Confessor
CCF Mod Squad
Not Bucky O'Hare!
Posts: 10,202 
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Post by Confessor on Apr 30, 2023 10:03:04 GMT -5
Yeah, I liked McFarlane on Spider-Man too. I mean, he's not my favourite Spider-Man artist by a long chalk, but his art is very Ditko-esque and dynamic as hell. I also love his so-called "spaghetti webbing", which might be the most important and influential addition to the look of Spider-Man since the Ditko and Romita days. The thing I disliked most about his tenure on the Spidey comics was that he turned Mary Jane Watson into generic T&A -- and not even T&A that looked very much like the Mary Jane we'd seen before, other than her having red hair, of course.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2023 11:16:40 GMT -5
I like McFarlane Spider-Man art as well. Even little touches like when he started putting little "web doodle art" into the boxes on the covers where the barcodes would have been but left open for direct market I think showed the fun he was having.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2023 11:18:50 GMT -5
I'm one of the few who never liked Mcarlane's Spidey and avoided the 90s series....not a single issue in my stash.
I've never owned ASM #300 for more than a couple weeks either, always sold it....
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Post by Graphic Autist on Apr 30, 2023 13:02:56 GMT -5
I loved it when McFarlane started on Amazing Spidey. I re-read the entire run when the Omnibus came out, and admit I didn’t like it AS much. However, it did bring some excitement to a character I had loved since I can remember.
When he was given full reign to write and draw, was when I realized he should only be allowed to draw, possibly plot, but definitely not write.
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 30, 2023 13:10:47 GMT -5
I'd rank how McFarlane drew Spider-Man (the character himself) third just behind Ditko and Romita. Most everyone else though... not so high.
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 30, 2023 15:03:14 GMT -5
I actually thing Romita Jr is a more controversial Spider-Man artist than McFarlane.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2023 15:04:11 GMT -5
I actually thing Romita Jr is a more controversial Spider-Man artist than McFarlane. I’d be interested to read more thoughts on that.  |
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 30, 2023 15:19:02 GMT -5
I like Romita Jr in general. Liked him a lot on Daredevil. But I see a far amount of derision when he is brought up.
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Post by tarkintino on Apr 30, 2023 16:27:20 GMT -5
I'm one of the few who never liked Mcarlane's Spidey and avoided the 90s series....not a single issue in my stash. I've never owned ASM #300 for more than a couple weeks either, always sold it....
I have TASM issues illustrated by McFarlane, but it was VERY difficult getting through it thanks to his horrible art. I cannot recall another period of the title (up to that time) where half of the experience of a comic was nonexistent. Even Adnru ranks higher than McFarlane. I actually thing Romita Jr is a more controversial Spider-Man artist than McFarlane. I've never heard that before. During his run on TASM in the early 80s, he was one of the reasons (along with O'Neil and Stern) for the title's major resurgence after the low points at the end of the 70s (where Sal Buscema and Keith Pollard proved that they were among the endless numbers of artists who were never fit to illustrate Spider-Man). For many Spidey fans I knew at the time, Romita Jr was instrumental in bringing back the "real" Spider-Man, and I have no disagreement with that opinion. |
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 30, 2023 16:46:45 GMT -5
Sal Buscema's run on Spectacular Spider-Man, especially when he inked himself, was ......spectacular.
There, I said it!
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 30, 2023 16:49:23 GMT -5
For JR Jr. Maybe it's readers today who don't like his DC work, or his evolving style. I haven't been part of the discussion, so maybe my seeing this is skewed by just a few posts. As I said, I like JR Jr.
Most readers obviously loved McFarlane, whatever ones individual opinion might be.
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Post by jester on Apr 30, 2023 17:35:28 GMT -5
I loved Sal's Spectacular run. It established him as my favourite Spider-Man artist after Romita Sr., Ditko and Kane.
From what I've seen, Romita Jr gets a lot of derision from younger fans, although most of it is targeted towards his more stylized work from the 90s onwards. I generally prefer his 80s classic Marvel house style that he did on Amazing and Iron Man, but I like both periods of his career. His Daredevil work is great.
I like McFarlane's art. He's not one of my absolute favourites, but I enjoy him.
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Post by commond on Apr 30, 2023 17:40:34 GMT -5
Sal Buscema was a great Spider-Man artist. Romita Jr didn't really come into his own until Al Williamson inked him on Daredevil. His ASM stuff is good, but he'd be the first to admit that editorial was heavy handed about giving his pencils a house style look.
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Post by Cei-U! on Apr 30, 2023 17:52:39 GMT -5
I liked Romita Jr's '80s work, especially on Spidey and X-Men. His Iron Man was overwhelmed by Layton's finishes but still good. I'd place him behind Diyko, Andru, Kane, and his dad but ahead of Mooney, Byrne, Zeck, both Buscemas (it clearly wasn't Big John's cuppa), Pollard, and (ugh!) McFarlane. Todd's not a comics storyteller; he designs posters for resale. Can't comment on anything that's appered over the last three-and-a-half decades.
Cei-U!
I summon the impressive roster of talent!
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Post by Deleted on Apr 30, 2023 19:39:05 GMT -5
One of the best original sketches (of Hugh as Wolvie) that I've seen on a plain white variant cover designed for this sort of thing...
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