of a magical superhero series than it had been during Englehart's run. I believe Sutton's issues came near the beginning of Stern's run. And of course now the ol' Doc really is just another superhero - and an Avenger - like about every other Marvel character, from Shang Chi to you-name-it. Doc Strange has one I have not read a lot of in his own book. Being a fan of many of the supernatural books (both at DC and Marvel) especially in the 70s, where to me the subject either wasn't taboo from earlier generations and not ridiculed as silly and superstitious as it seems in later generations, I have read that side of Doc Strange. If any parts of his own title stayed in the mystic part more than superhero part I could be interested. As I get the impression from the issues I do own (due to either character artist or writer appearances) I would agree with you. Edit: For anyone interested, a nice summation of Tom Sutton's career and him as a person as recounted by many of his colleagues and friends. www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/resources/longbox/61/And an interview. www.tcj.com/an-odd-man-out-tom-sutton/The most overtly philosophical Doctor Strange run would be Steve Englehart's, which started in Marvel Premiere #9 - 14 (I think) and then continued in Doctor Strange (vol 2) #1 - 18, so you might want to start with that one. But the original Ditko run set the template for the character in every way, and ranks as one of the greatest comics series ever, for me. And then, if you like the character, you'll want to read the Thomas/Colan run if only for Colan's incredible artwork. After that, I'd say the best era is the one between Ditko and Colan, with some very nice artwork from people like Marie Severin and later Dan Adkins. Doctor Strange must have one of the strongest line-ups of artists of any Marvel character, up to the mid-70s, at least. |
|
|
|
Post by Nowhere Man on Dec 29, 2014 8:14:12 GMT -5
Trevor Von Eeden is an artist that comes to mind. I was recently looking through Batman #401 and I was reminded how much I love his art. I think he's brilliant and grossly underrated.
|
|
|
|
Post by earl on Dec 29, 2014 22:06:12 GMT -5
They might be heralded over in the UK and pretty widely known by comic readers, but I have to say Mike McMahon's artwork on some of the earlier episodes of Slaine in 2000 AD is quite amazing. It looks almost like Durer woodcuts at times. I'd think if you are fans of the old Buscema/Alcala Savage Sword of Conan, you would find some artwork and comics to like in the early Slaine collection called "Warrior's Dawn".
That said, really all the artists on this Slaine series are quite amazing and imaginative.
The other guy in the UK that seems to be totally unheralded on this side of the Atlantic is Henry Flint. Flinta has done a bit of work for Marvel I think, but has mostly stayed in the 2000 AD stable. Shakara and Zombo are both really good reads. Definitely two of the best comics series I read this past year.
|
|
|
|
Post by benday-dot on Dec 29, 2014 22:06:23 GMT -5
A couple guys on the margins of Big Two circles, who I always thought did real nice work, and would be much higher regarded by the general comic fan base if they toiled more in the mainstream are Ralph Reese and Paul Kircher.
Gene Day is another that was on the cusp of truly breaking out if he hadn't passed away when he did.
Yet another guy i always thought did nice work, but never really became a huge name, carrying on in the shadow of his pal Jim Starlin, was Alan Weiss.
Of course on the other end of things Sam Glanzman and Marie Severin seems to be perennials on the "why don't more people know about these guys" list!
|
|
|
|
Post by Icctrombone on Dec 29, 2014 23:05:20 GMT -5
I always enjoyed Pat Broderick's work.
|
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 13:02:56 GMT -5
Trevor Von Eeden is an artist that comes to mind. I was recently looking through Batman #401 and I was reminded how much I love his art. I think he's brilliant and grossly underrated. I always liked the cover to Batman Annual #8 by Trevor & whenever I think of his work this book comes to mind first. I also recall his Green Arrow mini-series with fond memories.  |
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2014 13:16:50 GMT -5
I always enjoyed Pat Broderick's work. I was going to mention Broderick as well. I'll add another Pat B. to the list -- Boyette. Utterly inimitable, & a guy I always pair with Tom Sutton because of their voluminous lists of Charlton credits. |
|
|
|
Post by badwolf on Dec 31, 2014 13:26:46 GMT -5
I'll nominate Don Perlin. I loved his self-inked work on Werewolf by Night. I think I had already quit the Defenders by the time he came on board, or maybe I read an issue or two, but anyway, from what I've seen, I don't think he was suited to a conventional superhero team series (which is what the Defenders had become by the time he worked on the book. Though it might have just been another case of his art only looking right when he inked it himself. I don't think The Defenders was ever a conventional superhero book. It was pretty dark for much of deMatteis' and Gillis' runs, and I didn't think his style suited either. There were a lot of demons and monsters and they all looked pretty silly. I thought he was okay on Ghost Rider, but never one of my favorites. |
|
|
|
Post by Prince Hal on Dec 31, 2014 16:20:35 GMT -5
Perhaps more unknown than underrated, Frank Borth did a batch of features for Treasure Chest over the years, and all show the eye of an excellent draftsman and illustrator. I always looked for other work of his when I was a kid, but never foun any. Turns out he did a few features way beak when, including this little gem...  |
|
|
|
Post by fanboystranger on Dec 31, 2014 16:28:53 GMT -5
They might be heralded over in the UK and pretty widely known by comic readers, but I have to say Mike McMahon's artwork on some of the earlier episodes of Slaine in 2000 AD is quite amazing. It looks almost like Durer woodcuts at times. I'd think if you are fans of the old Buscema/Alcala Savage Sword of Conan, you would find some artwork and comics to like in the early Slaine collection called "Warrior's Dawn". That said, really all the artists on this Slaine series are quite amazing and imaginative. The other guy in the UK that seems to be totally unheralded on this side of the Atlantic is Henry Flint. Flinta has done a bit of work for Marvel I think, but has mostly stayed in the 2000 AD stable. Shakara and Zombo are both really good reads. Definitely two of the best comics series I read this past year. Definitely right on Henry Flint, although his N American efforts haven't been as strong as his 2000AD stuff. I think he really thrives in the British format when he has time to prepare 6-8 page installments rather than the 20 page issue. His work on Omega Men and the Vertigo Haunted Tank mini, while still quite good, seemed a bit rushed to me.
