Jan 12, 2015 11:48:55 GMT -5 MDG said:

The McKean art is nice as art, but lack in the storytelling department.

I definitely agree as far as Black Orchid. Dave certainly has problems depicting action and movement, and his transitions often make his work challenging to follow. However, I think part of the problem is that Dave doesn't seem to have the same storytelling priorities we'd normally see in a well-done superhero comic.  His work has a strange meandering quality to it, and it follows a certain dream-like logic that enhances everyday moments into something portentious and poweful.  That works beautifully in books like Mr Punch and Violent Cases where we're dealing with a young boy's view of the world he comprehends but doesn't quite understand, but despite being gorgeous, his art is not particularly effective when trying to establish the cause and effect model that most superhero/action comics work on (as in Arkham Asylum and Black Orchid-- I'll give Hellblazer 40 a pass because John is supposed to be tripping on mushrooms).  Instead, we get a lot of creepy, surreal atmosphere, but not all that much forward movement as far the story.  I guess Neil and Dave share a belief that it's not so much the destination as the journey itself, but I'm not sure that works all that well in a genre founded on action.

I'd contrast that with Sienkiewicz' art, which also can be difficult to follow, but has this very visceral urgency to it from panel to panel.  If Dave's art is like a meadering river that's going to get somewhere eventually, Bill's is a waterfall that charges forward under the power of its own momentum.  That's why even though it looks quite different from your usual superhero/action art, Sienkiewicz' art actually works wonderfully for superhero/action stories.