Modern artwork, is it just me?

[DocX]

I'm curious to know if there is anyone else out there who misses the days of artwork and characters looking pretty similar whichever title you picked up? It's probably a sign of getting old but I find quite a lot of Marvel comics these days, particularly the latest batch of new launches have some unusual artwork in them and I find myself put off from picking them up by the look alone, even though I quite like the character.

I know from reading reviews that most people love these new look books but I was wondering if there was anyone else like me who misses the days when there were a kind of house style to Marvel books and (for example) Steve Rogers or Peter Parker would be instantly recognizable even whithout their costume whichever book they showed up in.

Note : I've deliberately not listed the books I don't like the look of as I'm not really looking for an argument on why i should like x or y artist even though I don't, I was more interested in finding out general rather than specific opinions

[Sentry-Mann]

Well, at least with the series I follow, the artwork has been pretty great. Amazing Spider-Man, Elektra, and Inhuman are all modern and feature fantastic artwork, in my opinion. However, with the Original Sin(for example), I think I get what you mean. I think the art was actually rendered 3D models overlayed onto a background, not saying it's bad, just unique. Or at least that's what it looked like to me!
(see what I mean?)
Original_Sin_1_Preview_3.jpg

[Tiamatty]

Nah, I like the lack of a house style. And it's not like it's all that recent a development. Bill Sienkewicz was doing some highly stylized stuff way back in the day. Frank Miller came along with his noir art style, which Klaus Janson kept up when Miller switched to writing. Frank Robbins had a very unique style (which happened to be painful to look at, but that's beside the point I'm making here).

So there have always been some artists doing something different. It's just that "different" has become something of the norm these days. And I'm glad for it. It makes it more interesting.

[lavalampchamp]

I was chatting with a friend of mine about comics, something we do often, and he told me he doesn't really enjoy reading older comics (Bronze/Silver) because of the art style. While I on the other hand , enjoy them just as much as modern day comics. I like seeing how the art styles progressed throughout the years, and how different artists portray different characters.

[Arfguy]

I just don't like the over-rendered costumes these days. Simplicity still has it's place. I actually like that an artist like Jerome Opena has a different style than someone like Olivier Coipel, whose style is different than Kev Walker...and I'm pretty old.

[phantom1592]

I'm with ya.

I love the artwork of the 80's and 90's. Back before all the computerized coloring and dark shadows and overly detailed became the norm.

Old school all the way here!

[Flash Gordon]

I despise "house style".

[Rheged]

I'm curious to know if there is anyone else out there who misses the days of artwork and characters looking pretty similar whichever title you picked up? It's probably a sign of getting old but I find quite a lot of Marvel comics these days, particularly the latest batch of new launches have some unusual artwork in them and I find myself put off from picking them up by the look alone, even though I quite like the character.

I know from reading reviews that most people love these new look books but I was wondering if there was anyone else like me who misses the days when there were a kind of house style to Marvel books and (for example) Steve Rogers or Peter Parker would be instantly recognizable even whithout their costume whichever book they showed up in.

Note : I've deliberately not listed the books I don't like the look of as I'm not really looking for an argument on why i should like x or y artist even though I don't, I was more interested in finding out general rather than specific opinions

I'm not sure there really was a house style even back in the day. Yes, there was a short time when I think Stan wanted some folks to draw like Jack Kirby, but even so, you had folks like Ditko and Romita and Wally Wood and soon after, Gil Kane and John & Sal Buscema, Marie Severin and Neal Adams -- all pretty distinct styles. Of course they had artists that followed in their footsteps.

The last launch of All New Marvel Now books DID have a larger percentage of stylized, non-traditional superhero art, however. Whether that will prove financially successful or not ... we'll see.

[Tiamatty]

I was chatting with a friend of mine about comics, something we do often, and he told me he doesn't really enjoy reading older comics (Bronze/Silver) because of the art style. While I on the other hand , enjoy them just as much as modern day comics. I like seeing how the art styles progressed throughout the years, and how different artists portray different characters.

There are quite a few "classic" artists whose styles I just don't like. I don't like Jack Kirby's art, especially his '70s work. Ditko's '60s stuff was great, but his later stuff, in the late '70s and early '80s (his Machine Man comes to mind, or his Rom work) just wasn't good. Frank Robbins was one of the worst artists I've ever seen. A lot of the other artists of the time just don't particularly do anything for me. They don't turn me off, but neither do they really excite me. Some of them were perfectly competent artists, but I can't help but compare them to contemporary artists - Rios, Immonen, Coipel, Allred, Schiti, Hans, Dell'Otto, Garbett - all sorts of really great artists with a variety of styles.

And as talented an artist as someone like Herb Trimpe was, his work just doesn't look as good as Immonen's.

[Rheged]

There are quite a few "classic" artists whose styles I just don't like. I don't like Jack Kirby's art, especially his '70s work. Ditko's '60s stuff was great, but his later stuff, in the late '70s and early '80s (his Machine Man comes to mind, or his Rom work) just wasn't good. Frank Robbins was one of the worst artists I've ever seen. A lot of the other artists of the time just don't particularly do anything for me. They don't turn me off, but neither do they really excite me. Some of them were perfectly competent artists, but I can't help but compare them to contemporary artists - Rios, Immonen, Coipel, Allred, Schiti, Hans, Dell'Otto, Garbett - all sorts of really great artists with a variety of styles.

And as talented an artist as someone like Herb Trimpe was, his work just doesn't look as good as Immonen's.

I can't read further. Heresy! :P

[KurtW95]

I think bright colors need to make a comeback.

[SXVA]

I'd probably drift away from Comics if that were the case. I need art to actually be art, and be creative and diverse. I absolutely adore what Marvel has been doing of recent compared to DC's more "in house" style. (for example).

[lavalampchamp]

There are quite a few "classic" artists whose styles I just don't like. I don't like Jack Kirby's art, especially his '70s work. Ditko's '60s stuff was great, but his later stuff, in the late '70s and early '80s (his Machine Man comes to mind, or his Rom work) just wasn't good. Frank Robbins was one of the worst artists I've ever seen. A lot of the other artists of the time just don't particularly do anything for me. They don't turn me off, but neither do they really excite me. Some of them were perfectly competent artists, but I can't help but compare them to contemporary artists - Rios, Immonen, Coipel, Allred, Schiti, Hans, Dell'Otto, Garbett - all sorts of really great artists with a variety of styles.

And as talented an artist as someone like Herb Trimpe was, his work just doesn't look as good as Immonen's.

I definitely see where you're coming from. And I agree with you. There are certain artists I like more than others, old and new. I'm not one to hate though. I enjoy comics too much.

[Pat Thomas]

I like people to look like people in the comics I read. I think the stylized stuff is out of place in the type of books I read, but in some cases I'm just stuck with it. If I was buying Archie
or a humor or horror comic, that's probably exactly the art I would want, but I think it really detracts from regular superhero type books. I've learned to live with it in Spidey, but it's a shame
that the current run could have been so much better with a conventional artist.

[Kieran_Frost]

I'd probably drift away from Comics if that were the case. I need art to actually be art, and be creative and diverse. I absolutely adore what Marvel has been doing of recent compared to DC's more "in house" style. (for example).

QUOTED FOR TRUTH!!!

I was chatting with a friend of mine about comics, something we do often, and he told me he doesn't really enjoy reading older comics (Bronze/Silver) because of the art style. While I on the other hand , enjoy them just as much as modern day comics. I like seeing how the art styles progressed throughout the years, and how different artists portray different characters.

I'm the same way; the art is often what makes me not want to read the classic stories. It's (for me) dated.