Keith Giffen questions

[destro]

I was wondering if any of you knew the story behind Giffen's major changes in style over the years.

His Defenders stuff came off as a Kirby tribute. Very nice looking stuff.

Later he seemed to develop his own style and I loved what he did on Legion of Super Heroes.

Around the end of his run on LOSH though he abruptly changed his style into (what I consider to be) a very ugly/bizarre style that almost looked abstract. Everybody suddeny had long faces and the linework completely changed. I was quite puzzled by this.

Is there a story behind these changes? What kind of work is he doing now, has he changed further or gone back to his old style?

[Babylon23]

Giffen was inspired by the work of Argentinian artist Jose Munoz in adopting his new style. I don't know if there was any reason for it other than he liked Munoz's style. There was a bit of controversy at the time of the change and allegations that Giffen was swiping from Munoz.

Personally, I loved the change, especially on Legion, Ambush Bug and his Dr. Fate miniseries with JM Dematteis.

[dan bailey]

As it happens, I was thinking about his mid-'70s Defenders art just a couple of days ago while browsing through Ronin Ro's Tales to Astonish, which mentions Kirby's liking Giffen's style at the time. I'm very fond of it as well -- I remember referring to it here as a particularly fine-lined take (quite an accomplishment, actually, considering that back in those days the printing plates seem to have been made of warm margarine) on classic Kirby Silver Age, or words to that effect.

I find his later approach ... OK, I guess, but that's about it -- sort of reminds me of Walt Simonson if he suffered a severe lapse in judgment & started using a butterknife instead of a pencil.

Speaking of whom (KG, not Simonson), I've read interviews about those days in which Giffen alludes to his having basically been a young snot back then who managed to lose friends & alienate people at Marvel (& maybe DC as well). Anyone know any specifics?

[Paiute 1]

Giffin started out very likable than adapted that terrible long faced, body only look that only made the legion relaunch all that much worse.
He realy looked good when inked by Mahlstead.

[Roquefort Raider]

Is there a story behind these changes?

Artistic evolution, quite simply. You can see a kind of transitory period between his old "Great darkness saga" style and his more stylized "five years later" style in books like Legion of Substitute Heroes Special or the first issue of the Baxter Legion of super-heroes.

I really like his work from the past 15 years (and how time flies)! The Giffen-Bierbaum Legion book was particularly innovative.

[benday-dot]

Giffen's neo-Kirby work makes for some of favourite 70's comics. Besides Defenders there is some nice work in this style on DC's Kamandi and Claw the Unconquered. But one little gem of a book where I think his best work in the Kirbyesque mode can be seen is Super-Villain Team-Up #13. Don Perlin provides excellent inks. Check it out if you get the opportunity.

While Giffen's style continued evolved considerably his angular, blocky Kirby influence continued to be discernible, if far more subtly so, even as he moved on to other titles over the years.

[hondobrode]

Some of his Munoz-inspired stuff is too out there, but I did like his 5YG Legion immensely.

He wouldn't go back to his original Kirby style, but yeah those old Defenders were absolutely jaw. Some of the best Kirby looking stuff I've seen yet.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Giffen was inspired by the work of Argentinian artist Jose Munoz in adopting his new style. I don't know if there was any reason for it other than he liked Munoz's style. There was a bit of controversy at the time of the change and allegations that Giffen was swiping from Munoz.

Also, if I recall correctly, the storyline in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #1-5 featured some blatant swipes from the French artist Philippe Druillet.

[Polar Bear]

I'd thought Kevin O'Neill and (especially) Simon Bisley to be his influences, but I have no facts to back that up.

[Roquefort Raider]

Also, if I recall correctly, the storyline in Legion of Super-Heroes vol. 3 #1-5 featured some blatant swipes from the French artist Philippe Druillet.

You recall correctly. But if one's gotta swipe, might as well swipe from the best!

[Darrell D.]

He also started doing a 'Kevin Maguire' inspired style for faces, around the time of Invasion. It was a little odd to see the Jose Munoz bodies with Maguire faces.
Funnily enough, the style he used on Trencher was the most out there..and the one that I like the most.

[hondobrode]

Wow ! I completely missed the Druillet swipes. His work is in a super class all it's own.

[king white]

Personally, I couldn't stand the style change he pulled during his Legion run. I quit buying the comic as I found the artwork so horrid compared to his previous stuff. I was bitterly disappointed as a kid when he did that.

[Reptisaurus!]

Personally, I couldn't stand the style change he pulled during his Legion run. I quit buying the comic as I found the artwork so horrid compared to his previous stuff. I was bitterly disappointed as a kid when he did that.

Me too.

(Of course, as an adult I like it twenty times better than the silly Kirby pastiche or any of his other previous styles.)

And I never knew who the switch was inspired by. Interesting stuff, guys!

[benday-dot]

Me too.

(Of course, as an adult I like it twenty times better than the silly Kirby pastiche or any of his other previous styles.)

And I never knew who the switch was inspired by. Interesting stuff, guys!

I disagree that it is silly. Clearly it is not Kirby's hand here, and clearly it is wholly inspired by Kirby's hand. Already at this stage Kirby's art had become it's own genre. It was a highly stylized and instantly recognizable presentation of comic book art. It would be impossible for a fellow artist to take up such a mannered style as Kirby's without full deliberation and obvious sense of tribute. Inevitably, Giffen would move beyond his kindly and accomplished homage to Kirbyism to realize his own more personal aesthetic, but while in conscious tribute to Kirby Giffen did a lovely thing indeed.

[dan bailey]

I agree with benday, of course. How in the living hell does "silly" enter into the equation? (&/or how in the living hell is it any less "silly" to appropriate wholesale Jose Munoz' style, or Druillet's, or whoever else Giffen might've been ripping off in a given week?)

[Agentum]

You mean the style he had in his own The Heckler and later on, he did something not so long ago and it looked a lot like this style, so i guess he really does that type of a bit abstract art since.

Looks a bit odd to me still, but there is a reason he is a a writer i guess, that style don't work with most standard superhero comics i think.