I confess I don’t know a lot of comic book artists by name. But after buying and reading the hardcover of Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” with Colleen Doran’s art (and her Notes at the end), I can easily say I was absolutely blown away by her work. That and some of her work in The Sandman series, as well as I’m now following her here on Substack where she shares some of her art, make her my hands down favorite.
Frank Miller. His Daredevil run is still great. I probably read the double-size Bullseye v. Elektra (DD #181) every day for about a month when it came out, and I still flip through pages of his DD omnibus now and then. His early work was so fascinatingly precise and clear yet still expressive and dynamic. I don't have much to say about him post - "Dark Knight Returns" but I'll never not love his classic DD work.
#2 is Walt Simonson (his Thor especially), #3 John Byrne (X-Men / Fantastic Four years). Yeah, I'm pretty much exclusively a Marvel guy.
I have these Frank Miller Daredevil issues too (and the main omnibus)! But I don't dig his later output where he's gone heavy and chunky, kind of like Carlos Ezquerra. EDIT: SIN CITY. Yeah, that's peak Frank Miller IMHO.
Absolutely Kirby! I also love “The Studio” artists: Michael Wm Kaluta, Barry Windsor Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Jeffrey Catherine Jones. This list could go on…
I have so many opinions, but I'll say Jaime Hernandez, if only because I'm limiting myself to living artists, and being uncharitable to Arthur Adams and Steve Rude.
I'm going to go with 2 unorthodox picks. Both are amazing artists and writers, and I first became aware of both of them when they were working on webcomics. The first is Karl Kerschl, who has done a lot of work with DC from Teen Titans to Superman to Gotham Academy. But one day he sat down and decided to create his own pet project called The Abominable Charles Christopher. It's gorgeous and heartfelt and amazing in so many ways. And it can be found here: https://karlkerschl.com/comic/episode-one/
The second is Christopher Hastings, who started out writing and drawing Dr. McNinja. The titular character is, surprisingly, a doctor who is also a ninja. It's hilarious and does a great job of mixing action and comedy. He's gone on to do a lot of things with Marvel, to include the creation of Gwen-pool, but a quick Wikipedia check tells me most if not all of that is as a writer. Unfortunately, it looks like the Dr. McNinja site is no longer up, but they're well worth finding in print, too.
David Mazzucchelli, because, even though his superhero runs are brief, no one drew the genre like him; the shadows; the weight of line; the texture. And then he goes and starts writing his own works, evolving into a simpler yet somehow more complex style. Astounding!
And Xaime Hernandez. His style was so perfectly formed almost right out of the gate, and so consistent over the last four decades, you almost take for granted, everytime you look at a panel, that you're looking at some of the greatest cartooning in the history of the medium.
Honourable mentions: Eleanor Davis, Kevin O'Neill, Michael Lark, Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Rutu Modan, Bissette/Totleben, Sean Phillips, Emily Carroll, Leonard Starr.
Oh man, this could be a very long answer, but JH Williams III is probably my favorite working artist. From Promethea (which is breathtaking from a formalist standpoint), to Batwoman, to Batman, to Desolation Jones, to the bookends of Seven Soldiers (still probably the best mainstream superhero universe mini-series ever), his work is absolutely stunning. Following that, the grotesque beauty of Frank Quitely, especially WE3, X-Men and All-Star Superman.
I may be a snob, the greatest comic book artist is surely R. Crumb. Nobody comes close to him in originality, humor, drawing skill, and depth of content.
My artist of the moment is Daniel Warren Johnson for the visceral energy in his work.
The artist I wish I could draw like is probably Dave Stevens. Such an amazing draftsman.
The artist that made me love comics was John Byrne. I still have a soft spot for his versions of Marvel and DC characters.
But the GOAT is Kirby, without question. I don't think there's been a single artist working in the superhero genre post-Kirby that wasn't consciously or unconsciously trying to do what he did. The man was a literal creative engine. There would be no Marvel without him.
