Ross Andru's Spiderman

[Paiute 1]

Did you like Andru's Spiderman?

Although I did not like him at first, replacing Romita and Kane was a big deal, he finally grew on me especialy with Giacoia as his Inker.

I did like him with Esposito or Dezuniga's inks but Mooney and McCleod brought out his best.

Overall I would rate him right Behind Romita, Bagley, Mcfarlane, and Kane.

[edhopper]

I never took to him as a Spidey artist. Also that whole Jackel-Spidermoblie period was pretty lame.

[The Confessor]

Also that whole Jackel-Spidermoblie period was pretty lame.

What?!! There's nout wrong with either The Jackel or the Spider-Mobile I tells ya!


Yes, I love Ross Andru's work on Amazing Spider-Man...more than Gil Kane's actually, although Kane's work was also very good. Ross Andru is right up there alongside Ditko and Romita Sr. in terms of my favourite Spider-Man artists from the first 20 years of the character.

One of my favourite things about Andru's work on Amazing Spider-Man is the vertigo inducing way he draws the New York cityscape below Spidey when he's web-slinging around town. I'll have to see if I can dig up an example of this from one of the issues of ASM that Andru penciled but trust me, his backdrops during these kind of mid-air scenes really serve to convey what it would be like to be suspended on a web-line hundreds of feet above the ground.

The other reason I really like Ross Andru's stuff on ASM is because of the way he draws Peter Parker and his supporting cast. In particular I feel that he drew just about the best ever Gwen Stacy. I mean, sure, it was actually the clone Gwen, and both Romita Sr. and Gil Kane's rendition of the character weren't too shabby but Ross Andru's Gwen was just lovely.
Tragic but lovely…



http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/9287/gwenstacyclassic01z.jpg




EDIT: I've just done a quick Google search and found this comic page which perfectly illustrates the "vertigo inducing" effect I mentioned, that Andru was able to pull off so well...

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/1870/spidermanbyrossandru01v.jpg

[benday-dot]

Overall I would rate him right Behind Romita, Bagley, Mcfarlane, and Kane.

No love for pappy Ditko?

[JKCarrier]

I'll always have a soft spot for Andru's Spidey, since he was the artist when I first started reading the book. And yes, he was great at those dramatic angle shots.

[Red Oak Kid]

At the time Andru took over, I wasn't happy with his version. But I had been spoiled by Romita and with Kane with Romita inks. At that time I would have said that Romita inks over Kane pencils were the best. Kane did not seem to over use his stock poses on Spiderman the way he did on other comics. But I don't know how long he could have stayed fresh if he had been on Spiderman for an extended period.

I quit reading comics in general at the time Andru took over Spiderman.

However when I see some of the work of artists who followed Andru, I have a new appreciation for Andru's work. It looks pretty good to me now. And it's great to see that he stayed on it long enough that there is a generation of fans who say Andru is their Spiderman artist.

Ditko was already long gone by the time I discovered Spiderman. I can appreciate his art on the character. But since I was not reading them when they were new on the stands, I can't fully appreciate the strong connection his version made with the fans at the time.

Fans of Ditko's Spiderman seem almost like a cult. A good cult.

[Reptisaurus!]

Yeah, not a huge fan of Andru's Spider-man. But maybe I don't like stuff that reminds me of my terrible childhood. :)

[jbuonacc]

i actually like Andru's work quite a bit, at least as much as Romita or Kane. oddly enough, right now i'd have to say my favorite team is probably Keith Pollard and Jim Mooney from around the ~200 range of ASM. love the way they drew Peter and just about everything else in those books.

i'd also like to add that i can't stand Ditko and think he's completely over-rated as an artist (though he should certainly get heaps of credit for what he did with the character of Spider-Man in the first place). not a huge fan of Bagley so far from what i've seen either. yeah, looking at his stuff again, i don't like him much at all.

