Howard Porter: Underrated?

[pennywisdom]

Looking back at Morrison's JLA run, I'm really impressed by a lot of the artwork. Why doesn't Howard Porter get more acknowledgement? Just curious what you guys think.

[phicks]

I like Howard's stuff too, although the anatomy still looks a little wonky at times (his 3/4 view faces can sometimes look like deformed rubber). But his composition skills are great, and he's a good story teller. Howard is probably not as well regarded as he might be because he disappeared from comics for several years until his triumphant return on Fantastic Four's "Authoritative Action" arc. If you don't have it, get the TPB now, it's a great story.

[titanfan]

I thought he was trash when he was doing JLA. (That was my first real exposure to him) But after seeing some of the later artists that worked on that title, I'd definitely take him back. I've seen seen some of his later stuff and it was decent. I don't think he was necessarily the right fit for Morrison's style of storytelling, but he's definitely competent.

[Brian Cronin]

I disliked his work on Morrison's JLA.

I also dislike his Flash work.

With that being said, if I was a comic editor, I'd hire him to work on any book I was doing. The guy's dynamic style suits comics very well. I think he's way too much flash over actual substance, but I understand that that sells...so I'd hire him right away.

But Morrison's JLA was probably the best use of his work, because Morrison never really asked him to draw anything other than action (which is Porter's strength). When you ask Porter to draw scenes of people, like, emoting?

Yikes.

Better to just have him draw dynamic action scenes...which Morrison supplied him with a-plenty!

-Brian

[Brian Cronin]

Ooooh...yeah, he also draws Linda Park so that she appears Korean!

I appreciated that.

That was impressive, I must admit.

He didn't do much of a job on her body structure, her body language, her emotional displays...but he DID draw her as though she was actually Asian!

So I really did appreciate that.

Very impressive.

-Brian

[The Shadow]

Porter is AWESOME.

One of the most underrated artists in comics today!!! His stuff is fast paced, dynamic and he's a good storyteller.

HOWARD FOR PRESIDENT!

[marshal99]

Personally , i think he's over-rated. With all the hoohaa about his arrival at flash , compare to Kollins , Porter's art is stiff and square-ish.

[Brian Cronin]

Porter is AWESOME.

One of the most underrated artists in comics today!!! His stuff is fast paced, dynamic and he's a good storyteller.

HOWARD FOR PRESIDENT!

I can understand why people like him...he IS fast-paced and dynamic.

But good storytelling?

I honestly can barely think of many artists who I think are WORSE storytellers than he is. That, to me, is his big, gigantic weakness.

I think he is a worse storyteller than Michael Turner.

Let that sink in for a moment as you realize how much I dislike his storytelling. ;)

-Brian

[EZMOHR]

For me, Porter falls into the same catagorey as Mahnke, Mark Bagley and Scott Kollins. He is a great artist, who brings it to the table every month, and just does his job. Yet, they have the same skills as guys like Hitch and Van Sciver, but for some odd reason those guys are art gods, and the others are just old reliables.

[hitokiri_]

porter's art sucks imho. the art's all quared up and so stiff unlike kolins et al.

[mckracken]

Underrated? No I rate him high.

Cant understand Cronin's "storyteller" rant, really. Doesnt seem wrong to me to tell a story fact paced and dynamic. Lack of emotion? Not true for me on Flash as well.

[TJ Shoun]

Underrated? No I rate him high.

Cant understand Cronin's "storyteller" rant, really. Doesnt seem wrong to me to tell a story fact paced and dynamic. Lack of emotion? Not true for me on Flash as well.


I don't see the storytelling complaint either.

Some of his work I'm not crazy about, but other times I find I really like it.

I wasn't thrilled with his JLA stuff but I loved his Fantastic Four issues. Of course, it could just be me or the mood or mindset I was in when I read them. :)

I can honestly say that he does one of the most badass looking Batmans I've ever seen. I think his Batman is right up there with Adams, Lee, and Miller.

Overall he's not my favorite artist of all time but I generally like his work -- and I think he's one of the best in DC's stable. For what it's worth I also met him at the Hero Con last year and he's friendly with the fans... that means a lot.

[Brian Cronin]

It IS wrong to tell a slow-paced story fast.

Which is what he does whenever he tries to draw slower-paced stories.

The characters all look like they should be running...only they're standing still.

And the emotional stuff?

YEUCH.

It's like a statue trying to smile...painful to watch.

-Brian

[Brian Cronin]

He does seem to be a REALLY friendly guy, though.

I mean, top notch guy.

And he draws nice fast-paced, dynamic stuff.

Nothing wrong with that, I don't think.

-Brian

[StarmanVII]

No, Jose luis Garcia Lopez is underated, Steve Rude is underrated!!! Howard Porter is good, but his anatomy is strange, his Aquaman covers were just plain wierd. He also does great fight scenes.

[Brian Cronin]

To be fair, I think Steve Rude is tied for the record of the most Eisners won for Best Artist. ;)

-Brian

[mckracken]

Art is complimentary for me anyway. I always looked at is as a nice bonus.

I follow writers, but never did so for artists.

[Screwtape]

Howard Porter: Underrated?No. No, he isnt. :) Not to be obnoxious or anything, but he can't lay out a page to save his life. Finishing Grant's JLA: Classified arc today, I found myself wishing that he'd done the penciling on the whole forty-odd issue run a few years ago.

