Underrated comic book artists?

[Hybrid]

Comics are a visual medium, so it goes without saying an artist is important. But not everyone can be a George Perez or a John Byrne, even if they're really good in their own right. Here is where we appreciate those who need appreciation more. Also, include art!

I'll start:

Ron Frenz

A part of the Marvel stable in the '80s, he's the most frequent collaborator of the fan-favorite writer Tom DeFalco. I think his stuff is stellar. He can do environments, consistent character models, and fight scenes really well, especially in capturing the movement of it. I've read Spider-Man comics drawn by him, and he can captured the frenetic nature of an attack. As controversial as the Spider-Man vs. Firelord fight is in certain circles, it really displays the strengths of his artwork and all of what I mentioned.





Anyways, what other underrated artists would you like to mention and display?

[Timothy Hunter]

Kyle Baker

His graphic novels Why I Hate Saturn and The Cowboy Wally Show, while forgotten now, are among the greatest comics of all time in my opinion.

[K7P5V]

Jeff Johnson

[Steel Inquisitor]

Babs Tarr

[Kuro no Shinigami]

A Japanese manga artist named Itou Ei whose cute and gorgeous artwork deserves more attention.

Naoshi Onizuka has a distinct art style that I think everyone should notice.

Okada Kou is also underrated and has a clean and polished art style.

[Electricmastro]

Trevor Von Eeden:

[Electricmastro]

[Arfguy]

Some of my personal favourites that I don't think get a lot of acclaim:

Claudio Castellini - I always considered him an artist who got lost during the worst period of Marvel. He was a spectacular artist who, IMO, worked for Marvel when Marvel was producing a lot of crap. I first noticed his art on Marvel vs. DC and I thought he had enormous potential. I felt his style was truly unique and his art was pretty consistent. I never felt like he got put on the right books.

J.G. Jones - Another fantastic artist that I think has fallen through the cracks. Maybe he disappeared because comics didn't pay him enough, but he was a pretty big deal for a while and now, I don't hear much about him. He worked with Grant Morrison on Marvel Boy, Devin Grayson on Black Widow, Mark Millar on Wanted and Morrison again on Final Crisis. After that...he kind of disappeared and I don't hear his name mentioned much.

[Steel Inquisitor]

Andy Kubert

[K7P5V]

Jerry Bingham

[K7P5V]

Jason Pearson





Jim Calafiore





Martin Egeland

[PaulBullion]

Some of my personal favourites that I don't think get a lot of acclaim:

Claudio Castellini - I always considered him an artist who got lost during the worst period of Marvel. He was a spectacular artist who, IMO, worked for Marvel when Marvel was producing a lot of crap. I first noticed his art on Marvel vs. DC and I thought he had enormous potential. I felt his style was truly unique and his art was pretty consistent. I never felt like he got put on the right books.

J.G. Jones - Another fantastic artist that I think has fallen through the cracks. Maybe he disappeared because comics didn't pay him enough, but he was a pretty big deal for a while and now, I don't hear much about him. He worked with Grant Morrison on Marvel Boy, Devin Grayson on Black Widow, Mark Millar on Wanted and Morrison again on Final Crisis. After that...he kind of disappeared and I don't hear his name mentioned much.

Jones made a very questionable choice a couple of years ago by doing a 4 part graphic novel called "Strange Fruit" with Marc Waid. Visually great, the work was rightfully criticized for (a) two white guys telling a story that's not theirs to tell, (b) it basically ripping off Milstone Comics character Icon's origin (who was indeed created by black creators), (c) having tone deaf elements like the #notallwhitepeople side characters, or wrapping the naked, perfect, gorgeous African looking alien into a confederate flag. The book was a failure on many levels, and nobody could ever figure out what Jones and Waid were thinking.

[PaulBullion]

Can I say Don Heck?

Sometimes I feel it has always been cool to hate Heck, because he was not Kirby. He took over from Kirby on some of the big Marvel properties and of course he was not Kirby. Nobody was. Especially when it came to designing new characters, aliens of costumes, Heck did not have the King's creativity.

But: He did draw some of the most elegantly posed women of that age. He was a great visual storyteller who did his part in making the Marvel Age of Comics so memorable. And towards the end of his career, he inked some of his own work at DC and the results were quite beautiful.

[Arfguy]

Jones made a very questionable choice a couple of years ago by doing a 4 part graphic novel called "Strange Fruit" with Marc Waid. Visually great, the work was rightfully criticized for (a) two white guys telling a story that's not theirs to tell, (b) it basically ripping off Milstone Comics character Icon's origin (who was indeed created by black creators), (c) having tone deaf elements like the #notallwhitepeople side characters, or wrapping the naked, perfect, gorgeous African looking alien into a confederate flag. The book was a failure on many levels, and nobody could ever figure out what Jones and Waid were thinking.

I never even heard of that project.

Ok, thanks for the information.

[Timothy Hunter]

Love everyone's choices.