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Mount Rushmore of Comic Artists
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196 posts in this topic

21 hours ago, VintageComics said:

I never could come to like Curt Swan's art.

It really does matter WHEN you're introduced to the artist. If you were a Superman fan as a kid you're going to have an emotional attachment.

I couldn't get over how wide Superman's waist always was. As someone who followed bodybuilding, his Supes just wasn't as virile enough for me.

Blasphemy!

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10 minutes ago, Monstro said:

Funny how chaffed men (especially white men) get at the slightest indiscretion. 

Yeah thats it.  It wasnt the writing.  

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On 12/10/2020 at 10:29 AM, RustyStaples said:

I'm going to take a bit of a different approach and model my picks directly after the presidents on Rushmore...

George Washington: The founder, the first and foremost pioneer, the one everyone looked up to whose shoes could never really be properly filled.  To me this is Jack Kirby, but I could see a strong argument for Shuster as well, perhaps a stronger one, I only hesitate because I do think some later Superman artists did a great job as well and thus might have filled Shuster's shoes, Kirby has no true equal.

Thomas Jefferson: Also present very early on, not quite the leader but had a very important roll, everything I found an article on Britannica which suggested Thomas Jefferson was the most famous founding father in his day ie the most well known household name.  To me this is tough because there were lots of artists very famous in their day, McFarlane, Neal Adams, Frank Miller, but none of them were super present early on.  I think this spot belongs to Will Eisner, he was a rock in the comic industry, many artists looked to him to imitate his style, I think this is very similar to Jefferson.

Abraham Lincoln.  Perhaps an unlikely candidate, one that maybe had a divisive or unpopular/not as popular style at the time, but time has treated him very well and he is presently respected and revered.  This pick is very tough for me, I want to give it to a silver age artist, I think it could possibly describe Neal Adams, but his work was liked at the time, it's just more liked today, I mean goodness bats 227 has exploded practically just because of the cover art.  Gil Kane is also a consideration, Steve Ditko as well, though perhaps Ditko has almost gone the other way.  I almost think Matt Baker and Alex Schomburg are in the running, both are heavily collected and beloved today and neither had famous names in their day though they were well employed and their talent was recognized.  I choose to give this one to John Romita Sr.  I think his work on the most famous character of all time, possibly the second most famous was not as loved in its day, and today I think it's clear he's the one who made the spiderman we recognize.

Teddy Roosevelt:  The one who kinda just is famous, he wasn't there from day 1, just very beloved because he had his own style and was always authentic.  To me this could describe a number of cult favorites, Mignola comes to mind, Sakai maybe, Ditko again even, Liefeld's name comes up, but I have to give it to Todd McFarlane.  His contribution to the comic world is huge and undeniable, he did the cover art for 3 out of the top 10 most printed comics of all time, he created Spawn, worked on Spidey, I think the Toddfather is very deserving of the list.

TLDR: Kirby, Eisner, John Romita Sr., McFarlane

I may not agree with the inclusion of the, errrrr, Toddfather, but I love how well laid out your reasoning is, so kudos!  (thumbsu

As I noted in my opening, comics haven't always been about the superheroes. I'd like to see at least one non-superhero comic artist here and there...  :preach:

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On 12/10/2020 at 1:24 PM, Black_Adam said:

I will put in my standard vote for Warren Kremer. A stalwart for Harvey Comics for nearly four decades, where in addition to being their top artist he also served as art director and created thousands of covers, he is also renowned for some of the most iconic covers of the pre-code horror era and, post-code, went on to create or define Richie Rich, Hot Stuff, Casper, Little Dot, etc. These characters may not be well known anymore, but at one time probably sold more titles than any other characters from any other comic company.

When Harvey folded in the early 1980's Kremer was hired by Marvel Comics. After a brief visit to the legendary bullpen to drop off some finished work, Marie Severin said: "They don't know it, but this is the best artist who ever walked through these doors."