[ForeverTaskmaster]

To me Ross Andru is the ultimate Spiderman artist.
I am most fond of his run.

[spoon_jenkins]

I enjoy a lot of the Ross Andru era of Spider-Man. Andru isn't one of my top favorites, but he's pretty solid.

One of my favourite things about Andru's work on Amazing Spider-Man is the vertigo inducing way he draws the New York cityscape below Spidey when he's web-slinging around town. I'll have to see if I can dig up an example of this from one of the issues of ASM that Andru penciled but trust me, his backdrops during these kind of mid-air scenes really serve to convey what it would be like to be suspended on a web-line hundreds of feet above the ground.
Yeah, this is one of the things I like about Andru's Spider-Man. And he depicted action well in general.

The other reason I really like Ross Andru's stuff on ASM is because of the way he draws Peter Parker and his supporting cast. In particular I feel that he drew just about the best ever Gwen Stacy. I mean, sure, it was actually the clone Gwen, and both Romita Sr. and Gil Kane's rendition of the character weren't too shabby but Ross Andru's Gwen was just lovely.
On the other hand, I'm not as enthusiastic about Andru's work on Peter and the supporting cast. He drew Gwen and MJ pretty well, but I'm not too enthusiastic about his Aunt May or Peter. I think sometimes his facial expressions were weird so it didn't look like the character had the right mood. Sometimes they looked demonic, particularly Aunt May. His J. Jonah Jameson was okay because you can get away with JJJ looking inappropriately angry.

[Cei-U!]

Ross Andru is my second favorite Spidey artist ever, closely trailing Ditko, since waaaay back in '68 and Marvel Super-Heroes #14. If ever an artist was liberated by the switch from working full-script to plot-first ("Marvel-style"), it was Ross. His page layouts and panel compositions are brilliant, seamlessly guiding the eye smoothly from action to action; he uses facial expressions, body language, even the characters' clothing choices to deepen our understanding of who they are and what they're doing; his background work is incredible, using real New York landmarks (and not just NYC, check out his Parisian cityscapes!) instead of the dull, generic backdrops used by Gil Kane, et al. His work is basically inkerproof, shining through even from beneath such heavy hands as Mooney and DeZuniga. Only a handful of later artists--Zeck, Romita, Jr--came close to striking the same chord for me.

Cei-U!
I summon the best of the '70s Spidey pencilers!

[dan bailey]

Marvel Super-Heroes #14.

My recentishly obtained copy of which I was glancing through just a couple of nights ago. Very nice Bill Everett inking job.

[Paiute 1]

No love for pappy Ditko?

Never was a big Ditko fan, I grew up on Romita Sr, maybe it was his romance background but he drew beutiful people and his action shots were great.

He totaly redefined Spidey's rouges gallery.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I'll always have a soft spot for Andru's Spidey, since he was the artist when I first started reading the book. And yes, he was great at those dramatic angle shots.

Same here.

And I LOVED his work on the Spidey/Superman crossover.

[Slam_Bradley]

Big fan of Andru's Spidey here. Probably due to the fact that he was on the book when I started reading it. He's in my top four Spidey artists.

[Endless Flight]

Probably my favorite Spider-Man artist.

[benday-dot]

i'd also like to add that i can't stand Ditko and think he's completely over-rated as an artist

Parsing the above statement:

1st part: Not being able to stand Ditko is a common enough sentiment, even if its one I absolutely don't share.

2nd part: It really isn't credible to claim that Ditko is overrated as an artist. Even if you don't like him his bona fides as a ground breaking and ultra accomplished original, true master of the comic book arts, is indisputable. That's not just my opinion it's the verdict of comic art history.

[MWGallaher]

I didn't especially enjoy Andru's Spider-Man when it was being published, but then I didn't care for the character much at all, then. But when I looked back at Superman vs. Spider-Man for the first time in about 15 years, I was stunned by how well he did Spider-Man. I'd rank him as my second favorite Spidey artist now, after Ditko; I never managed to really warm to Romita at all, shocking though it may seem.

