Superman Through the Ages! Forum

Who is your favourite Superman's artist. Mine is John Byrne. He draws Superman as I like to see him. When I'm thinking to Superman, the firts image I recall is the last page of MOS #1.

My list includes Swan, Garcia Lopez, Adams, Reis and Boring, too, but for me JB is #1.

Sigh, there was the "other" option, too, but I suppose that we can't insert more than 8 options... Sorry.

Curt Swan . natch with Wayne Boring a close 2nd.

My personal List of Super Artists

Curt Swan
Wayne Boring
Kurt Schaffenberger
Al Plastino
Neal Adams
George Perez
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Jack Kirby
Jim Mooney
George Papp

I like:

Curt Swan
Wayne Boring
Kurt Schaffenberger
Al Plastino
Jack Kirby
Jim Mooney
George Papp
and Shuster

Neal Adams gets in solely on the virtues of Superman vs Ali!

Perez?  Other than some covers, JLA, Crisis, and maybe the odd story, what did he do?  What is the best Perez Superman tale?

Curt Swan for reasons that will come as no surprise to anyone who's seen my tribute site:

http://nightwing.supermanfan.net/artists/sm-curtswan.htm

And you'll find the rest of my "Hall of Fame" there, too.

I guess I'm not surprised to see some of my faves missing from your list, but I would have thought you'd at least include Alex Ross.  I'm still on the fence about his Superman, but the consensus in the fan community seems to be that it's great.  At the very least it's more famous than Jim Lee's.

Swan had a great good quality: he was able to adapt his style to the times.
When he began drawing Superman in 1953 with the SUPERMAN 3-D one shot, and during the whole Silver Age, he drawn with a classic style, without splash pages or various excesses. Then, he staied aboard during the Bronze Age, and changed his style: more dynamic, modern... But always polite (his faces were great... Every good character seemed an old friend). A few other artists could do the same, in my opinion.



It's not my fault! I couldn't add other options! I have put the "others" option, but the poll didn't insert it. Maybe can't we put more than 8 options?

I didn't mean you had to include everyone...no poll is that big!  But given only 8 choices, why would you include, say, Neal Adams -- who only did one full-length Superman story in his career -- or Jim Lee, but not Alex Ross, whose version is considered a new standard?

But then life is seldom fair.  Else why would we have a Jim Lee-style Superman action figure, a McGuinness figure and two Ross figures, but no Swan?

Anyway if I'd been the one starting this poll, you'd be the one yelling...because John Byrne would not have been a choice!
 :D

My list isn't in order, but Curt is the best IMHO.

Perez gets an honorary vote along with Neal Adams, both of whom were not Superman artists but drew some of the best versions ever which are considered iconic today. For Perez that would be his version of the Earth-2 Superman.

This is the point: I didn't know that we can put only 8 options! This was my first poll.
Jim Lee is one of the most important modern artists of the Man of Steel. And this is odd, if we think that he drawn only 12 issues, while Curt Swan has drawn Supes for 33 years...
I admit that I didn't think to Alex Ross. How many stories has he drawn? I don't remember, except for PEACE ON EARTH.
Anyway, who wants to vote for other artists, can specify it.



2006 will be the 10th anniversary of Curt's death. I really hope that DC makes something to remind the event and, of course, the artist, to old and new readers. Sigh, here in Italy younger readers don't know artists like Curt Swan and Wayne Boring, and it's a shame.



<Choke!>

If we're doing one shots I liked Tim Sale's Superman for All Seasons.  But ..that aint Swan baby.

I agree that the Perez Crisis- and JLA E2-Supes has a great quality --the quality that Perez added (adds?) to all characters he delineated.  Correct me if I'm wrong --wasn't the gray-templed Superman invented before Perez came along (ie, in the 70s JLA or JSA comics)?

My fave Earth-2 Superman artist is Shaffenberger, in part because his old-school style seemed perfectly suited to those Superman Family stories of Mr and Mrs Superman.

And just for the record, Jim Lee and Byrne?  Not for moi.
Not anymore.  I liked Perez & Byrne as a kid --I can still read Perez but can't tolerate Byrne.  Occasional nice costume designs/geometry, but selfish, idiosyncratic, mean-spirited storytelling.  Maybe I can still look at Perez because he works with writers?  Who knows...

Yes. If I recall correctly, he first appeared during the 60s.

I think the first appearance of an Earth-2 Superman as such was during Denny O'Neill's run on JLA.  Dick Dillin drew him not only without gray hair, but wearing a costume identical to the Earth-1 version. It was impossible to tell them apart!

The first time I can remember seeing a gray-templed Superman was during the 70's revival of "All-Star Comics," when Keith Giffen and Wally Wood were handling the art.  I thought he looked fantastic, by the way...Keith and Wally drew the slightly shorter, squat and muscular Joe Shuster Superman, squinty eyes and all, and added the touch of gray.  I loved it.

