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Post by tarkintino on May 5, 2022 15:17:54 GMT -5
Golden Age creators: the problem with so specific a list as that some legends excelled in the Golden Age and beyond (e.g. Cardy, Fox, et al.)
Lou Fine: no.
C.C. Beck: no.
Otto Binder: no.
Nick Cardy Brilliant artist, and like the greatest of that craft, he was just at home with romance and other regular subjects as he had been with superheroes. In the top 20.
Jack Cole: no
Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel. Yes. Created and defined the greatest version of Superman pre-Weisinger's butchery / kiddie-izing of the character.
Bill Everett: no. Great talent, but not that high on my list.
Bill Finger and Bob Kane: see my entry on Shuster and Siegel.
Gardner Fox : Like Carmine Infantino, he's responsible for the Silver Age of comics existing / succeeding--and as a result, Marvel being influenced to try their hand at what was booming at DC. So, Fox is a yes (so I add Infantino).
Ramona Fradon: no.
Floyd Gottfredson: no.
Jerry Iger: no .
Russ Heath: wonderful work, but not top ten.
Joe Orlando : Yes--Unforgettable work--especially with the independents.
Bob Powell: No..
Jerry Robinson: Yes.
Frank Robbins : Great as a writer who was instrumental in jettisoning any traces of the Batman TV series from the comics and restoring the Bat-characters back to their darker roots, but he's not a top ten--certainly not as an artist.
John Severin : Fantastic talent. I will have to re-visit my consideration of him.
Joe Simon: Yes.
My list (Silver/Bronze, etc.):
Comic book talent
Stan Lee John Romita Sr.* John Buscema Neal Adams* Denny O'Neil Roy Thomas Marv Wolfman George Perez Gil Kane Jim Steranko
Adding Carmine Infantino.
Comic strip talent:
Charles Schulz Alex Raymond
*Both also had excellent comic strip runs
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Post by Duragizer on May 6, 2022 4:16:51 GMT -5
Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster – They created my favourite version of my favourite superhero. I'd be remiss not to add them to my list.
As for all the others ... Bill Finger comes close, but I'm no longer the Batfan I used to be. As for Bob Kane, he can go suck a duck.
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Post by Trevor on May 6, 2022 8:36:58 GMT -5
Day Thirty-Six Response and Wrap—Up
I’ve read a little work from all of these creators, and appreciate it, but haven’t explored enough of it to put on my list. Guess I started collecting in the Bronze Age, dug back a lot into the Silver, but with the modern age and underground comics being so plentiful, I haven’t made the time to appreciate older stuff as much as I should.
My list remains at 9. Frank Miller Jack Kirby Carl Barks Alan Moore Mike Mignola Jeff Lemire Bernie Wrightson Matt Wagner Will Eisner
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Post by Trevor on May 6, 2022 8:39:58 GMT -5
Day Thirty-Seven Choices
Again, many of the below “Silver” list crossed over into other ages, we’ve discussed many of this era already, and the thread isn’t big enough to mention everyone.
But as we wrap this up over the next few slates, please discuss your thoughts on any mostly Silver Age creators and include wildcards of any pure Silver creators if needed to complete your list.
Silver Age 1956-1970
Carmine Infantino helped create the Silver Age Flash, Black Canary, and so many others. Like all these, unfair to try to summarize their work and impact on the industry. Curt Swan will always be the best Superman artist imho. Archie Goodwin deserves consideration for developing Creepy and Eerie, fleshing out Vampirella, tons of great writing, and solid leadership. George Tuska worked at a lot of companies and on many strips, and is yet another to get his start with Eisner & Iger. He co-created characters including Luke Cage. Don Heck co-created Iron Man, Black Widow, Wasp, Hawkeye, and Wonder Man. Arnold Drake was a long-time writer who co-created Deadman, Doom Patrol, and Guardians of the Galaxy. John’s younger sister Marie Severin had a long and varied influential career, co-creating Spider-Woman and Dr. Bong, and having art credits from 1949 to 2005. She is yet another to have work on Mad or it’s imitators.
