Does DC usually have better graphic artists than Marvel?

[Charlus]

Currently and historically, I have the feeling that DC always make an effort to hire better artists for the most part of its titles. Is that so? I remember Jim Lee saying that if an artist didn’t work for DC he’s not really on the map (he said that when he told the story of that famous reunion with Dc and Marvel execs when the Image group of guys told them they were no longer working for them).

Anyway, what do you think. Is that true?

[Superfly Frankenstein]

I believe in the late 80s and 90s, Marvel dominates for the most part with big name artists. They had Lee, Silvestri, Todd Mac, Larson, the Kuberts, Bagley, Joe Mad, Lim, etc. I mean, DC wasn’t a slouch. They had Byrne for a while as well as Perez, ********Lopez, Jurgans, Ordway, Grummett, etc. It just seems for a while there, Marvel was flashier.

[Vampire Savior]

Currently and historically, I have the feeling that DC always make an effort to hire better artists for the most part of its titles. Is that so? I remember Jim Lee saying that if an artist didn’t work for DC he’s not really on the map (he said that when he told the story of that famous reunion with Dc and Marvel execs when the Image group of guys told them they were no longer working for them).

Anyway, what do you think. Is that true?

Jim Lee was spouting utter baloney. I mean, he should think about things like that for a minute. Is he saying that he wasn't on the map until he drew for DC? That would be a ridiculous thing to say. But, I don't think the statement was meant to be taken too seriously.

To answer the question, I would say no. Even when you go way back, Marvel had guys like John Romita and Barry Windsor Smith. I wouldn't say either company is necessarily better than the other in terms of art. I will say that the art I've seen from companies like Boom Studios, Dynamite, and Lion Forge often looks to be of a lower grade to me. I'm not entirely sure if it's because the artists are worse, or because those companies aren't paying the artists enough for them to give a damn. But I haven't noticed a big disparity between Marvel and DC.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Not necessarily true, no. A lot of the really great artists have worked both, even the ones who seem very exclusive to DC. Ivan Reis, for example, despite all of his DC work actually worked at Marvel before he worked at DC. And Steve McNiven, who I consider one of the greatest comic book artists of all time, has never done any work for DC throughout his entire career. Though, I kind of wish he would.

[Lee Stone]

I think it depends on what kind of art you like.
I can't stand the Jim Lee style, myself, so most of current DC art doesn't impress me much.

There's two types of art I like most.

One is expressionistic, fluid styles, like Eisner, Allred, Jeff Smith, Jack Cole, Kevin Maguire and early Adam Hughes.

The other is the more solid superhero styles, with solid blacks, minimal crosshatching and plenty of room for color, like Doc Shaner, Steve Rude, Alan Davis, early Dan Jurgens, Dick Giordano, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.
This one relies a lot on the inker, and fortunately these folks often get an inker that compliments them well.

Also, coloring is very important.
Two colorists that always please me are Dave Stewart and Laura Allred.

I loved Sienkiewicz on New Mutants. Which I'd probably place in the 'expressionistic' category.

[Dr. Ellingham]

These days, artists tend to jump from Marvel to DC and back again, based on which writer they're paired with, page rates, royalties, etc. As it should be.

But back in the day day? The stereotype was that DC had the best writers, where Marvel had the best artists. From the 1960s up until the mid/late 1990s, by which point the talent pool was almost entirely fluid.

[Punjabi_Hitman]

For the past decade I would say yes. DC is handedly beating Marvel especially before when Axel Alonso was running Marvel. But I am a new reader so can't tell you from the past as I don't have an eye for it. Marvel has had some atrocious art in their books and I have yet to see that in any of the DC books I've read. It's like Marvel is bringing in minimum wage help or something. But I read more Marvel than DC so take that with a grain of salt.

[Midnighter]

Jim Lee was spouting utter baloney. I mean, he should think about things like that for a minute. Is he saying that he wasn't on the map until he drew for DC? That would be a ridiculous thing to say. But, I don't think the statement was meant to be taken too seriously.

To answer the question, I would say no. Even when you go way back, Marvel had guys like John Romita and Barry Windsor Smith. I wouldn't say either company is necessarily better than the other in terms of art. I will say that the art I've seen from companies like Boom Studios, Dynamite, and Lion Forge often looks to be of a lower grade to me. I'm not entirely sure if it's because the artists are worse, or because those companies aren't paying the artists enough for them to give a damn. But I haven't noticed a big disparity between Marvel and DC.

From what I understand Marvel and DC will not consider hiring any artists unless they have experience and have built a resume with the independant companies first.

So they tend to be less experienced. It's where they cut their teeth in the industry so to speak.