Stuart Immonen. He shapes and outlines have such visual appeal and he can draw in so many different styles, but always in a pleasing way. His facial expressions bring so much life and emotion to the characters.
2000AD was the genesis of my love of comics. This means Carlos Ezquerra comes out on top. His STRONTIUM DOG, featuring Johnny Alpha, is legendary. The only artist to draw Johnny Alpha that even comes near is Simon Harrison, who is also incredible. Another Harrison from 2000AD that I love is Mark Harrison, artist of THE OUT, which is still ongoing in the comic. Kevin O'Neill's NEMESIS THE WARLOCK comes close on the heels of Ezquerra (also love his work on Alan Moore's THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN). In some ways, I think Simon Harrison's work was a natural progression of O'Neill's art style).
So many 2000AD alumni broke into the US market (such as Steve Dillion, whose PUNISHER and PREACHER work are also great), but I'll leave 2000AD alone now to discuss US artists. I tend to love these artists who are both artist and writer, like Ganzeer, whose THE SOLAR GRID is nearly complete.
But I'm leading up to my second pick, Carl Barks. This writer/artist rivals Kirby IMHO. Kirby is suitably renowned for creating all the iconic Marvel characters, but I came to him through NEW GODS which left me unsatisfied (and later realized he created characters such as Iron Man, etc.). Back to Carl Barks. I came to him through the BP petrol station newsprint DONALD DUCK and UNCLE SCROOGE comic strips even before I grew up a little and got into 2000AD. His genius at forming narratives through three panels is so great (only Bill Watterson's CALVIN AND HOBBES comes close, with Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS a close second).
American artists sitting on my bookshelf here in Mexico City (most of my library is in boxes in New Zealand) include Greg Tocchini's LOW (with Rick Remender), Rafael Albuquerque's AMERICAN VAMPIRE (with Scott Snyder), Becky Cloonan's SOMNA, and Chip Zdarsky's BIG SEX CRIMINALS (with Matt Fraction - whose work on HAWKEYE with David Aja is also awesome) and his recent DAREDEVIL run, and last but not least, Fiona Staples' SAGA (with Brian Vaughan).
Goseki Kojima's LONE WOLF AND CUB is such a magnum opus that casts a long shadow over all manga. His characters are seared into my mind, such was the detailed emotions that Kojima wrought across their faces and bodies through these 28 books.
Finally, I would like to mention Hugo Pratt, writer/artist of CORTO MALTESE. His sparse lines, superlative action sequences, and casual European sensibility hit me like a brick in the face.
Honorable mentions go to Stan Sakai, writer/artist of USAGI YOJIMBO, Jeff Smith, writer/artist of BONE, and Mike Mignola, writer/artist of the early issues of HELLBOY.
There are many more that I've forgotten, such as Brian Michael Bendis, Sean Phillips (CRIMINAL), Brian Bolland, Cam Kennedy, David Mack (KABUKI, ECHO), Henry Flint, Bredan McCarthy, Ian Gibson (BALLAD OF HALO JONES!, ROBO HUNTER!), Frank Miller (DAREDEVIL and SIN CITY), Jamie Hewlett (TANK GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (PARKER!!) and Jim Starlin (my black and white collected copy of his SUPERMAN AND STARMAN VERSUS MONGUL THE MERCILESS fell to pieces when I was 12 years old and I haven't been able to find it again).
John Romita Jr. is one artist I keep going back to – he's been great in so many different eras on so many different titles, and his style is so distinctive! And Darwyn Cooke's art is just so wonderful. I've got a photo folder full of Cooke panels and random art I look back on often. His cover for Detective Comics #37 (new 52 era) is maybe my favorite cover of all time.
Two others I adore but don't see mentioned as often: David Aja and Olivier Coipel. Just the coolest.