 

I like to see considerations like this for comics outside the superhero genre. The vast majority of the comics ever sold were genres other than superheroes! Think westerns, romance, crime, horror, humor, and funny animal - heck, even Classics Illustrated reached a far and ranging audience. Honestly, I'd put Dan DeCarlo up there sooner than somebody like Frazetta :tonofbricks: He's just more indispensable to the medium at large. And if he had arrived at Archie a little sooner, he'd be a shoe-in, but Bob Montana set the tone at Archie before DeCarlo sanitized and perfected it.  A fairly decent-sized chunk of all the comics ever sold have been Archie publications - after that, Harvey was a powerhouse in children's comics for decades, so the Kremer nomination I believe is spot-on.  (thumbsu

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On 12/10/2020 at 5:14 PM, VintageComics said:

Carmine Infantino is another artist that definitely is up there. Huge body of work, highly inspirational and a great style.

You can make the arguement that he was the Silver Age until Marvel took off.

All depends in the criteria we're using.

How were the 4 figures for Rushmore chosen? ???

 

Infantino is for sure worthy of consideration, as is I believe Swan and Anderson. Gil Kane too. They all helped DC give comics a (second or third) great boost in the arm (and arguably indirectly helped spur on the Marvel explosion of the 60's and beyond).

And if I recall my tour guides correctly, Rushmore sculptor Borglum chose Washington as a symbol of the founding of the Union, Jefferson as he expanded the Union, Lincoln for preserving the Union, and Roosevelt for protecting the Union. Regarding the founding of the medium, I think that's why the Shuster pick makes a lot of sense. Of course you could go back to Gaines or Major Malcolm too.  :whistle:

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I'm young and naive, but I'm going with Kirby, Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, and I'll leave the 4th to you guys.  I imagine Kubert is a curious addition, but I think there have been so many well known artists who have gone through the art school.  It's like looking at a modern day (American) football coaching tree and seeing that everything goes back to the great Bill Walsh.

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7 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

I'm young and naive, but I'm going with Kirby, Joe Kubert, Jim Lee, and I'll leave the 4th to you guys.  I imagine Kubert is a curious addition, but I think there have been so many well known artists who have gone through the art school.  It's like looking at a modern day (American) football coaching tree and seeing that everything goes back to the great Bill Walsh.

Let's also not forget Joe Kubert was literally working in comics at age 12 (!!) until his 80s', spanning every decade of comics. And yes, it's a good point to consider the impact he's had on the field just with his school alone. Very good points.

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Tough question to ask. Art is very subjective but you do see some common names. If the post is about “best comic artists” taking out number of comics done, telling of stories, influence etc, i mainly bought comics for the below artists first, then certain characters, and all else last. So for me my favorite and I think the best comic artists are:                                     1 Neal Adams.                                         2 Bernie Wrightson.                                 3 Barry Smith.                                            4 Al Feldstein                                           My favorite GOAT is Frazetta however I agree at least honorable mention because of very limited comic work.          I feel artists like Kirby, Kane, Steranko, Miller, McFarlane etc. while I like there art and it is good, there art is very unique, and while good in uniqueness, I feel they don’t hold a candle to the artists above. Sorry the ranking is jacked up. Did not look like that when typing. Tried fixing it but couldn’t. 

Edited by GrandmasterG
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1 minute ago, GrandmasterG said:

Tough question to ask. Art is very subjective but you do see some common names. If the post is about “best comic artists” taking out number of comics done, telling of stories, influence etc, i mainly bought comics for the below artists first, then certain characters, and all else last. So for me my favorite and I think the best comic artists are:                                     1 Neal Adams.                                         2 Bernie Wrightson.                                 3 Barry Smith.                                            4 Al Feldstein                                           My favorite GOAT is Frazetta however I agree at least honorable mention because of very limited comic work.          I feel artists like Kirby, Kane, Steranko, Miller, McFarlane etc. while I like there art and it is good, there art is very unique, and while good in uniqueness, I feel they don’t hold a candle to the artists above. 

Good list..all great illustrators.

What if the Rushmore was broken down into several mini Rushmore's?

Greatest Pencillers

Greatest Comic Creators ( Writer/Artists )

Most Important to the History of Comics

Most Influential

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11 hours ago, Blastaar said:

Jack Kirby

Jim Lee

Neal Adams

John Buscema

Solid picks, although.....

I’ve always liked Jim Lee’s artwork and even picked up some of his influence but his style just looks the same as some of the other artists of his generation like Silvestry, Portacio and dare I even say, Liefeld(?); the only difference being his volume of work (aside from Liefeld’s anatomy thing :whistle:) allows him to stand out a bit further in that crowd. I think if Silvestry and Portacio put things out as consistently as Lee or McFarlane, they’d be at the top of some lists too.

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