Does bad art work kill a good story?

[Magik]

Yes, most definitely!

Same.
The art is almost everything to me

[Iron Maiden]

Other than Rob Liefeld (WAY too easy a target for haters), my tolerance for bad art is also rather high, though with two particular exceptions: Bill Sienkiewicz who makes EVERYBODY look rail thin and seven feet tall, and Keith Giffen who, in latter years has been aping Jack Kirby, something I dislike.

I don't want to make waves but for me it is Mike Allred. His work is just bland and boring to me. Just one step up from the generic art you see in a common coloring book. When he does interiors, there's very little background detail. I think the FF (not to be confused with Fantastic Four main title with was a pairing of Fraction and Mark Bagley)run with him and Matt Fraction is one of my least favorite of all time. I will be struggling to find a cover for this week's contest!

[Jim Kelly]

There's a difference between objectively bad art and art that you just don't happen to like. Actually, it's probably the work that I don't happen to like that puts me off more--because I know what the artist is doing but I still find it annoying. I can almost tolerate bad art more, because it's just a case of the artist not having the skill or the knowledge to get the work right. But there are a lot of artists that I didn't like because of their style that I later got around to appreciating. Bad art doesn't improve with familiarity, but annoying art can.

Ultimately, I'm more interested in the story than the art. But when a story is really good, it's all the more unsettling when the artist hasn't done a good job of fleshing out that story. And since it's a collaborative medium--an artist can interfere with what the writer is trying to convey. There are many artists that draw pretty pictures, but their art doesn't tell the story--it's just there, while the writer is doing all the heavy lifting to tell the actual story.

There's lot of art where the penciller is bad, but the inker or the colourist saves the art--so it looks good on first glance, but when you examine the work, you can see that it's not actually that good because there's only so much inkers and colourists can do to save art that has fundamental problems. Then there's the art--done by some of the best pencillers in the business--that is totally ruined by the inker or the colourist. This is really sad, because those pencillers didn't deserve to have their work destroyed.

And there are some writers that I dislike so much that even if they have a good artist working on the comics, I still am not going to buy those comics. It would have to be one of my absolute favourite artists for me to support a comic writer that I can't stand.

[PaulBullion]

Wow! Kyle Baker, a bad artist?!!! He's one of the best visual artist at work (Why I hate Saturn), the laureate of numerous Eisner awards!
My take is no, a bad artist doesn't kill a good story, and I had some troubles reading some parts of Invisibles! But a bad story, for me, is worst.

He really is a wonderful storyteller. Tbaron needs to give it another chance.

[Zelena]

I won't be original but what puts me off is shoddy work.
A style is something personal and I can read the story even if I don't like the style.
But shoddy work is when someone could have done better but didn't seem to care.
It is based on effects, relies on virtuosity but doesn't go further. Quick, approximate… it doesn't seem to have a lot of respect for the reader.
Comic drawing is more craftwork than art. You should have the humility to enter in a mould:
the characters should look human and be detailed enough, perspective should be respected, you have to draw even the things you don't like to draw which are so boring (like windows of a building).
It's realistic design, if you don't like, don't do it. (Well, I don't… I like flowers though )

I can add that I blame less the comic artists than the editors: it was their choice to let publish something flawed.

[babyblob]

He really is a wonderful storyteller. Tbaron needs to give it another chance.

I have given it several chances. My problem was not with the story. The story was pretty good. my problem was with the art. It really took away from the story for me. I just didnt like it. MAybe the artist is not bad maybe I just didnt like his style. But that is the reason I will not reread the story.

[PaulBullion]

I have given it several chances. My problem was not with the story. The story was pretty good. my problem was with the art. It really took away from the story for me. I just didnt like it. MAybe the artist is not bad maybe I just didnt like his style. But that is the reason I will not reread the story.

I meant his art with "storytelling."

Let me guess.... you think Greg Land is a better artist?

[babyblob]

I meant his art with "storytelling."

Let me guess.... you think Greg Land is a better artist?

I dont know who that is.

I read mostly older comics so I dont know a lot of the current artists and writers.

[ed2962]

I dont know who that is.

I read mostly older comics so I dont know a lot of the current artists and writers.

Greg was/is a popular Marvel artist. He's quite controversial though because of the way he uses photo references. Many times the images he uses are inappropriate and he often recycles the exact same image over and over. He's not as bad in that regard as he was a few years back, but he still has his critics.

[Jim Kelly]

I'd have to study some Greg Land comics to see how he's adapting the photos for comics, but there was a great old Superman story where an artist explains to a gang of thugs that you can't just trace over a photo and have an image that looks right. Comics being what they are, that would look flat and just not right to the eye--the artist has to pull perspective to make it look right to the eye.

[Jack Dracula]

I don't want to make waves but for me it is Mike Allred. His work is just bland and boring to me. Just one step up from the generic art you see in a common coloring book. When he does interiors, there's very little background detail. I think the FF (not to be confused with Fantastic Four main title with was a pairing of Fraction and Mark Bagley)run with him and Matt Fraction is one of my least favorite of all time. I will be struggling to find a cover for this week's contest!

No judgement here.
I detest the work of Carmine Infantino. I think every comic fan has an artist they'd criticize if given an opportunity.

[your_name_here]

I’d more say if an artist doesn’t convey something the way the story demands it be conveyed.
There’s a huge difference between that and “bad art”

[Mister Mets]

Yes, but it's rare for me at least.

Part of it is that I can appreciate multiple art styles. But the best written stories tend to include art that is at the very least serviceable.

[SquirrelMan]

Meh.

..............

[charliehustle415]

See Morrison's New X-Men that suffered greatly because of bad art. Doesn't matter how amazing the writing is, if the art doesn't match that quality, it ruins the immersion.