Gene Colan for me. I liked the openness of John Romita’s work, the gut-busting cartoony energy of Kirby, the clean precision of Don Heck, but Colan’s stuff was rawer and it was real. He could skimp on background detail, favoring tight shots that let him focus on the characters. But after all, the characters’ feelings and actions are what matter in a story. Lavishly depicted scenery in a comic book is like descriptive prose in a novel – you want just enough. And Colan knew exactly how much that was.
Take a guy hailing a cab in the rain. Kirby would give you a beautifully formalized fire hydrant and newspapers billowing soggily in the gutter. Ditko might give you a shot down on the whole street, with rain sluicing off gargoyles and the character dwarfed by the elements. Colan, though – he’d just show part of a building, the curb and the fuzzy headlights lights of the cab, all as sketchily under-detailed as possible, leaving the emphasis on the man raising his arm. And that line of action would be perfect – not the “model posed in the act” that most comics artists would give you, but a panel like a paparazzi shot, catching a moment of action in a continuous movement.
I confess I don’t know a lot of comic book artists by name. But after buying and reading the hardcover of Neil Gaiman’s “Snow, Glass, Apples” with Colleen Doran’s art (and her Notes at the end), I can easily say I was absolutely blown away by her work. That and some of her work in The Sandman series, as well as I’m now following her here on Substack where she shares some of her art, make her my hands down favorite.
I love Colleen! I've interviewed her for my artist-on-artist conversation series, and we had lunch this past year when she visited Australia!
It was your artist-on-artist conversation that prompted me to seek out her work!
Making people fans of art and artists I love is so satisfying!
Frank Miller. His Daredevil run is still great. I probably read the double-size Bullseye v. Elektra (DD #181) every day for about a month when it came out, and I still flip through pages of his DD omnibus now and then. His early work was so fascinatingly precise and clear yet still expressive and dynamic. I don't have much to say about him post - "Dark Knight Returns" but I'll never not love his classic DD work.
#2 is Walt Simonson (his Thor especially), #3 John Byrne (X-Men / Fantastic Four years). Yeah, I'm pretty much exclusively a Marvel guy.
I have these Frank Miller Daredevil issues too (and the main omnibus)! But I don't dig his later output where he's gone heavy and chunky, kind of like Carlos Ezquerra. EDIT: SIN CITY. Yeah, that's peak Frank Miller IMHO.
Frank Miller is a wonderful artist. Simonson and Byrne helped define my childhood.
Absolutely Kirby! I also love “The Studio” artists: Michael Wm Kaluta, Barry Windsor Smith, Bernie Wrightson, Jeffrey Catherine Jones. This list could go on…
Barry Windsor Smith is a great call. I know it's not his most iconic work, but what he did for Valiant is some of my favorite stuff from the 90s.
I have so many opinions, but I'll say Jaime Hernandez, if only because I'm limiting myself to living artists, and being uncharitable to Arthur Adams and Steve Rude.
Otherwise: Wally Wood, Gil Kane, or Darwyn Cooke.
I still dwell on what a loss Darwyn Cooke was, dying so young.
Hugo Pratt? Sergio Toppi? Alberto Breccia? Moebius? Philippe Druillet? Enki Bilal? Katsuhiro Otomo? Masamune Shirow? Hirohiko Araki?
C'mon, Cole... why did you do this to me...? XDDDD
I'm going to go with 2 unorthodox picks. Both are amazing artists and writers, and I first became aware of both of them when they were working on webcomics. The first is Karl Kerschl, who has done a lot of work with DC from Teen Titans to Superman to Gotham Academy. But one day he sat down and decided to create his own pet project called The Abominable Charles Christopher. It's gorgeous and heartfelt and amazing in so many ways. And it can be found here: https://karlkerschl.com/comic/episode-one/
The second is Christopher Hastings, who started out writing and drawing Dr. McNinja. The titular character is, surprisingly, a doctor who is also a ninja. It's hilarious and does a great job of mixing action and comedy. He's gone on to do a lot of things with Marvel, to include the creation of Gwen-pool, but a quick Wikipedia check tells me most if not all of that is as a writer. Unfortunately, it looks like the Dr. McNinja site is no longer up, but they're well worth finding in print, too.
