So which artist drew your definitive Superman?

[Adekis]

You know, I really really like Rags Morales. He portrays a young, brash, Herculean Superman, and a Clark Kent who looks like he could be a different person from Kal, yet still looks similar enough that he's not totally different.

My favorite Superman costume change ever.

That said, there is one artist who I probably like even more on a totally different level:

Joe Shuster's Superman is fascinating. You can see his art grow and improve, the alterations in design over time, and I love that. At the same time, I don't think it ever quite loses that raw edge that comes with being a kid who doesn't quite know what he's doing while simultaneously creating something amazing.

[Great O.G.U.F.O.O.L.]

Curt Swan for me. His art may have lacked in dynamism or superhero action but he gave Superman the face of a man that possessed strength and kindness in equal proportions.Attachment 3302 He is one of the few artists whose drawings had such a large impact on the way I perceived a character's personality (writers mostly do).

In the words of Mark Waid: "Curt's magic was to perfectly portray The Man of Steel as a warm and gentle savior without sacrificing his grandeur or power. He understood and best conveyed that, of all the many things Superman is, he is first and foremost (in the words of Christopher Reeve) a friend"
curt swan. superman. comic conventions poster art. 001.jpg

[The Beast]

In no particular order:

-John Byrne
-Neal Adams
-John Sikela*
-Leo Nowak*
-Gil Kane
-Jose Luis Garcia Lopez
-Jon Bogdanove

*Guys who worked in Shuster's studio.

[SJNeal]

Dan Jurgens, followed closely by Curt Swan.

[Midnighter]

Jerry Ordway.

[Kurosawa]

Swan, then Garcia-Lopez.

[SXVA]

For me, it would have to be either Bruce Timm or Dan Jurgens, which makes sense since I grew up in the 90's, so that was "my" Superman.

Swan is probably the definitive version. (as pointed out by many, it's gotta be said though lol)

As for personal preference, i'd agree with Bruce Timm..

Also like Neal Adams version, didn't realize he did much Superman.

[Jim Kelly]

Most of the work that Adams did on Superman was on covers. Same with Nick Cardy.

Not definitive, but I always liked Al Plastino. He toiled in the shadow of the other artists. He starred out as a Shuster studio artist, doing a Shuster-esque Superman. Then when Wayne Boring changed the look of the character--Platstino followed the Boring model, but I happen to like Al's version a lttie more. Then as his style evolved over time, his Superman was more in line with the Curt Swan Superman.

[MykeHavoc]

My favorites are ed McGuiness and kingdom come supes.

[Lois]

I really like these artists who drew Superman:

#1 Wayne Boring
#2 Curt Swan
#3 John Byrne
#4 Dan Jurgens
#5 Jose Luis Garcia Lopez

My top two favorites are Boring and Swan.
I also really like Byrne, Jurgens and Garcia Lopez.

[Lois]

Curt Swan for me. His art may have lacked in dynamism or superhero action but he gave Superman the face of a man that possessed strength and kindness in equal proportions.Attachment 3302 He is one of the few artists whose drawings had such a large impact on the way I perceived a character's personality (writers mostly do).

In the words of Mark Waid: "Curt's magic was to perfectly portray The Man of Steel as a warm and gentle savior without sacrificing his grandeur or power. He understood and best conveyed that, of all the many things Superman is, he is first and foremost (in the words of Christopher Reeve) a friend"
curt swan. superman. comic conventions poster art. 001.jpg

Just love that drawing.
I always thought that he was a dynamic artist too.
My favorite artists that drew Superman are Wayne Boring and Curt Swan.

[Great O.G.U.F.O.O.L.]

I always thought that he was a dynamic artist too.

I meant in comparison to Kirby, Buscema, Garcia Lopez and all the Kirby-influenced superhero artists that followed (even Buscema, though a contemporary, learned how to draw action by studying Kirby). Personally I didn't have a problem with his artwork. I'm a fan.

I see that one of my pictures didn't show. This is the picture I tried to post when I was talking about Swan's Superman face:
03062014176.jpg

[Nomads1]

Jose Luiz Garcia Lopez,is my favorite but I'm also very fond of Byrne's original version (he wasn't as exciting when he came back to the character in the late 90's). But I guess Curt Swan is the artist I most associate with the character.
Others worthy of mention: Kerry Gammil, Dan Jurgens, Jerry Ordway (especially when paying homage to the golden age), Jon Bogdanove, Tom Grummet, Neal Adams, Ed Mcguiness, and I'm probably forgetting someone.

Peace

[Jim Kelly]

Well definitive artists influence the other artists who draw the character. So that's why I see Shuster, Boring and Swan as definitive. While Plastino, Schaffenberber, Garcia Lopez and Cardy seem less so--even though I like all of them--because I don't see them directly influencing other Superman artists.

Byrne drew Superman like Steve Rogers with black hair (or blue-grey, I guess, given the colouring at the time)--so I didin't see it as very distinctive. The fact that Byrne draws all his people without philtrums doesn't seem to have been picked up by any other artists. At the same time, Jerry Ordway was drawing a completely different looking Superman (somewhat showing the influence of Wayne Boring by way of Neal Adams).

Swan's art was dynamic in the way that Burne Hogarth's art was dynamic. Because Swan conformed to certain rules of anatomy and perspective, he couldn't break those rules the way that Kirby did. Kirby set his own rules, so you have much more extreme foreshortening in his work. But if Curt had done that, it would have violated all the others rules that his art depended on for its effect.

[Lois]

I meant in comparison to Kirby, Buscema, Garcia Lopez and all the Kirby-influenced superhero artists that followed (even Buscema, though a contemporary, learned how to draw action by studying Kirby). Personally I didn't have a problem with his artwork. I'm a fan.

I see that one of my pictures didn't show. This is the picture I tried to post when I was talking about Swan's Superman face:
03062014176.jpg

Thanks for the clarification.
Also really like the image you've posted of Swan's drawing of Superman's face.
IMHO he really got the look of Superman just right.