DC artist talent to watch out for?

[Will.S]

You know, as much as I think DC's talent pool could use some work on the writing side of things (and perhaps the artistic side as well) I do think that they have some incredibly good current or potentially awesome artists that should get more higher profile work.

As of the moment I think CAFU a.k.a Carlos Alberto Fernandez Urbano is pretty damn awesome, just check out his Vixen mini series or the current Captain Atom back ups in Action Comics. His style is kind of a mix of John Cassaday and Joshua Middleton with perhaps a dash of Jamal Igle thrown in. Definitely worth getting more assignments.

Here are some samples of his work from the Action Comics covers:

http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/3672/ac20cv883.th.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/ac20cv883.jpg/) http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/4535/ac20cv884.th.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/ac20cv884.jpg/) http://img28.imageshack.us/img28/9186/smcv695.th.jpg (http://img28.imageshack.us/i/smcv695.jpg/)

Another artist I think has good potential to become a big star is Adrian Syaf who's worked on Batman Blackest Night. It's not quite greatness yet but he has a more distinct style that if given the proper inker can look even better and he shows a lot of promise.

Lastly, Karl Kerschl (Flash, Wednesday Comics), Cully Hamner (Black Lightning mini series, The Question back up), and Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle,Batman/Superman) are all pretty damn awesome in their own right and should be drawing some Teen Titans books or just more comics in general. DC would be stupid to let them all go to Marvel although Rafael has been doing some more work for Marvel as of late with Nomad. And no I didn't forget Francis Manapul but he seems to be getting the right push.

On the coloring side of things I think Nei Ruffino's (Batman Blackest Night, Green Lantern, World of New Krypton) coloring, while bland at first, is developing a unique look of it's own. It that not too far off from Brian Reber's (The Outsiders, Legion of Superheroes back up in Adventure Comic) colors who I think DC should utilize more. Santiago Arcas a.k.a 'Santi', who also colors Cafu has a really nice and colorful style that goes hand in hand with Cafu's art.

And just to shout out an unsung hero of sorts, Hi-Fi coloring is doing a great job on Flash Rebirth, Blackest Night Titans, Legion of 3 Worlds, and Booster Gold. It's a slick style of coloring that does the art justice and I'd love to see him color more books.

What do you guys think and what are your picks?

[superchick]

I don't see much Middleton in CAFUs work. Middleton is so fine and lightweight in his pencilling its graceful. On the opposite side Igle's art is dense and rich.

Karl Kerschl is my absolute favourite. Teen Titans year one had some of my favourite art this decade

[Will.S]

I don't see much Middleton in CAFUs work. Middleton is so fine and lightweight in his pencilling its graceful. On the opposite side Igle's art is dense and rich.
The thing with Middleton is that he colors his stuff with a simple real cartoon cel look but I mostly see a stylistic similarity in terms of the simplicity of their art styles and some of the carefully laid out line work. All of these artists have a fluid style to them that is also soft and dynamic.

Karl Kerschl is my absolute favourite. Teen Titans year one had some of my favourite art this decade
Almost forgot about that one, agreed.

I actually just ordered that mini series in singles recently.

[DeTroyes]

Matthew Clark.

He's been hitting it out of the ballpark on Doom Patrol, and his work just keeps getting better.

[Will.S]

Matthew Clark.

He's been hitting it out of the ballpark on Doom Patrol, and his work just keeps getting better.
I haven't been buying Doom Patrol (trade waiting) but I think so too, very underrated.

[Pixie_Solanas]

Matthew Clark.

He's been hitting it out of the ballpark on Doom Patrol, and his work just keeps getting better.

Amen to this. Matthew Clark is the ONLY young art talent at DC I have any time for. He's great.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I love Andy Clarke on REBELS, but he's got the chops to be an A-list talent.

And Joe Quiñones, of course. He saved the Green Lantern strip on Wed. Comics and he's got a great style already, considering it was his first DC assignment.

[Desaad]

I agree that CAFU is amazing. Good pick there, and I agree that there is a lot of Cassady and Middleton there.