I don't know these two books at all. Thanks for the empassioned pointers!
David Mazzucchelli, because, even though his superhero runs are brief, no one drew the genre like him; the shadows; the weight of line; the texture. And then he goes and starts writing his own works, evolving into a simpler yet somehow more complex style. Astounding!
And Xaime Hernandez. His style was so perfectly formed almost right out of the gate, and so consistent over the last four decades, you almost take for granted, everytime you look at a panel, that you're looking at some of the greatest cartooning in the history of the medium.
Honourable mentions: Eleanor Davis, Kevin O'Neill, Michael Lark, Chris Ware, Charles Burns, Rutu Modan, Bissette/Totleben, Sean Phillips, Emily Carroll, Leonard Starr.
So many great names here. Thanks for bringing up Mazzucchelli, though - I only really see Batman as he illustrated the character.
Sam Keith, because "The Maxx"
As a kid Chester Gould (Dick Tracy) and jack Kirby were my greatest influences!!! to this this day they are the gold standard for me!!!
Oh man, this could be a very long answer, but JH Williams III is probably my favorite working artist. From Promethea (which is breathtaking from a formalist standpoint), to Batwoman, to Batman, to Desolation Jones, to the bookends of Seven Soldiers (still probably the best mainstream superhero universe mini-series ever), his work is absolutely stunning. Following that, the grotesque beauty of Frank Quitely, especially WE3, X-Men and All-Star Superman.
Thanks for sharing!
I may be a snob, the greatest comic book artist is surely R. Crumb. Nobody comes close to him in originality, humor, drawing skill, and depth of content.
Why do you think that makes you a snob?
Man, can I only pick one?
My artist of the moment is Daniel Warren Johnson for the visceral energy in his work.
The artist I wish I could draw like is probably Dave Stevens. Such an amazing draftsman.
The artist that made me love comics was John Byrne. I still have a soft spot for his versions of Marvel and DC characters.
But the GOAT is Kirby, without question. I don't think there's been a single artist working in the superhero genre post-Kirby that wasn't consciously or unconsciously trying to do what he did. The man was a literal creative engine. There would be no Marvel without him.
Dave Stevens is a great pick. Surprised no one else brought him up.
Stuart Immonen. He shapes and outlines have such visual appeal and he can draw in so many different styles, but always in a pleasing way. His facial expressions bring so much life and emotion to the characters.
2000AD was the genesis of my love of comics. This means Carlos Ezquerra comes out on top. His STRONTIUM DOG, featuring Johnny Alpha, is legendary. The only artist to draw Johnny Alpha that even comes near is Simon Harrison, who is also incredible. Another Harrison from 2000AD that I love is Mark Harrison, artist of THE OUT, which is still ongoing in the comic. Kevin O'Neill's NEMESIS THE WARLOCK comes close on the heels of Ezquerra (also love his work on Alan Moore's THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN). In some ways, I think Simon Harrison's work was a natural progression of O'Neill's art style).
So many 2000AD alumni broke into the US market (such as Steve Dillion, whose PUNISHER and PREACHER work are also great), but I'll leave 2000AD alone now to discuss US artists. I tend to love these artists who are both artist and writer, like Ganzeer, whose THE SOLAR GRID is nearly complete.
But I'm leading up to my second pick, Carl Barks. This writer/artist rivals Kirby IMHO. Kirby is suitably renowned for creating all the iconic Marvel characters, but I came to him through NEW GODS which left me unsatisfied (and later realized he created characters such as Iron Man, etc.). Back to Carl Barks. I came to him through the BP petrol station newsprint DONALD DUCK and UNCLE SCROOGE comic strips even before I grew up a little and got into 2000AD. His genius at forming narratives through three panels is so great (only Bill Watterson's CALVIN AND HOBBES comes close, with Charles M. Schulz's PEANUTS a close second).