[C.O. Jones]

My 1st Spidey was a fresh-off-the-shelves ASM #135 from 1974.

Since then I own every Spidey he's done except for Spidey vs. Supes.

Is there any info on the Hunt guy who they gave credit to for doing a lot of the background art back then? He was great!

[Cei-U!]

Is there any info on the Hunt guy who they gave credit to for doing a lot of the background art back then? He was great!

That would be Dave Hunt, who went on to a fine career as an inker in his own right. Among his credits are a long run inking Jose Delbo on Wonder Woman and a number of nice Curt Swan issues of DC Comics Presents.

Cei-U!
Likes Hunt's clean, clear inks!

[MDG]

That would be Dave Hunt, who went on to a fine career as an inker in his own right. Among his credits are a long run inking Jose Delbo on Wonder Woman and a number of nice Curt Swan issues of DC Comics Presents.

Cei-U!
Likes Hunt's clean, clear inks!
Hunt also did a nice job over Kurt Shaffenberger on The New Adventures of Superboy.

[jbuonacc]

Parsing the above statement:

1st part: Not being able to stand Ditko is a common enough sentiment, even if its one I absolutely don't share.

really? i've usually only seen praise for his work.

2nd part: It really isn't credible to claim that Ditko is overrated as an artist. Even if you don't like him his bona fides as a ground breaking and ultra accomplished original, true master of the comic book arts, is indisputable. That's not just my opinion it's the verdict of comic art history.

...which would be where the 'over-rated' part comes in. :smile: i think he's very sloppy for the most part. would he really be so acclaimed if he didn't work on Spider-Man? not so sure... then again, would Spider-Man and all his neat-o enemies exist without him?

[benday-dot]

really? i've usually only seen praise for his work.



...which would be where the 'over-rated' part comes in. :smile: i think he's very sloppy for the most part. would he really be so acclaimed if he didn't work on Spider-Man? not so sure... then again, would Spider-Man and all his neat-o enemies exist without him?

I've talked to and met plenty of people who just don't care for Ditko's inimitable style. It can be an acquired taste.

Certainly Spider-Man is Ditko's best known and celebrated work, for obvious reasons. But really Spidey is just one chapter in the man's impressive cv. Even looking beyond his highly regarded and seriously stunning work on Doctor Strange, Ditko's short stories (and there were many, many of these) for 50's Charlton and Atlas books are highly worthy of praise. His artistic vocabulary was minted in these years, and it was in this period that his moody and ultra-expressive aesthetic first came to notice. And particularly evident was a penchant for tight, richly detailed pencils replete with wonderful cross-hatching, stipple work and gorgeously inked panels. Ditko continued to gift us with magnificently inventive work through his 60's DC and Charlton work (actually continuing into the 70's.) Only with his later self-published (objectivist) work did his art, if still impressively composed, fail to to measure up in its rendering with all those past glories

[InfoBroker]

would he really be so acclaimed if he didn't work on Spider-Man?

and Dr. Strange, Blue Beetle, Mr. A, The Question, Mysterious Traveller...

Besides, the real question is, would Spider-man be the massively successful Super-hero that he is today, without all that character defining that Steve (along with Stan) is responsible for establishing?

And if comics historians, noted fans and pros are pretty much in the majority in their high opinion of Steve's artist skills, how can Ben-Day's comment be overrated?

-jb the "Steve is definitely in my top ten all time best comical book storytellers of all time" ib -

[MDG]

Without Spider-Man, I think Ditko's reputation would be similar to someone like Alex Toth--one of the best (and most personal) artists to work in mainstream comics, but without a convenient "hook" to describe who he is.

