Why Marvel keeps Greg Land on artist and cover art duties ?

[Cmbmool]

I mean honestly, given the complaints that guy gets over his art, I'm surprised Marvel hasn't fired him yet.

I mean some artist like Ramos and Balchalo are funny cartoon like, and others like Romita Jr and Deodato JR show their own unique style. Then there's Bagley and even Anka who show their own unique style, but the whole Greg Land Complaints...Seriously, what does Marvel see in art like that ?

I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just asking why does Marvel favor such...art over the art of others that could do a cover better and not in a sexual style.

[Baron Samedi]

Why Marvel keeps Greg Land on artist and cover art duties ?

You know, that's human relationships. The dude has worked for a long time, he made friends, he has links, he is well known.

[Shinglepants]

The internet would have you believe that everyone hates Land. That is not the case.

[ZNOP]

Perhaps, it because Land is the most gifted artist to grace the pages as of late...

[MichaelC]

He's probably cheap.

[cyberhubbs]

He gets his work in on time.

[Baron Samedi]

Eh, cheap and on schedule.

That's two nice qualities in this line of work.

[Dark-Flux]

To paraphrase Neil Gaiman; an employer looks for three qualities in their employee;

Are they a nice guy?
Do they turn their work in on time?
Is their work done well?

You only need 2/3.

If youre a good guy to work with and turn in your stuff regularly, doesnt matter if its not the highest standard.
If youre a good guy to work with and produce excellent work, doesnt matter if your a bit slow.
If you turn in excellent work regularly, doesnt matter if youre an *******.

Land seems pretty nice...

[Exciter]

People have to speak with their wallets and simply stop buying books with him on art. As long as they sell, Marvel will keep using him.

[cyberhubbs]

Problem is that he has some popularity behind him. I'm not a fan, but others clearly are. And they're probably the folks buying his books.

[Cap10nate]

I think the thought that his work is universally hated is overblown by the small group that complains on the internet forum. If you look at those threads, it will usually be the same 10 or 20 people who are posting the most negative comments. Of the 30 to 50,000 people that buy the books that he is drawing, I'm sure that only a small portion are even familiar with the controversy that surrounds him about the tracing and porn referencing. Of those that know, I bet only a small portion of those even care. His art doesn't bother me to the point that it would preclude me from purchasing a book that he is drawing. I currently don't read any of the books he draws but that is because I'm not interested in the story and not the art. If he were to be put on a book that I was interested in, I would pick it up without a thought as I pick up most books without caring who the artist is.

[Tiamatty]

Another factor is that his work does look really good when you first see it. It's not until you've seen it a few times that you start to notice what a huge hack he is. That actually makes him a good choice for covers, because it's going to catch the eyes of newer readers.

[Spider-Chan]

[Tiamatty]

Yeah, that letter almost made me scream. I hate Greg Land's art so, so much.

[Mister Mets]

He is a name. It's better to be a guy with vocal detractors but still recognized by most in the industry, rather than someone who doesn't rile anyone either way.

From sales, there isn't much indication that his work sells worse than that of other guys who might agree to launch Mighty Avengers or Spider-Woman. And there isn't any indication that writers would prefer not to work with him.