American artists sitting on my bookshelf here in Mexico City (most of my library is in boxes in New Zealand) include Greg Tocchini's LOW (with Rick Remender), Rafael Albuquerque's AMERICAN VAMPIRE (with Scott Snyder), Becky Cloonan's SOMNA, and Chip Zdarsky's BIG SEX CRIMINALS (with Matt Fraction - whose work on HAWKEYE with David Aja is also awesome) and his recent DAREDEVIL run, and last but not least, Fiona Staples' SAGA (with Brian Vaughan).
Goseki Kojima's LONE WOLF AND CUB is such a magnum opus that casts a long shadow over all manga. His characters are seared into my mind, such was the detailed emotions that Kojima wrought across their faces and bodies through these 28 books.
Finally, I would like to mention Hugo Pratt, writer/artist of CORTO MALTESE. His sparse lines, superlative action sequences, and casual European sensibility hit me like a brick in the face.
Honorable mentions go to Stan Sakai, writer/artist of USAGI YOJIMBO, Jeff Smith, writer/artist of BONE, and Mike Mignola, writer/artist of the early issues of HELLBOY.
There are many more that I've forgotten, such as Brian Michael Bendis, Sean Phillips (CRIMINAL), Brian Bolland, Cam Kennedy, David Mack (KABUKI, ECHO), Henry Flint, Bredan McCarthy, Ian Gibson (BALLAD OF HALO JONES!, ROBO HUNTER!), Frank Miller (DAREDEVIL and SIN CITY), Jamie Hewlett (TANK GIRL), Darwyn Cooke (PARKER!!) and Jim Starlin (my black and white collected copy of his SUPERMAN AND STARMAN VERSUS MONGUL THE MERCILESS fell to pieces when I was 12 years old and I haven't been able to find it again).
THERE IS TOO MUCH TO REPLY TO HERE!!! Hahahahahahaha.
I guess you can tell, I love comics. lol
John Romita Jr. is one artist I keep going back to – he's been great in so many different eras on so many different titles, and his style is so distinctive! And Darwyn Cooke's art is just so wonderful. I've got a photo folder full of Cooke panels and random art I look back on often. His cover for Detective Comics #37 (new 52 era) is maybe my favorite cover of all time.
Two others I adore but don't see mentioned as often: David Aja and Olivier Coipel. Just the coolest.
I've known John a bit for around 15 years now. He actually joined me for one of my artist-on-artist conversations after his father died. Such a great guy! https://colehaddon.substack.com/p/q-and-a-comic-book-legend-john-romita?utm_source=publication-search
Gene Colan for me. I liked the openness of John Romita’s work, the gut-busting cartoony energy of Kirby, the clean precision of Don Heck, but Colan’s stuff was rawer and it was real. He could skimp on background detail, favoring tight shots that let him focus on the characters. But after all, the characters’ feelings and actions are what matter in a story. Lavishly depicted scenery in a comic book is like descriptive prose in a novel – you want just enough. And Colan knew exactly how much that was.
Take a guy hailing a cab in the rain. Kirby would give you a beautifully formalized fire hydrant and newspapers billowing soggily in the gutter. Ditko might give you a shot down on the whole street, with rain sluicing off gargoyles and the character dwarfed by the elements. Colan, though – he’d just show part of a building, the curb and the fuzzy headlights lights of the cab, all as sketchily under-detailed as possible, leaving the emphasis on the man raising his arm. And that line of action would be perfect – not the “model posed in the act” that most comics artists would give you, but a panel like a paparazzi shot, catching a moment of action in a continuous movement.
Love this breakdown of how different artists would illustrate the guy hailing a cab!