[spoon_jenkins]

Besides, the real question is, would Spider-man be the massively successful Super-hero that he is today, without all that character defining that Steve (along with Stan) is responsible for establishing?
I'm more of a Romita partisan when it comes to my Spider-Man fandom, but I think it's undeniable that a huge amount was done to establish the Spider-Man mythos. Besides what IB noted above, the Ditko era introduced a lot of supporting characters. And under Ditko, Spider-Man developed perhaps the richest rogues gallery in the Marvel Universe: Kraven, Electro, the Lizard, Doctor Octopus, the Vulture, the Chameleon, the Green Goblin, the Sandman, the Scorpion, Mysterio, etc. They were mostly villains who would be reused repeatedly over the decades; there were very few forgettable ones among them.

[Rob Allen]

Benday and IB have listed most of the highlights of Ditko's career, but no one has mentioned the beautiful work he did for Warren magazines in the mid-60s. If you ever see any of his Warren stories, you aren't likely to forget them - or to question Ditko's skill.

Going back to the original question, I liked Andru's Spider-Man. And Ditko's, and Romita's. My first comic book ever was a Ditko Spider-Man. The transition to Romita didn't bother me at all; I didn't pay much attention to artists and their styles back then. By the time Kane and then Andru drew Spidey, I was paying attention. Andru's work was distinctive, but I never had trouble taking each artist on his own terms. He told the story well, and he could draw what he set out to draw. The Andru/Giacoia/Hunt team produced some great comics.

[benday-dot]

Benday and IB have listed most of the highlights of Ditko's career, but no one has mentioned the beautiful work he did for Warren magazines in the mid-60s. If you ever see any of his Warren stories, you aren't likely to forget them - or to question Ditko's skill.

Going back to the original question, I liked Andru's Spider-Man. And Ditko's, and Romita's. My first comic book ever was a Ditko Spider-Man. The transition to Romita didn't bother me at all; I didn't pay much attention to artists and their styles back then. By the time Kane and then Andru drew Spidey, I was paying attention. Andru's work was distinctive, but I never had trouble taking each artist on his own terms. He told the story well, and he could draw what he set out to draw. The Andru/Giacoia/Hunt team produced some great comics.

Good call on the Warren stuff Rob. You can really tell that after Ditko left Marvel he was really determined to give his all for the new magazine. He hardly disappointed.

And your point that each of the discussed Spidey artists brought something distinct to the web-slingers universe is well taken.

[berk]

I think my appreciation of Andru's Spiderman suffered from the down-sizing to 17 pages that was happening around then. I'd stopped reading comics for 2 or 3 years, and when I came back, that transition from 20 or 21 pages down to 17 was so abrupt for me that it really affected my view of the artwork in all the series I read. Gene Colan's 17-pg Doctor Stranges, great as they were (and they were great) never seemed quite as amazing as his earlier 20-pg issues, for example. And Andru's 17-pg SpiderMan never quite matched the Ditko, Romita, or Kane issues I remembered from before. A lot of this was subjective, I'm sure, but not all of it.

[Paiute 1]

Benday and IB have listed most of the highlights of Ditko's career, but no one has mentioned the beautiful work he did for Warren magazines in the mid-60s. If you ever see any of his Warren stories, you aren't likely to forget them - or to question Ditko's skill.

Going back to the original question, I liked Andru's Spider-Man. And Ditko's, and Romita's. My first comic book ever was a Ditko Spider-Man. The transition to Romita didn't bother me at all; I didn't pay much attention to artists and their styles back then. By the time Kane and then Andru drew Spidey, I was paying attention. Andru's work was distinctive, but I never had trouble taking each artist on his own terms. He told the story well, and he could draw what he set out to draw. The Andru/Giacoia/Hunt team produced some great comics.

Thanks for getting us back on thread, I wanted this to be about Andru, but somehow it became the Ditko thread.