Likewise on Syaf, who has a bit to go but is doing bang out work. I see a little Coipel in his work (later, more refined Coipel, rather than earlier, more scrachy coipel) and a little Rags in there as well.

Manapul is probably the best new talent I've seen in years, period. That guy is going to be massive now that he's on the Flash. Massive.

Albuquerque is also amazing. I got into him through Blue Beetle and kind of pigeoned him as a teen-artist, but the guy has way more range than that. Why isn't he on one of the Superman titles, over the mediocre artists they've got in there right now? Or hell, even some of the Batman titles could use him.

Andy Clarke is a very unique gem. Looking closely you can definitely see the influences of Kevin Macguire and Travis Charest. He does great work.

Julian Lopez has a sort of Alan Davis-like classicalness to his work -- not as photorealistic as the current Hitch, just enough cartooning to keep the energy and wonder there. Why he isn't being more fully utilized I have no idea.

Really quickly going over to Wildstorm, Brandon Bordeaux (sp?) is AMAZING. Honestly spectacular, I don't know why he isn't doing more work for someone, somewhere. Probably an issue of time. For anyone who wants to check out his work, he did the Wetworks Armageddon one shot and then has contributed to various things since.

Oh, and Joe Quinones, who did Green Lantern in Wednesday Comics, is going to be ridiculous. Honestly.


DC's up and coming artist talent is pretty amazing, really. I could probably go on.

[Desaad]

I love Andy Clarke on REBELS, but he's got the chops to be an A-list talent.

And Joe Quiñones, of course. He saved the Green Lantern strip on Wed. Comics and he's got a great style already, considering it was his first DC assignment.

Damn, you beat out two of mine. :)

But I believe Quinones did some (far inferior work) for some of the Johnny DC books.

[Desaad]

Also, Marco Rudy.

His rendering style isn't the most incredible I've ever seen, but his page design is the most innovative, energetic stuff this side of JH Williams. In fact, as good as JH Williams is, I think Rudy almost matches him in this regard.

[FanboyStranger]

Amy Reeder Hadley. I know she's already gotten an Eisner nomination, but her work on Madame Xanadu is still underappreciated. I think she's probably the most impressive new artist to come along since Cliff Chiang.

I'll back up both Andy Clarke and Matt Clark, though. Both are doing impressive work.

[Sean Walsh]

Adrian Syaf is my top pick. I was actually bummed that a relative unknown was doing the art for the BN BATMAN mini, but damned if he didn't knock the art out of the park every single issue (and like Tomasi said, the guy got better with each issue).

[Rev. Calibos]

Phil Noto. I'm not sure if he's a newer artist or not but his work is quality enough that I'd probably pick up anything that he was a part of.

I first discovered him with Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom a few months back and I'm excited to see that he's doing the upcoming World's Finest mini.

So am I out of the loop and Noto is someone that has been around for a long, long time or is he a newer talent?

[Will.S]

Phil Noto. I'm not sure if he's a newer artist or not but his work is quality enough that I'd probably pick up anything that he was a part of.

I first discovered him with Superman/Supergirl: Maelstrom a few months back and I'm excited to see that he's doing the upcoming World's Finest mini.

So am I out of the loop and Noto is someone that has been around for a long, long time or is he a newer talent?He's been around for a while.

He mostly does pin ups, Wildstorm, or indy stuff but as of recent he's been doing more work for DC with his Batgirl covers, Maelstrom, and the upcoming World's Finest mini that you mentioned.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I'm gonna say Philip Tan.

I know a lot of people have problems with his B&R work, and there are legitimate issues with it, but in a year or two I think he'll be huge. Guy just needs to work on some basic storytelling problems then he'll be ready.

Manapul doesn't strike me as an up-and-comer considering his last two assignments have been big Johns relaunches. Though I do think he's DC's brightest new talent.

[Desaad]

I'm gonna say Philip Tan.

I know a lot of people have problems with his B&R work, and there are legitimate issues with it, but in a year or two I think he'll be huge. Guy just needs to work on some basic storytelling problems then he'll be ready.

