mikeland82

April 29, 2008 6:30 pm

Conor

Ok to put it in simple terms, no everyone doesn't have to like every creator, I'm not saying I do myself, I'm not suggesting for a moment that this should be the case, as you rightly pointed out, that would make all criticism invalid. But what I am saying is I dislike articles that are just negative criticism.

If in the context of reviewing a particular book a creators work is criticized, fine but 'top 5 creators I don't like' type lists leave me cold. I would have been much happier to find a list of say '5 lesser known/under-hyped artists worth checking out'. That would have given readers something to look into and a bit of positive limelight for some lesser know artists perhaps. I feel that this kind of thing is a bit tired, you very rarely come across a movie critic who would just right of a particular actor or director, no they review each piece of work in it's own merit, 'lists' like this are the kind of dumbing down that give comic fans a bad name in the wider world.

I have come to expect more balanced and reasoned output from you guys, this article just didn't do it for me, thats all.

April 29, 2008 5:23 pm This is pretty cool, fan-made or not. I loved the 89 Batman at the time, but I am really excited about Dark Knight, I loved Batman Begins (My favorite DC based movie so far, by a country mile!)

April 29, 2008 5:18 pm Fantastic review, couldn't agree more, this is one of the books I look foreward to the most, every issue is a pure delight!

April 29, 2008 4:40 pm

Conor, obviously, all opinions on art or otherwise are subjective (as are my own opinions). What I disagree with is the attitude, that seems to be across comic fandom, that because a certain artist is on a book it is automatically going to suck. From the podcasts I know that you guys try to be fair, and we all have different tastes, but I know folk who wont pick up certain books because of the artist, and as a result miss out on good stories, and the whole comic industry suffers from this.

An easy example is 52, some of the artists In that series I enjoyed more than others (reading it in trades I really noticed the change in artist from issue to issue). But I still loved the whole series because all of the art was able to carry the story, and I understood that a weekly book would need to have multiple artworkers. What I am saying is it is the easiest thing to write off a particular artist or writer (for that matter), but it is far better to try to see the good instead. What I love about the comic book world today is the massive variation in art styles, and writing styles compared to the comics I grew up reading in the mid 80's, this diversity is something I feel we should celebrate. Hence my disagreement was not with the opinions expressed, but with the slightly negative tone of the article.

April 29, 2008 4:14 pm Oh yeah and if you want a good example of a project suited to Bill Sienkiewicz try to check out: Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix this is a fantastic book any fan of graphic story telling or 6fan of rock music should have.

April 29, 2008 4:09 pm

I totally disagree with this post. Yeah sure there are artists I like more and some I like less, but all of the above artists they all have the one key ingredient that is essential in comic books, they can tell a good story, and that is what counts. Sure not every artist is good for every project, I for one wouldn't want to see Jim Lee or Alex Ross on the pages of Criminal, but then again Sean Phillips probably wouldn't have fitted so well on Justice or All Star Batman. I used to be like you guys and have artists I loved and some I couldn't stand, but I have recently come to realize that most comic book artists bring something unique to the table, if you look for it. What matters is the ability to tell the story, and that the artist is well matched to the book.

For example one of the biggest let-downs with 'Ultimates 3' (apart from the lack of plot!) is Joe Madureiras art, not that it is bad (I love some of his x-men stuff from the 90's) it is just impossible to link his character to the Bryan Hitch originals, hence he is a bad choice for the book. 

April 7, 2008 6:10 pm This Batman story sucked big time, a really very poor stab at re-writing the Joker origin. I'd sooner spend my had earned cash on the Killing Joke HC re-issue.

April 6, 2008 5:21 pm

52878org is right, Frank Miller thinks he is a lot better than he is, since the first sin city book, 15 years ago he has been recycling the same stuff. All Star Batman is not really very good, it is just ok, but really it is a missed opportunity and a waste of Jim Lee's art. Gotham re-made as Basin City is bad enough but to give the Spirit the same style of make-over is a real bad idea. The spirit is just not a gritty character. When will hollywood learn thet comic book movies are better when they stick to the source material closely. (This is why SIn City 1, and Batman Begins were great and why Superman Returns and the Hulk disappeared up their own asses)