So, I don't know if everyone has been reading all of the comments for this weeks CDC, but there has been some discussion (amongst the obvious definitions of when certain "ages" of comics start/ end) between myself and William Peterson about the merit of modern comic book art styles. WillyPete hates them, judging by his comments, whereas I, who has grown up with this sort of art being the norm, quite like them. So I want to get your guys opinion on it. Do you like the art style of modern comics, or do you prefer the older silver/ bronze age art styles?
For the sake of ease we'll define Silver Age as the 1960's, Bronze Age as 1970's and the Modern Age as post 2000, just to clear up any confusion and to make sure we don't go into the 90's hate again, because we can all agree that was mostly rubbish and anyway that's not what I'm talking about.
Also, if you guys want me to make this an on-going weekly blog post again like it was last summer, I'm open to it. I've got one, maybe two ideas for questions, but if you want to make suggestions, I will take those into consideration.
Anyway, JR out.
Curt Swan is the MAN! None of the earlier or later artists made me believe the colorfully garbed people could actually do what they did, but I believed Curt. The Silver Age also had Neal Adams and Gray Morrow kicking your eyeballs into the back of your head, but Curt (who never knew it, of course) taught me how to draw realistic figures in a wide variety of poses.
I always found that when the style and medium is right for the content, it’s easier to forget it’s even there. That being said, when an old story is too modern, it’s almost jarring to not have it remade. So for me it’s not whether I like the style, it’s whether I like the style ‘on the story,’ like a garment on a person.
I don’t necessarily prefer one era’s art style over another, although I admit to a sometimes irrational fondness for the comic art I grew up with. However, what reals bugs me is when younger fans dismiss older artists. Because much of what catches the eye in modern comic art is digital lighting effects, gradients, etc. added by the colorist. Strip those away to reveal the bare pencils and I think the best older pencillers compare favorably to the best modern pencillers. The difference is that the mediocre and bad artists (let’s face it, the preponderence of any era) from the Silver and Bronze Ages didn’t have digital camouflage to hide the meh.