Manapul doesn't strike me as an up-and-comer considering his last two assignments have been big Johns relaunches. Though I do think he's DC's brightest new talent.

So Manapul - whose highest profile work to date is a Superboy comic book that sells about 45,000 units a month - isn't an up and comer, but Phillip Tan - who has had runs on Final Crisis tie ins, Green Lantern (one of DC's highest selling ongoings), and Batman and Robin (DC's highest selling ongoing) - qualifies as an up and comer?

Uh.....

[Gitaroo_Dude]

So Manapul - whose highest profile work to date is a Superboy comic book that sells about 45,000 units a month - isn't an up and comer, but Phillip Tan - who has had runs on Final Crisis tie ins, Green Lantern (one of DC's highest selling ongoings), and Batman and Robin (DC's highest selling ongoing) - qualifies as an up and comer?

Uh.....

Yeah, it sounds silly, but he was chosen to help Johns re-launch Adventure Comics. That's a big gig. And now he's going to help Johns re-launch the Flash.

I think those assignments are bigger than a single arc on GL and B&R along with an event tie-in, especially since Tan was always considered the black sheep of Morrison's bullpen and he's been getting a lot of heat critically over his work. I mean, I don't think Cameron Stewart is considered to be an A-list artist in terms of recognition, but he has an arc on B&R too.

The impression I get is that Morrison handpicked his artists for B&R based on how well they'd fit an arc designed around them, not just name recognition. I feel the same impression with Manapul on Adventure, but I think he's been received so well by everyone that he now landed the big Flash assignment.

[Will.S]

Yeah, it sounds silly, but he was chosen to help Johns re-launch Adventure Comics. That's a big gig. And now he's going to help Johns re-launch the Flash.

I think those assignments are bigger than a single arc on GL and B&R along with an event tie-in, especially since Tan was always considered the black sheep of Morrison's bullpen and he's been getting a lot of heat critically over his work. I mean, I don't think Cameron Stewart is considered to be an A-list artist in terms of recognition, but he has an arc on B&R too.

The impression I get is that Morrison handpicked his artists for B&R based on how well they'd fit an arc designed around them, not just name recognition. I feel the same impression with Manapul on Adventure, but I think he's been received so well by everyone that he now landed the big Flash assignment.
Yeah but Manapul is on a very recent upswing.

He spent a good chunk of time on Shooter's Legion and was mostly recognized for his work there. Then he started to experiment more with his more painted/watercolor technique in Superman/Batman & Adventure Comics and I guess that's where they REALLY took notice of him.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

Yeah but Manapul is on a very recent upswing.

He spent a good chunk of time on Shooter's Legion and was mostly recognized for his work there. Then he started to experiment more with his more painted/watercolor technique in Superman/Batman & Adventure Comics and I guess that's where they REALLY took notice of him.

Yeah, I'd say his breakout was really in the last few months.

If this discussion had taken place before the Flash announcement, I'd definitely have said that Manapul is DC's biggest artist to watch out for. Now that's he on that book though I just feel like he's been catapulted into the top tier.

With Tan, he's got a lot of substantive issues with his storytelling that I feel holds him back from being A-list himself.

And if we're talking about upcoming gigs too, Tan is on Outsiders with Didio. Mileage may vary I guess and I expect people to disagree considering who the writer is, but I don't consider the Outsiders to be a big "feather in your cap" kind of book.

[Forth World]

I know a lot of people are down on Guillem March for the T&A factor, but he really is an incredible action artist.

Not many guys can draw a leaping or fighting character with actual movement in them, but March is stellar at it.

Personally I like his gratuitous ass-shots. But even if that's not your thing, he's amazing.

[Gitaroo_Dude]

I know a lot of people are down on Guillem March for the T&A factor, but he really is an incredible action artist.

Not many guys can draw a leaping or fighting character with actual movement in them, but March is stellar at it.

Personally I like his gratuitous ass-shots. But even if that's not your thing, he's amazing.

That's the Gotham Sirens artist, right?

Yeah... no.

[Will.S]

Yeah, I'd say his breakout was really in the last few months.

