I should interject here that Jaime Hernandez, Mike Allred and other groovy modern artists can do fantastic variations on the female face and form and have them all look beautiful yet different. But not so much Shuster, Swan, Boring, et al.
Allow me to add to this list Alan Davis, who is a brilliant artists simply because his characters do not share the same body type; in his Elseworld, THE NAIL, there was a splash page of all the members of the Justice League, and not only did each one have a different face, but each one had a different BODY as well (and for my money, Davis's handsome Aquaman sported the most impressive physique
), and in a group that size, that is indeed astonishing.
George Perez, at least in his in his later periods, can also be added to the list of artists who draw women idiosyncratically. Of course there is comparing his 1970s work with Jim Shooter to his visibly much more complicated, "busy" and sophisticated AVENGERS run with Busiek, naturally, but George is one of the most astonishing artists because even IN THE MIDST OF A RUN, it is possible to see his skill actually improve; his improvement is hardly gradual. For example, compare Avengers #2 ("Morgan Conquest") with AVENGERS #29 (the one where they battle Kulan Gath). In AVENGERS #2, you get a side-by-side portrait of She-Hulk with Carol Danvers, and while both are drawn well, She-Hulk has the
exact same body as Carol, only a head taller. Now, get to AVENGERS #29, and the two have definite differences; She-Hulk has more muscle mass and is thicker and arguably more "ethnic" looking in body type.
Another artist who draws women as being different from one another is Don Heck. Okay, yeah, I can hear all of you out there groaning and making that face, but it is true: compare the looks of the Scarlet Witch with the Mantis in the final chapters of "Celestial Madonna." Don Heck's Mantis is clearly Oriental in features; while Dave Cockrum is an
amazing artist, honest to God, guys, until I saw Heck's version of Mantis I thought she was Italian or something.
Not only can Don Heck draw women differently, he can draw women WELL; the moment he took over FLASH suddenly Iris West became the best looking woman in comics.
An insightful, accurate article that shows a true understanding of Superman. Should be required reading for any writer taking over Superman. Huzzah!