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Post by EdoBosnar on May 6, 2022 9:07:20 GMT -5
No to all except one; I tend to respect Infantino and Swan more than I actually like their work. Tuska is a solid artist but he was never among my favorites. Don Heck, although again not in my top echelons, is still an artist whose work I like, and I think he's often unfairly maligned. Drake did some awesome stuff and I love Marie Severin's work - as penciler, inker and colorist - as much as her older brother's. However, the only 'yes' today for me is Archie Goodwin, who was - as noted - a top-notch editor (don't forget Marvel's Epic line) and outstanding writer. I think he'd make my list just for the fantastic Manhunter story done with Walt Simonson, but he's written so much other good stuff.
So my list is up to nine: John & Sal Buscema, Alan Moore, George Perez, Walt Simonson, John Byrne, Alan Brennert, Will Eisner and Archie Goodwin.
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Post by tarkintino on May 6, 2022 9:45:09 GMT -5
Carmine Infantino: yes. As noted upthread, he's one of the key architects responsible for the Silver Age of comics existing / succeeding--and as a result, Marvel being influenced to try their hand at what was booming at DC. Add his brilliant art direction of so many top talents, his crucial role in reviving / saving Batman, his playing a significant role in making the deal for the Salkinds to produce the Donner Superman movie, awareness of/drive to saturate DC's superhero IPs on a world of merchandise unlike anything attempted before, and of course, his stellar artistic achievements, and he's a legend with few equals.
That, and as the great Neal Adams once said of Infantino:
...and Jim Steranko:
Curt Swan: no.
Archie Goodwin: yes Between his developmental role in Warren's landmark horror magazines, to his weighty contributions to Marvel (including writing the best period of its Star Wars adaptation with Infantino art), to his editorial gifts, he was a versatile talent so obviously deserving of a top ten spot.
George Tuska: no, but I have him in my top 30.
Don Heck: while acknowledging what he co-created, his art always left much to be desired, leaving me focusing almost exclusively on the stories he illustrated. So, the answer is no.
Arnold Drake:To this day, he's still criminally overlooked or the victim of some people believing he ripped off Marvel's X-Men in creating The Doom Patrol. So, not a top ten choice, but I believe I have him in my top 30.
Marie Severin: Strong, flexible talent, but not in the top ten.
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Post by Trevor on May 7, 2022 14:29:49 GMT -5
Some of you had never heard of one of the earlier modern choices, Tillie Walden. She has a book part of Free Comic Book Day today, a Walking Dead story of all things. Probably not as good as her own stuff, but will give you a taste.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 15:55:37 GMT -5
Some of you had never heard of one of the earlier modern choices, Tillie Walden. She has a book part of Free Comic Book Day today, a Walking Dead story of all things. Probably not as good as her own stuff, but will give you a taste. I picked it up while I was at my shop's FCBD celebration earlier, but haven't read it yet. -M
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Post by commond on May 7, 2022 17:43:40 GMT -5
I had a chance to sample a few more creators:
Alex Toth -- Bravo for Adventure -- this was utterly delightful. I actually prefer it to Dave Stephen's Rocketeer (both stories being set in roughly the same time period with similar themes.) Unfortunately, Toth only produced a handful of Bravo stories, but the artwork and the storytelling is exquisite. I've been reading some of Toth's Creepy stories too, but they're not as captivating for me.
Alberto Breccia -- Mort Cinder -- Mort Cinder is a bit wordy for my liking, but the art is phenomenal. Breccia is clearly a massive talent.
Junji Ito -- Uzumaki -- amazing horror story. Absolutely grotesque and thrilling. If you like horror, you owe it to yourself to track this down.
Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, John Severin, Jack Davis, etc. -- Two-Fisted Tales -- probably old hat to most people, but a new discover to me. Wonderful anthology series. I wonder how competitive the artists were in terms of outdoing each other in each issue.
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 17:44:13 GMT -5
Curt Swan was one of the last two I was waiting for. He's "my" Superman artist growing up, I can't put it any other way. I'm anticipating the final choice to complete my overall top ten may be in the next batch based on how we are moving through the eras now.
My near complete list:
Ross Andru John Buscema Sal Buscema Steve Ditko José Luis García-López Gil Kane Jack Kirby George Perez Curt Swan
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Post by Deleted on May 7, 2022 17:46:56 GMT -5
Junji Ito -- Uzumaki -- amazing horror story. Absolutely grotesque and thrilling. If you like horror, you owe it to yourself to track this down. FULLY agree. I'm not even a big horror person, but my daughter loves Junji Ito and shared this with me, and yes, absolutely amazing.