[Paradox]

Andru on Spidey, to me, was a lot like Swan on Superman. I'd never put either of them as "favorite artists", but they were both quite good, although lacking a little of the "flash" of their contemporaries that caught my eye more. Very workman-like, but with moments of brilliance that really stood out (the "vertigo" thing mentioned above is an excellent example). Both were excellent storytellers with steady personifications of their characters. In their day, that was expected, but in these days when characters often change appearance from issue to issue, even panel to panel, their work would stand out for that alone.

[Paiute 1]

Andru on Spidey, to me, was a lot like Swan on Superman. I'd never put either of them as "favorite artists", but they were both quite good, although lacking a little of the "flash" of their contemporaries that caught my eye more. Very workman-like, but with moments of brilliance that really stood out (the "vertigo" thing mentioned above is an excellent example). Both were excellent storytellers with steady personifications of their characters. In their day, that was expected, but in these days when characters often change appearance from issue to issue, even panel to panel, their work would stand out for that alone.

Except I think Ross drew sexier woman. I never thought of Dr. Conners wife as sexy till that Giant Size Spiderman Ross drew, even with Esposito's inks.

[The Confessor]

Except I think Ross drew sexier woman.


I agree with this comment, as I indicated in my earlier post. I'm not sure that Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane ever looked as lovely as when Ross Andru drew them. Although I admit that John Romita Sr.'s Mary Jane was also a total babe.

[Shellhead]

In general, I thought that Ross Andru did a good job on Spider-man, though not quite as good as Romita. Once in a while, Andru drew some peculiar facial expressions and some weird heads. For example, the third panel depicting Glory Grant is a typical Andru headshot gone wrong. Her whole head has a peculiar diagonal slant to it, making it look like she might be missing the front section of her brain:

http://www.spidervillain.com/Cast/GloryGrant/GloryGrantASM140.jpg

I tried to find similar samples, but mostly just found cover art, and Andru's covers are generally decent. I will look up some panel-specific references in one of my Essentials volumes when I get home.

[Alex Dragon]

I think things are probably different now with so many different artists doing a character in such short runs and many characters appearing in multiple titles people get used to seeing many different versions of a character right off the bat. But years ago things were a bit different. For me Ross Andru's version of Spider-man was probably the first one I've ever seen in comics and I accepted that everything he did was "right" because I had nothing to compare it to. For me personally when I think of very early Spider-man it's Andru's version that pops into my head because he was my first Spidey artist. So even though I know there were others before him I judge all other Spidey artists against Ross Andru's version. That's not to say he's the best but to say Ross is my starting point.

I would imagine that's what it's like for any new reader of a comicbook. For some people Ditko is their measuring stick, for newer fans it may be Todd McFarland or even Mark Bagley. So no matter how loudly and often older readers sing the praises of Ditko or Romita their versions don't have the same connection with the character for me personally because I didn't see their versions first. I can acknowledge what they did...but the connection isn't there.

[Rob Allen]

Not related to his art, but - the biggest surprise for me in the Alter Ego issue about Andru & Esposito was the fact that Ross' Scottish-sounding name was misleading - his full name was Rossoslav Andruskevich, and his family was Russian. I'd thought he was a Scot for decades.

[benday-dot]

Not related to his art, but - the biggest surprise for me in the Alter Ego issue about Andru & Esposito was the fact that Ross' Scottish-sounding name was misleading - his full name was Rossoslav Andruskevich, and his family was Russian. I'd thought he was a Scot for decades.

Wow, I had no idea Rob.

[benday-dot]

I think things are probably different now with so many different artists doing a character in such short runs and many characters appearing in multiple titles people get used to seeing many different versions of a character right off the bat. But years ago things were a bit different. For me Ross Andru's version of Spider-man was probably the first one I've ever seen in comics and I accepted that everything he did was "right" because I had nothing to compare it to. For me personally when I think of very early Spider-man it's Andru's version that pops into my head because he was my first Spidey artist. So even though I know there were others before him I judge all other Spidey artists against Ross Andru's version. That's not to say he's the best but to say Ross is my starting point.