If this discussion had taken place before the Flash announcement, I'd definitely have said that Manapul is DC's biggest artist to watch out for. Now that's he on that book though I just feel like he's been catapulted into the top tier.

With Tan, he's got a lot of substantive issues with his storytelling that I feel holds him back from being A-list himself.

And if we're talking about upcoming gigs too, Tan is on Outsiders with Didio. Mileage may vary I guess and I expect people to disagree considering who the writer is, but I don't consider the Outsiders to be a big "feather in your cap" kind of book.
My problem with Tan is mostly for the reasons you stated. He's certainly getting some good gigs throughout DC but I'm a little puzzled as to why that is because his storytelling and anatomy problems are obvious in his work and stand out negatively compared to other superstar artists.

I think he should switch his inker Jonathan Glapion in favor of a cleaner inker so that his stuff won't look as gritty and ill defined as it does.

I know a lot of people are down on Guillem March for the T&A factor, but he really is an incredible action artist.

Not many guys can draw a leaping or fighting character with actual movement in them, but March is stellar at it.

Personally I like his gratuitous ass-shots. But even if that's not your thing, he's amazing.I think Guillem March is good, he's certainly improved since his earlier work on Detective but he's kind of the equivalent of the Dodsons. It's appealing artwork but it's very blatant in it's rendition of females and sexuality.

[Desaad]

Yeah, it sounds silly, but he was chosen to help Johns re-launch Adventure Comics. That's a big gig. And now he's going to help Johns re-launch the Flash.

But launching Adventure wasn't that big, as sales demonstrate. He's getting a lot of credit on the boards for his work, but it's based on the quality, not the high profileness of his gig.

Final Crisis: Revelations - one of only 3 minis that tied into the big summer crossover event going at the time - was a much bigger launch, I would argue.

And "Flash" hasn't even started coming out yet, so that doesn't count. That is what makes him an 'up and comer' -- the fact that he's just about to break into superstardom.

I think those assignments are bigger than a single arc on GL and B&R along with an event tie-in, especially since Tan was always considered the black sheep of Morrison's bullpen and he's been getting a lot of heat critically over his work. I mean, I don't think Cameron Stewart is considered to be an A-list artist in terms of recognition, but he has an arc on B&R too.

Again, for me, quality of work doesn't enter into whether he's a super star or an up and comer. That's what determines that he's 'one to watch' -- Manapul's work is dynamite, it's amazing, but that doesn't mean that his name is a draw for a book, because he hasn't had sufficiently high profile gigs to launch him to that level. After the Flash, if all goes according to plan, I think you're right...I think he'll be massive.

But he hasn't done any Flash work yet, and most fans aren't on the internet refreshing comic book resources regularly to see his sketches and what not. So he's not there yet.

Meanwhile, Phillip Tan - whose work I enjoy but is not as good as most of the people I mentioned on this thread - has been pretty much ONLY been doing high profile work. His style is divisive, I think, but there is no doubt to me that he has the total confidence of DC and has become one of their 'big name' artists, just from the titles they are giving him. Same with Tony Daniel, whose work on Batman was heavily criticized by large segments of the fandom.

The impression I get is that Morrison handpicked his artists for B&R based on how well they'd fit an arc designed around them, not just name recognition. I feel the same impression with Manapul on Adventure, but I think he's been received so well by everyone that he now landed the big Flash assignment.

I think you're right that Morrison picked SOME of his artists, but I'm pretty sure he had Tan foisted upon him because he's one of Dan Didio's handpicked elite. In interviews he mentioned trying to get Irving and Stewart, and obvious Quietly was his choice, but I don't think he had any particular love (or hate, mind you) for Tan. I know he wanted Mahnke, though that wasn't possible thanks to GL.

[galactica]

Marco Rudy, his work on Final Crisis and The Shield has been fantastic.

Check out what he does with page layouts and panels or how he incorperates the Shield's ability into the page. Just fantastic.