(http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2321/400/2321_4_65.jpg)

Perez took the ball and drew a similar version in his terrific JLA run, eventually mutating him into the version we see in Crisis (who bears, for my money, a resemblance to George Reeves).  

My vote for best Perez-drawn Superman story would have to be the DC Comics Presents team-up with OMAC.  The art on that one blew me out of the water, and for a long time it was one of those comics I thumbed through again and again just to see the pretty pictures.

(http://www.comics.org/graphics/covers/2440/400/2440_4_61.jpg)

I must buy both those comics!!

That All Star is ALL Wally Wood. Got the ish.

George Perez's DC Comics Presents with OMAC was and always will be my favorite Perez art ever.

However don't forget the awesome job that Jose Luis Garcia Lopez has done over the past twenty plus years

I never really fell for Garcia Lopez.  First intro'd to him when I was a Teen Titans fan.  Only experienced disapointment when he relaced Perez on occasion.  Remember a late-80s Howard Chaykin interview when he declared some new project (sci-fi comic?) would "finally show the world what an awesome artist Garcia Lopez was" (paraphrase).  Couldn't believe Chaykin (who I then admired) was one of the Lopez "over-raters".  Still can't (but then, I can't believe I used to like Howard Chaykin  :D ).  What is the best thing Garcia Lopez has done?  How about in terms of Superman?
Convince me.  

How about a top ten list for best post-Crisis, non-Iron-Age Superman artists?  By which I mean, artists who have done stories that start threads like, "Is the Iron Age Over?"  Or who have paid homage to the classic Superman?  Thinking of fan-faves (here at the fortress anyway) like Alex Ross, Quietly, etc.

Just go here: http://nightwing.supermanfan.net/artists/sm-garcialopez.htm

 :s:

I loved his "mutant Superman" trilogy and several covers. It's a pity that he has drawn a few stories...  



I don't know if there are enough post-Crisis artists for a top ten. I mean, I liked almost every post-Crisis artist, but usually they weren't really important.
I love Ron Frenz's arts, but is he really important for the Man of Steel?
Anyway, Byrne, Reis, Lee, McGuinness, Jurgens (early works) and Frenz are my favorite of the late 19 years.

Telle, as Super Monkey said my thoughts on JLGL are well-documented at my site.  All I can say is that his style was very well-received by me in the mid-70s when it first showed up on Superman.  My love for Swan is immense, but after awhile you came to recognize certain key poses and layouts that repeated again and again and made a stifling sense of sameness settle over the books.  Garcia-Lopez shook that up and injected a fresh new look, but at the same time it was a look firmly rooted in the classic illustration style of an Alex Raymond or Hal Foster.  It had the benefit of seeming new and "established" at the same time.

Like a lot of Bronze Age artists, JLGL was pretty dependent on his inkers.  Inked by an old-timer like Frank McLaughlin in DCCP, his stuff could look stiff and dull.  Inked by Dan Adkins it could loosen up and get a "slick" look.  Inked by Vinnie Colletta, needless to say, it was sucked dry of any life at all. And for the record I didn't like him that much on the Titans, either, but nobody's right for everything.  I think it might also work against him that his versions of the DC characters served as model sheets for so much merchandising...it tends to cheapen and overexpose his style.  If you first saw his art on a t-shirt or toy box, you might later read his comics and think, "This art is kid stuff!"

If I had to pick a favorite "JLGL on Superman" story it would probably be the first two issues of DCCP, with the Superman/Flash race.  It's included in the new trade paperback that has all their races. Also in issue 3 of the same book is a good team-up with Adam Strange where JLGL may have inked his own pencils, and the terrific team-up with Deadman in issue 24 where I'm sure he did.  Keep in mind none of the comics from this time period were printed on decent paper and thin linework often fell apart thanks to the bargain-basement production methods of the day.

The Elsewords book, "Kal" is also pretty to look at (and much more recent), but the story's way too dark for my taste.

My favorite post-Crisis Superman artists are Steve Rude (he who can do no wrong),  Darwyn Cooke, Dave Gibbons (not exclusively post-Crisis, but hey...) and Art Adams.  They may not all be post-Iron Age, but they're all artists who made me remember the Superman I once knew and loved.

All basically "Iron-Age" artists, no?  Not really important is an understatement! :D

I will make an effort to look at JLGL again, but linking him to the Prince Valiant/Rip Kirby tradition is not a high recommendation in my book.  More illustration/photo reference than cartooning.  I am looking right now at my copy of the giant Superman vs Wonder Woman and enjoying it.  Dan Adkins inks.  Not too stiff.  Not too showy.  Some nice, post-Neal Adams panel arrangements.  Great action and characterisation.

As for post-Crisis, I would agree with your list (maybe in that order too!) but add the Bizarro cartoonists at the top (Jaime Hernandez, etc).

I maybe in the minority but I have always felt that Barry Kitson was a dynamite Superman artist (post crisis) of course.