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Post by tarkintino on May 7, 2022 18:43:11 GMT -5
Tillie Walden: no. That kind of art is not my cup of tea.
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Post by Trevor on May 8, 2022 6:31:55 GMT -5
Day Thirty-Seven Response and Wrap—Up
I’m sure I’m not the only one who as a kid didn’t appreciate the classic art of people like Don Heck and Carmine Infantino, and gravitated to the “flashy” and “new” artists. I’ve grown to appreciate these masters, but I’m now more into stylized and off-beat art and don’t care much for the classic superhero styles.
That said, I was big into Superman as a kid so Curt Swan will always be fairly high up my list, not top ten anymore though. Those years of buying 20 cent DC comics off the racks at 7-11 will always be my fondest comic memories.
The more I learn of and read Archie Goodwin, the more I realize we owe a lot to him. Marie Severin too. Workhorses who deserved more spotlight.
My list stays at 9. Frank Miller Jack Kirby Carl Barks Alan Moore Mike Mignola Jeff Lemire Bernie Wrightson Matt Wagner Will Eisner
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Post by Trevor on May 8, 2022 6:34:42 GMT -5
Day Thirty-Eight Choices
Standard disclaimers on this Bronze Age slate: many of these spanned multiple Ages, many others were nominated earlier, and many great creators won’t be mentioned here due to space. So please use wildcards if needed and tell us all about your Bronze Age favorites.
Bronze Age 1970-1985
Rich Buckler drew for just about every comic company ever, but is probably best known for creating Deathlok and drawing a lot of Fantastic Four. I know him best from his great DC work on All-Star Squadron and World’s Finest. We all owe him thanks for not only decades of great art, but for giving George Perez his first job in the industry. Mike Grell has so many career highlights. He’d be on this list just for his creation Warlord, but also had memorable runs on Legion and Green Lantern, rebooted Green Arrow in 1987, and created Jon Sable. Len Wein would be here just for co-creating Swamp Thing. But he also co-created a minor character over at Marvel called Wolverine, and most of the new X-Men. I can’t do his career justice, but just his editing or just his writing would be enough to consider him among the greats. Dick Giordano started drawing comics in the Golden Age, and continued into the Modern Age, but I think best belongs here. An amazing career editing and managing lines, and still drawing up until his death in 2010. I had forgotten that he inked some issues of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman. Mark Evanier has written books for several companies, but is probably best known for working with Sergio on what must be close to 200 issues of Groo. He’s also a great comic historian and has had numerous must-read columns and blogs over the decades. Bill Mantlo co-created Rocket Racoon and Cloak & Dagger, and is perhaps best known for long writing runs on the licensed properties Rom and Micronauts. Both were so much better than most such comics, and I’m continually saddened that he was the victim of a hit-and-run accident and has been in institutional care for 30 years now. Al Milgrom co-created Firestorm, but is probably best known for his Marvel work that included helming Marvel Fanfare, inking a lot of Starlin, and runs writing, penciling, or inking many characters. Davis Michelinie co-created Venom, Carnage, Scott Lang, Claw, and War Machine. Has written a lot for Marvel and DC, and several other companies, from 1974 to today. Jim Shooter has made an impact. I’ll let somebody else flesh out some thoughts on him if they choose. Frank Brunner did beautiful work at Marvel in the 70s on mostly Doctor Strange and Howard the Duck. Has a few bits of other notable work at various companies but has apparently been mostly working in the film industry since the 90s. Had a couple Marvel stories pop up in 2010. Not a ton of info easy to find on his life and career decisions, will have to seek out interviews or stories about him. Anyone know more?
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2022 6:48:02 GMT -5
Pretty much every Bronze Age choice today was an important part of my childhood, but I actually need to play the wildcard: Dave CockrumCostume designer without peer, my favorite Legion of Super-Heroes artist during also my favorite era, and of course his classic X-Men run. I also just happen to really like him as an artist overall. And with that, I have crossed the finish line with my top ten and really love how the list finally came together. Thanks Trevor , a lot of fun here and definitely a lot of new names for me to explore in the process. Ross Andru John Buscema Sal Buscema Dave Cockrum Steve Ditko José Luis García-López Gil Kane Jack Kirby George Pérez Curt Swan
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