Well, Bagley's faces could get pretty samey, so I understand where they're coming from.
Well, Bagley's faces could get pretty samey, so I understand where they're coming from.
Facial expression is an area many professional comic artists fail at, even some I really like (Byrne), but in this case, I was thinking about the depiction of the human form, which is still rigid after all these years (not uncommon either).
"Who wouldn't go out with the Black Widow? I'd strangle a litter of kittens for one dinner with her!"
Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture
"Natasha Romanoff, A.K.A. Black Widow - ex-KGB, formerly with S.H.I.E.L.D...Probably the brains of this operation.I have followed her career, and she has been consistently UNDERRATED."
"Who wouldn't go out with the Black Widow? I'd strangle a litter of kittens for one dinner with her!"
Adrian Toomes aka the Vulture
"Natasha Romanoff, A.K.A. Black Widow - ex-KGB, formerly with S.H.I.E.L.D...Probably the brains of this operation.I have followed her career, and she has been consistently UNDERRATED."
Am I the only one who doesn't think highly of Bagley's art? I mean, it's not bad, but it's hardly anything noteworthy either. Certainly a lot closer to mediocre than "best Spider-Man artist ever". Obviously it's all subjective, but I'm curious if I'm the only one with this opinion.
"Anyone can win a fight when the odds are easy! It's when the going's tough - when there seems to be no chance - that's when it counts!" - Spider-Man
Mark Bagley and Sal Buscema are the legends. In lieu of ASM 50 I was posting all the great JMD<>SB pages on my instagram. Many runs I loved when I was younger haven't aged as well but JMD, especially with Sal Buscema is peak Spider-Man for me.
I personally like both Mark Bagley and Sal Buscema; the former because of his style and the later because of his may Spider-Man and Hulk comics from my childhood. That doesn't modify the fact that neither of them is a good artist. Sal had an annoying tendency to draw the jaws of his characters wide open.
The art of Sal Buscema and Mark Bagley is good and really fun to look at, they both displayed weaknesses in their work at certain points like -as mentioned by someone else here- Bagley drawing faces very similar between individuals, and Sal had the era when he drew thick wrinkle lines that don't look appealing to me, and he does still have the tendency of drawing jaws open -as mentioned above- for dramatic effects.
Other good working artists from that period are Alex Saviuk (please don't say his art is bad), Mike Zeck, Rich Buckler, John Romita jr, Ron Lim, and maybe more I've forgot.
McFarlane is not good at drawing faces, and I don't like that his overly detailed art style, too many lines, and spaghetti webbing transferred to other artists work. Erik Larsen has good dynamics, but his art was never appealing to me as comic style, I like seeing similar art for Back to the Future cartoon, but his art doesn't work for me on page.
There are artists whose work was not good in the 90s but improved for the following decade; Luke Ross, Mike Deodato jr (he drew an issue of Spider-Man Unlimited with Frankenstein Monster (not the one based on the cartoon of the same name), and his 90s style was apparent) both come to mind.
TRUTH, JUSTICE, HOPE
That is, the heritage of the Kryptonian Warrior: Kal-El, son of Jor-El
You like Gameboy and NDS? - My channel
Looks like I'll have to move past gameplay footage
TRUTH, JUSTICE, HOPE
That is, the heritage of the Kryptonian Warrior: Kal-El, son of Jor-El
You like Gameboy and NDS? - My channel
Looks like I'll have to move past gameplay footage
Comparisons of comic art from different periods needs to consider that each period had different audiences, different pressures on the artists themselves, different styles in culture and different materials to use for art. A guy like Kirby didn't have any digital way to do his art, for instance, and if he made a mistake the deadline for him to get his work done still loomed just the same and there was no delete button on anything. And he drew in an era when comics were being made mostly for kids, a little bit college age later in his career, and he drew in an era when comics were a huge business and he was under extreme pressure, drawing multiple titles lots of times simultaneously. An artist today has no where near the same pressures and has tons of more sophisticated tools, not to mention they can learn from a great like Kirby.
Then you have to consider other factors like paper quality and the fact that copyright law changed during the 1970s to change the way "work for hire" operated. Its a big reason why we started to see lots of indies pop up during the 1980s. Remember these are "just comics" to many of the people in charge. The artists themselves feel differently but are often hampered in what they can do.
Each era of comic art needs to be appreciated for what it is, for being unique to the circumstances under which it was made. Its no different from other art forms, like music. Mozart was a court musician. Sure he had loads of talent and gifts, but he was paid for and beholden to the court, which limited him to an extent. Compare that to someone like Debussy, who grew up during wartime in a poor family and had to make his way through completely supporting himself through (shudder) music.
I guess what I am saying is - don’t disparage the work of those artists. Read and enjoy and appreciate.
Last edited by Scott Taylor; 10-22-2020 at 11:52 AM.
Every day is a gift, not a given right.