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Who is your favorite Spider-Man artist?
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Who was favorite Spider-Man artist?  

167 members have voted

  1. 1. Who was your favorite Spider-Man artist?

    • Steve Ditko
      39
    • John Romita Sr.
      74
    • Mark Bagley
      11
    • Ross Andru
      7
    • Todd McFarlane
      25
    • Ron Frenz
      2
    • John Romita Jr.
      3
    • Huberto Ramos
      1
    • Marcos Martin
      2
    • Erik Larsen
      3


193 posts in this topic

6 hours ago, Von Cichlid said:

I think JR jr and Larsen get treated a little unfairly.  Both artists had a highly consistent style and a strong sense of craft IMO.  

I think it is interesting the person who pointed out that JR jr went from being inspired by his father to Frank Miller.  The Miller comparison I agree with because his angular style did come after the DKR mini series.  However, I always thought early JR jr was more inspired by the very underrated Paul Smith.  Check the transition in Uncanny X-men around 176 to confirm this.  JR jr was at his best when he did his run on Daredevil I think.  That may be nostalgia though, as that was my first exposure to his art.

On Larsen, I can see how people might be put off by some of his eccentricities.  But, there is no denying how much Bagley's art borrowed from Larsen's when that transition occurred.  It kind of makes me wonder if Marvel at the times of those transitions told JR jr and Bagley to draw like Smith and Larsen in order to shock the fans less.

Nicely said. There was a JR Jnr period that I really liked. He seemed to lose it later though. Maybe that's why many aren't fans.

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Larsen came in as a shoddy, bargain-basement replacement for McFarlane. I voted for McFarlane in this poll and I remember when the pencils were handled off to Larsen -- it was so obvious that he was copping Todd's unique style (yeah, I know, Art Adams, but McFarlane also pushed his panels and layouts further than I'd ever seen in addition to his hyper-detailing which people attribute to Adams's influence). While McFarlane's work on the new Spider-Man still felt fresh and genuinely had me excited for every turn of the page, it was absolutely painful to continue with ASM, especially what Larsen did with Venom, Punisher. 

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I have to say McFarlane for me. One of the first comics my brother ever read to me was Sawn #1. Later when I started collecting for myself I became obsessed with Spider-Man. Finding out that the guy that created spawn drew Spider-Man before hand, it was a no brainer that I had to start collecting all the McFarlane Spider-Man books. If it wasn’t for McFarlane though, I would have to go with Romita Sr. 

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1 hour ago, deadleg said:

I have to say McFarlane for me. One of the first comics my brother ever read to me was Sawn #1. Later when I started collecting for myself I became obsessed with Spider-Man. Finding out that the guy that created spawn drew Spider-Man before hand, it was a no brainer that I had to start collecting all the McFarlane Spider-Man books. If it wasn’t for McFarlane though, I would have to go with Romita Sr. 

Was Sawn # 1 the Directors Cut ? :baiting:

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16 hours ago, HarveySwick said:

I voted for Jr. by mistake.  :blush:

Move one vote from Jr. to Sr.

Like the new Avatar Harvey! Image result for jack skellington gif  Looking at the current totals, I don't think the misplaced vote is going to make much difference. 

I'm surprised by the lack of love for Andru though :sorry:

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3 hours ago, Martin Sinescu said:

Larsen came in as a shoddy, bargain-basement replacement for McFarlane. I voted for McFarlane in this poll and I remember when the pencils were handled off to Larsen -- it was so obvious that he was copping Todd's unique style (yeah, I know, Art Adams, but McFarlane also pushed his panels and layouts further than I'd ever seen in addition to his hyper-detailing which people attribute to Adams's influence). While McFarlane's work on the new Spider-Man still felt fresh and genuinely had me excited for every turn of the page, it was absolutely painful to continue with ASM, especially what Larsen did with Venom, Punisher. 

Larsen darn near destroyed Spawn as well. His work last year on the title was absolutely gut-wrenching. :sick: 

Good thing that McFarlane was at least doing the inking. He was able to make some gross artwork look halfway passable. Apparently Larsen had a falling-out with McFarlane because his inks were starting to fundamentally change Larsen's pencils...as if he had a choice. (shrug)

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13 hours ago, Von Cichlid said:

JR jr was at his best when he did his run on Daredevil I think.  That may be nostalgia though, as that was my first exposure to his art.

His art was in the toilet by then.  His interpretation of Mephisto was so bad, they made fun of it in Infinity Crusade.

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5 hours ago, FineCollector said:

His art was in the toilet by then.  His interpretation of Mephisto was so bad, they made fun of it in Infinity Crusade.

Ok, so the Mephisto was a little goofy (and the fact that there were 15 issues in that story line didn't help), but his Typhoid Mary run was great.  In particular, I loved his Punisher from 257 and the man w/o fear miniseries.  Interestingly enough, JR jr's Warzone Punisher looked way different and I did not like it.  It is like his nose was mashed flat or something.  To me, it was that series when he began his decline.

Edited by Von Cichlid
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10 hours ago, ComicConnoisseur said:

Here is a few good Romita Jr. covers.

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latest?cb=20060216025924

This was when Romita Jr. was great. Back when you could tell he was the son of Romita Sr. Now it just looks like he's trying to milk Frank Miller's style. ASM 250 is another great Romita Jr. cover. 

Edited by deadleg
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Romita Sr is my favorite, followed by Ditko and McSpidey.     

I go back and forth on Bagley.  I thought his ASM was just ok, but really like his work on Ultimate Spidey. 

Always liked Gil Kane too (even with the up the nostril perspective he was so fond of).  Ron Frenz was solid, but not spectacular.  Jim Mooney was decent.  I even like Sal Buscema (first run only!) on Spectacular. 

Larsen is terrible and Sal B (second run) is atrocious.  Never liked Saviuk's stuff either. 

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Ditko and JRS are the top 2 votes?  Obviously this forum is full of old people:bigsmile:.

 

If the question is who is the best artist that properly depicts Spider-Man...McFarlane:sumo:.  From the gymnastic contouring poses to the extreme detail and dynamic movements in each panel McFarlane's art style was made for Spider-Man.

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3 hours ago, AnthonyTheAbyss said:

Ditko and JRS are the top 2 votes?  Obviously this forum is full of old people:bigsmile:.

 

If the question is who is the best artist that properly depicts Spider-Man...McFarlane:sumo:.  From the gymnastic contouring poses to the extreme detail and dynamic movements in each panel McFarlane's art style was made for Spider-Man.

Since there's no "dislike" button on here, I'll stick my neck out and say that, for me, most Spidey artists before McFarlane fell somewhere between "serviceable" and "solid" aside from Zeck's brief but stunning contribution :cloud9:  

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2 hours ago, Martin Sinescu said:

Since there's no "dislike" button on here, I'll stick my neck out and say that, for me, most Spidey artists before McFarlane fell somewhere between "serviceable" and "solid" aside from Zeck's brief but stunning contribution :cloud9:  

Yeah, I understand that he is a legend among Spidey fans, but I don't know who in their right mind would pick Ditko as their favorite. He had the same anatomy teacher as Rob Liefeld.

 

Of course I picked Bags merely out of sentiment, so I can't judge Ditko fans for doing the same. I agree with AnthonyTheAbyss in regards to McFarlane as the technical and stylistic champ.

Edited by newshane
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