A Brush With Greatness

Due to actions beyond my control, I have been dealing with a lot of Conan lately. Savage Sword of Conan, actually. If you want to know why, check out Cliff and Charles' blogs.

But in any case, while dealing with these magazines, I had a moment of reflection. About comic art, so don't think I was getting deep or anything.

Specifically, I thought about Alex Ross. Not because of all the work he did for Savage Sword, because to the best of my knowledge, he didn't do any, but rather about how he is currently the end-all of comic painters. He wasn't the first, and he won't be the last.

In fact, I saw the work of three of his more noted predecesors on the pages of those magazines. And it pretty much reflected three decades worth of comic painters in one series.

For the 1990's we had the work of Joe Jusko. Joe did some fine work, filled with bright colors and neo-classical design. But, I am sad to say, there was nothing about Joe's work that spoke to me. I found him technically good, but uninspired. But I was obviously in the minority, as he garnered a world of fans that had him up on the highest pedestal.

For the 1980's there was Bill Sienkiewicz. That's pronounced "Bill" for those wondering (as he once told me himself). Now I was, and remain, a huge fan of this man's work. It shows passion and design, along with an understanding of storytelling in his panel-to-panel work and dynamicism in his stand-alone paintings. I have always wanted to own one of his painted originals, and perhaps one day will. I already have some of his black and white linework, so that's a start. But I digress...Bill was very popular, but had much more of a schism to his following, as it seemed just as many people hated his stuff as loved it. To me though, it's brilliant.

And for the 1970's we have Richard Corben. Corben's airbrush style landed him at the top of the comic game for a while, and also brought him to the attention of the marketing industry as his work appeared on any number of books, albums, and whatnot. His style was always hit-or-miss for me, with some pieces looking brilliant and others horribly deformed, but in his day he was king of comic painters.

Now, this is far from a complete list. There have been a wealth of painters who have made significant contributions to the comic field. Some guy named Frazetta leaps to mind. But this is me talking about the three folks whose work struck out at me from the cover of Conan, and what they are in my mind.

And all three of these people are still active in the comic community. They still produce work for companies, and there are still folks who are thrilled to see their work. But they aren't the top dog anymore. That's where Alex Ross sits. Ross' near photo-realistic styling has people ooh-ing and ahh-ing left and right--for now. But there will come a time when he will fade. Someone else will come along and he will thrown out like yesterday's guache.