[Will.S]

I think you're right that Morrison picked SOME of his artists, but I'm pretty sure he had Tan foisted upon him because he's one of Dan Didio's handpicked elite. In interviews he mentioned trying to get Irving and Stewart, and obvious Quietly was his choice, but I don't think he had any particular love (or hate, mind you) for Tan. I know he wanted Mahnke, though that wasn't possible thanks to GL.
I found the Manhke omission from the Batman and Robin arcs was the biggest mistake of that lineup so far.

Morrison would have had a nice list of arcs done by the artists who most get his scripts thanks to Seven Soldiers and Quitely's countless team ups with Morrison. Philip is just okay but damn, Manke would have killed especially with the Red Hood since he basically drew most of Winick's run during Jason's earlier Red Hood adventures.

Marco Rudy, his work on Final Crisis and The Shield has been fantastic.

Check out what he does with page layouts and panels or how he incorperates the Shield's ability into the page. Just fantastic.
I looked at Marco's Escape and Shield comics and out of the two I think the Shield has been the better rendered of them. I think he just needs a great inker or colorist to complement his art and push his rendering style even further since it seemed kind of basic in Escape even though as people have said, the panel layout is inventive.

[goRimbaud!]

the Shield 2 by Marco Rudy is most astonishing art i have seen this year. He will be so important for modern comics. I hope i ll stay Dc.

[jtd]

Amy Reeder Hadley. I know she's already gotten an Eisner nomination, but her work on Madame Xanadu is still underappreciated.

Absolutely, she was the first name that popped into my head when I read the OP's post. Beautiful artwork.

[CYOTI]

I found the Manhke omission from the Batman and Robin arcs was the biggest mistake of that lineup so far.

Not Morrison's fault that the guy is now the ongoing artist on GL. It's pretty much a fulltme job.

[Will.S]

Not Morrison's fault that the guy is now the ongoing artist on GL. It's pretty much a fulltme job.
Honestly? I could have waited for the GL stuff while Mahnke did Batman and Robin.

But what's also interesting about Mahnke is that the guy is a monster with his output, I mean look how quickly he was able to draw Superman Beyond and the closing issues of Final Crisis.

[galactica]

Honestly? I could have waited for the GL stuff while Mahnke did Batman and Robin.

But what's also interesting about Mahnke is that the guy is a monster with his output, I mean look how quickly he was able to draw Superman Beyond and the closing issues of Final Crisis.

He also did an issue of Nightwing during that time. It was the second to last issue I think. Don't know how he does it.

I would like to see Manke do an arc on Batman and Robin but him being on GL works for the title. He and Patrick Gleason work from the same studio and have certain similarities. Also I think they have him on GLC because they needed a very good artist capable of keeping a monthly title and more.

Batman and Robin is and ongoing title so maybe we will see him do an arc after BN.

[ScottyQuick]

Guys, Matthew Clark has been around for like 8 years. I remember he was drawing Wonder Woman when Eric Luke was writing it.

I'd like to point out Yildiray Cinar. He's doing some absolutely gorgeous work on Teen Titans: Ravager, and in my opinion, he's the best artist to have worked on the current volume of Teen Titans.

[Joe Franklin]

Andy Clarke.

He's Travis Charest mixed with Mike McKone.

http://i.livescience.com/images/LEGION_COVER_1_copy.jpg

[Will.S]

Guys, Matthew Clark has been around for like 8 years. I remember he was drawing Wonder Woman when Eric Luke was writing it.

I'd like to point out Yildiray Cinar. He's doing some absolutely gorgeous work on Teen Titans: Ravager, and in my opinion, he's the best artist to have worked on the current volume of Teen Titans.
Yeah, he has been around for a while. But it just seems like he's just been underutilized.

Andy Clarke.

He's Travis Charest mixed with Mike McKone.

http://i.livescience.com/images/LEGION_COVER_1_copy.jpg
Andy Clarke is very good. Could use some better coloring on his art though, something that either pops or gives it a more painted look.

[CYOTI]

Yeah, he has been around for a while. But it just seems like he's just been underutilized.
Happens when he has a whole bunch of health problems.

[Will.S]

Happens when he has a whole bunch of health problems.
Didn't know that.

Hope to be seeing more of him now though.