[VonPooten]

@TBM, Oh, no, no offense taken in the slightest! I find it fascinating discussing others' perceptions of what makes comics great, and it's particularly interesting from the art side of things. It's always a joy to scratch brains about the ultimately (in the global sense) meaningless but important facets of the comic medium!

As for your elaborations, well, what is there to say! Beautifully worded, and I concur 100%. Perhaps less so with JRJR nowadays, but in his heyday he had a spark that couldn't be quantified. I especially enjoy the comment about each artists' interpretation being able to epitomise that character in an iconic way. Sorry to go back to her, but Storm under the pen of Byrne, Romita Jr and Davis (I don't believe he worked on X-Men proper until much later, unless I'm mistaken?) was a vision to behold. Quite honestly I believe that to be in part due to the way Claremont envisioned her, but mostly because these guys knew how to draw.

If a modern artist were given the parameters of greatness that you just outlined, barely a handful would pass the test of might, this is almost a given. However! I do think that there are artists out there who come close to that brilliance in their own way. Unfortunately big companies just do not give artists a chance to shine on any one book. Romita Jr drew a LOT of issues of Uncanny, but now that cannot be said of a lot of people. The industry is too focused on short runs which sprint to the finish line, only for the title to be rebooted a month later. Were artists given the slightest of chances to prove themselves, I believe that they could reach these heights!

As always, TBM, it's a pleasure to discuss these matters. Where else can someone cross international borders and question one another on the standards of comic art but on the internet! People in my LCS don't even make eye contact, let alone passionately defend their artistic views.

@Nash, Awwww, does no-one feel the love for Paul Smith? He is a master! Granted, he didn't illustrate many issues of X-Men, but the ones he did were clean, expressive, and had a quality about them which his contemporaries did not have. Heck, Smith revisited the 'verse in Kitty Pryde: Shadow & Flame, and it was one of the most beautiful books of last decade (IMO)!

Meanwhile, I have too much fun with these Tamashii effects. They are perfect for MLs.




Edit: @Starlord, ToyBiz Rogue jacket? Excellent!