I'd add John Burns and Arthur Ranson to the list of incredible British artists that are completely slept upon in the US. A John Burns Indiana Jones series would be a thing of beauty.
|
|
|
|
Post by fanboystranger on Dec 31, 2014 16:34:02 GMT -5
Leonardo Manco's always the guy who comes to mind when I think of "underrated" artists. When I think of the '90s guys who made it big while Manco remains somewhat obscure, I actually get upset. (I'm not talking about guys like Michael Lark or JH Williams III, but a lot of the generic superhero artists. Even someone like Ivan Reis, who has done some great work, but nothing really compared to Manco's stuff.) He got saddled with a bad Marvel exclusive, and they never really knew how to use him well. Even when he was given a book that played to his strengths, like Druid or Werewolf by Night, some editorial disaster would happen to neuter the work. Such a shame as he could have been that generation of artists' Rich Corben or John Totleben.
|
|
|
|
Post by fanboystranger on Dec 31, 2014 16:44:57 GMT -5
Yet another guy i always thought did nice work, but never really became a huge name, carrying on in the shadow of his pal Jim Starlin, was Alan Weiss. Weiss is one of those guys that pros tend to like a lot more than fans, mostly because his body of work is so small, but so good. He wouldn't play the industry's game as he had no interest in the monthly ongoing grind, so he became what I like to think of as the "prestige fill-in" guy, an artist whose work would make his fill-in issues head and shoulders better than the work that surrounded it. A decade later, we'd get Art Adams, who mostly did the same thing, but the industry seemed more willing to accomodate his schedule, so he (rightfully) became a superstar. Maybe if Weiss had broken in a few years later...
When people laugh about "Cap-Wolf", mostly because of the Gruenwald story from the '90s, I always point them to Weiss' original Cap-Wolf story during the Englehart run (which I believe was written by John Warner). I like Our Pal Sal's work on the regular Cap stories during that run, but Weiss' work on those issues blows it out of the water.
|
|
|
|
Post by hondobrode on Dec 31, 2014 16:59:07 GMT -5
Frank Miller. Yes, I know that sounds like a crazy thing to say, but how often do you hear praise of Miller's art and how often do you hear things like "The Dark Knight Returns is ugly." "The only good Miller art is on Daredevil," "After Sin City his art became crap," etc. Actual appreciation of Miller's art is much rarer than appreciation of his writing. If I don't have it already, I'll always buy a comic just for the Miller cover.    |
|
|
|
Post by hondobrode on Dec 31, 2014 18:57:32 GMT -5
Garry Leach is British and not as many over here have been exposed to his work, but he's an incredible artist as well as writer, editor, publisher and colorist. The guy's amazing IMO. The best known work of his is Marvelman / Miracleman.  An EC great that gets overlooked is Jack Kamen. It's not flashy but I love it.  Mary Fleener dropped out of art school and joined a band and later got into comics. Her output is small, but I love her Picasso-like art.  |
|
|
|
Post by Nowhere Man on Dec 31, 2014 19:44:35 GMT -5
Trevor Von Eeden is an artist that comes to mind. I was recently looking through Batman #401 and I was reminded how much I love his art. I think he's brilliant and grossly underrated. I always liked the cover to Batman Annual #8 by Trevor & whenever I think of his work this book comes to mind first. I also recall his Green Arrow mini-series with fond memories. That is a good image. He has a very unique way of drawing Batman's cowl, which I like. It's almost like a slight modernization of Batman's original look from 1939. |
|
