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Post by MDG on Dec 31, 2021 8:52:30 GMT -5
I remember really liking Sears' art at the time but now I think it's awful. Sears can be a good artist, but it seemed like Captain Atom wasn't the only character who looked like he was made from polished chrome. |
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Post by badwolf on Dec 31, 2021 11:47:33 GMT -5
I remember really liking Sears' art at the time but now I think it's awful. Sears can be a good artist, but it seemed like Captain Atom wasn't the only character who looked like he was made from polished chrome. Yep. The over-rendering that would become a staple in the era to follow. |
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Post by codystarbuck on Dec 31, 2021 16:21:47 GMT -5
I liked Bart Sears artwork, from my earliest encounter, in the Hero Alliance graphic novel (also where I first saw Ron Lim, other then skimming an issue of Ex-Mutants). He had inconsistencies; but he had a unique style, with a better command of anatomy than many of his contemporaries of similar age and experience (the Liefelds and such). He also had a decent handle on facial expressions; not quite like Maguire, but decent. He gets better as he gets more issues under his belt and does a really nice job with the whole Marvel villain homage.
Giffen is still stuck on stereotypes, with rioting Parisians and such. I would also lay deeper odds on DeMatteis being the source of Inspector Camus' name than Giffen; but, maybe he was better read than he showed in his books. DeMatteis' own work was stronger on literary allusions. Still, with a name like Camus, he should have more of a North African look, since Camus (the writer) was Algerian.
I still think that the Giffen/De Matteis/Maguire/et al team gets a bad rap for focusing on jokes. There's plenty of great adventures in their runs on both books. I think it fit in more of the buddy cop action film genre than the average superhero book, and Riggs & Murtaugh and Axel Foley were doing as much joking as shooting and blowing things up, same as the League. In fact, I preferred the reunion mini-series to the Morrison JLA.
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Post by berkley on Dec 31, 2021 17:57:53 GMT -5
The JLA in general has never been a favourite with and this era in particular doesnt attracg me, but outof curiosity, from one of the covers it seemz like Mister Miracle was on the team but not Barda? How did that work, especially since Oberon seems to be involved somehow? I've never understood why Oberon is on the team, but Giffen and Maguire have used him beautifully all the same. As for Barda, it's worth explaining that Giffen seemed to have very little concern for who any of these characters were in their own titles, nor who was in those titles with them. Booster has never once mentioned Skeetz in these pages, and Jason Todd literally died last month while Batman is attending a JLI mixer and seeming absolutely normal. Giffen just didn't care. That being said, he has made a few efforts to incorporate Barda, first when Mister Miracle had the gang over for a bbq in Annual #2, and later when Scott went missing and Barda led the rescue mission in JLI #20 and JLI #21.
Thanks, I'll probably continue to stay away from the JL in its various forms but I might check out the 1980s/90s Mister Miracle series sometime. I've seen an issue or two written by Doug Moench and while it didn't really stand out there was nothing glaringly awful or wrongheaded about it, as is too often the case for me with these characters. Sub-par for Moench, though, who I've always rated as one of the best comics writers of his time. Probably unfair to judge by just a couple of issues, though.
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Post by SJNeal on Dec 31, 2021 19:25:46 GMT -5
While not the perfect first issue, it doesn't take long for JLE to become the superior title, imho. Don't fret too much about introductory characterization - the lineup doesn't even look the same in a few issues.  Great to see this thread alive again, shaxper!  |
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