I would imagine that's what it's like for any new reader of a comicbook. For some people Ditko is their measuring stick, for newer fans it may be Todd McFarland or even Mark Bagley. So no matter how loudly and often older readers sing the praises of Ditko or Romita their versions don't have the same connection with the character for me personally because I didn't see their versions first. I can acknowledge what they did...but the connection isn't there.

Good point. However, things took a different course for me. Andru was also my first Spider-Man artist, Perez or Buckler my first FF and John Buscema my first Thor depicter. While I have still have a abiding connection to those artists' work they have all been eclipsed by subsequent appreciations. I can no longer think more highly of Andru or Romita than Ditko. Similarly, while I have a lasting affection for Perez FF or Buscema Thor I absolutely love the Kirby versions now, really more approved of and more adored.

[whiteshark]

A big fan of Ross Andru art in the Spider-Man book.
The best artist in the Spider-Man books in my opinion.

Did a Thread in the Spider-Man Forum in which asked who was the best Spider-Man artist some time ago.
And Ross Andru got my vote.

Great drawing Landscapes,Villians,Spider-Mobile,Suporting Cast and Peter Parker and Spider-Man.

[The Confessor]

Ross' Scottish-sounding name was misleading - his full name was Rossoslav Andruskevich, and his family was Russian. I'd thought he was a Scot for decades.


I can't say that I'd ever really thought about it but you're right, Andru does sound like a Scottish name. I had no idea that it wasn't actually his real name either, but was in fact a contraction of his full name.

Mind you, I only found out last week that he was dead. And he died back in 1993! :eek:

So, I'm possibly not the most well informed Ross Andru fan. :redface:




Did a Thread in the Spider-Man Forum in which asked who was the best Spider-Man artist some time ago.
And Ross Andru got my vote.


Yeah, I think I remember that thread whiteshark, although I'm pretty sure I voted for John Romita Sr. since he's my all time, overall, favourite Spidey artist.

[whiteshark]

Yeah, I think I remember that thread whiteshark, although I'm pretty sure I voted for John Romita Sr. since he's my all time, overall, favourite Spidey artist.


My vote went to Ross Andru,but since the Spider-Man books always had great artist`s it was a tough call anyways(Steve Dikto,John Romita Sr,John Romita Jr,Mark Bagley,Erik Larsen,Tod McFarlane...)

And John Romita Sr won the Thread of the best Spider-Man artist with more votes.

[Alex Dragon]

Good point. However, things took a different course for me. Andru was also my first Spider-Man artist, Perez or Buckler my first FF and John Buscema my first Thor depicter. While I have still have a abiding connection to those artists' work they have all been eclipsed by subsequent appreciations. I can no longer think more highly of Andru or Romita than Ditko. Similarly, while I have a lasting affection for Perez FF or Buscema Thor I absolutely love the Kirby versions now, really more approved of and more adored.

I understand where you're coming from and feel the same way you do up to a point. Ross Andru's Spidey was the one I was exposed to first but I don't think he's the best artist to draw the character. However...since his Spidey was my first his is the one I judge others against. For example, even though I know Ditko co-created the character there's a part of my mind that thinks he draws the costume wrong because he doesn't draw it like Andru drew the costume I was first exposed to. I know that sounds ridiculous but it's all based on my perception and not any sort of facts.

As far as Ross Andru's artistic abilities, I think he's a solid artist but from what I read about him not to long ago the inker played a big part in making his work look as good as it looked. As others pointed out he was very good at doing the city scenes with Spider-man. Also, I think his MJ and other cast members were great. I think Gil Kane did more dynamic poses and layouts but I didn't like his reditions of the cast members as much as Andru's. My only complaint about Andru's version is I remember Peter always seemed to have on a jacket and wore boots. My first exposure to the characters was through MARVEL TALES so the styles were dated when I saw them.