[heavysoul]

I never thought of Porter as being under-rated at all. I mean, he was working on one of the hottest titles of the time [with JLA]. His style was what you'd expect on a DC superhero book. To my recollection, he never did anything groundbreaking with layouts or pacing.

[Brian Cronin]

Art is complimentary for me anyway. I always looked at is as a nice bonus.

I follow writers, but never did so for artists.

I basically agree.

If I HAD to choose poor art/good writing vs. good art/poor writing, I'd choose the former.

-Brian

[icctrombone]

I enjoyed his Jla run . The panel in issue # 3 where Batman is holding his fist while saying " ready when you are " to the white Martians is classic.

[Paradox]

Frankly, I think Howard's art has gone slowly downhill his whole career. I still think his best stuff was on The Ray. Put me in with the "storytelling/pacing" problems group.

Although I can never separate it enough to tell who was to blame for the absolutely abysmal storytelling/pacing in their JLA run, Howard or Grant (or maybe it was a team lack of effort).

[dancj]

On Flash he's a step down from Kolins - but then so would most artists. Johns and Kolins had something special there.

I really liked him on JLA. There were some definite anatomy problems, but there was a real sense of power to the team, that fitted Morrison's JLA as Gods approach perfectly.

Dan

[Clear]

I generally liked his JLA work, but the way he drew women's faces drove me nuts (in a bad way) and he was trying too hard to make interesting poses.

So, I was a little nervous when it was announced that he'd be on Flash, but I saw some of his Fantastic Four work in between and thought it showed a lot of growth. Then he published some Flash sketches and they were incredible. Now, having seen several issues, I'm a big fan and I really want him to stick around. I think he's kicking @$$ and taking names.

[TJ Shoun]

I loved that recent cover he did to Captain America and the Falcon (it was around issue 10, I think).

It wasn't spectacular or anything, it just looked really, really good. It was the first time I'd seen him do Cap or Falcon and they both looked incredible -- especially the Cap. :)

[X-Men Forever]

I loved that recent cover he did to Captain America and the Falcon (it was around issue 10, I think).

It wasn't spectacular or anything, it just looked really, really good. It was the first time I'd seen him do Cap or Falcon and they both looked incredible -- especially the Cap. :)

Yep, Porter is a much better cover artist than an interior artist.

[Reptisaurus!]

No. No, he isnt. :) Not to be obnoxious or anything, but he can't lay out a page to save his life.

I always thought he was an interesting lay-out artist. Panels bled into each other, the way the strongest image on the page just *dominates* pushing it's way into the panels around it.

I don't think he's a great *artist* artist, and he probably wouldn't do well on a "talking heads" type book, but I always thought he did interesting layouts, even if they could be a tad confusing at times.

[Brian Cronin]

but I always thought he did interesting layouts, even if they could be a tad confusing at times.

Which is why, so long as you give him a lot of action to draw, he isn't going to really hurt the book.

-Brian

[cactusmaac]

Porter's ace.

I don't sympathise with the story-telling complaints since I let the words explain the story and let my eyes enjoy the art.

[Reptisaurus!]

Which is why, so long as you give him a lot of action to draw, he isn't going to really hurt the book.

-Brian

*Rereads JLA 16*

He's better at it than Jim Lee, though. That's fer sure.

(Although Lee is an even better action artist, IMO.)

[hporter]

Okay, okay.... you got me to post :)

First- thank you, for even having this conversation about my work!

I of all people know that I have a long way to go before I am done and I am always trying to improve. Sometimes deadlines get in the way of that... and there are pages or panels that could and should have been worked out more. But with that said, I have always put one hundred percent of my effort into every book I have drawn. Also, I understand that comics aren’t cheap and that people have feelings for these characters, so I think the characters and fans deserve the best we creators can give. And that’s all I can do. My best. If I give it my all, I have nothing to be ashamed of. Even if Brian C thinks otherwise ;)

and I cant wait till you read the "Rogues War" Geoff and I are working on. If you dont buy a copy of it and you see me at a con... i will give you mine to read :)

Thanks guys!
- Howard

And Brian C- Playing hard to get will only make me want you more ;) …well it worked for my wife anyway.

[Paradox]

Class response, Howard. Nice to see you take people's opinions in stride.

[Brian Cronin]

Class response, Howard. Nice to see you take people's opinions in stride.

Which I knew he would, as Howard has demonstrated in the past that he's definitely a cool guy.

Like the last time I insulted his work. :D

Most certainly a class act.

-Brian

[Brian Cronin]

Even if Brian C thinks otherwise ;)

Who said "if I was a comic editor, I'd hire him to work on any book I was doing"?

:p

-Brian

[Sharcque]

Didn't Porter do some old Stomrwatch way back? He was also the Sovereign 7 artist too, wasn't he? Or am I thinking of someone else?

[Brian Cronin]

You are, indeed, thinking of someone else.

Prior to his Fantastic Four stint, I do not believe he has done any work for anyone but DC.

Howard, if I remember correctly, was one of the last artists discovered by DC submissions editor Neal Pozner prior to his death (Pozner's credits of artists he brought to DC reads like a Who's Who).

His first DC work was a fill-in issue of Darkstars (#13?). He also probably did a back-up story in Showcase, as was the standard for artists discovered by Pozner. Soon after Darkstars, he began his acclaimed run on The Ray (which, like Paradox, I enjoyed more than his later work...who inked him on the Ray? It definitely wasn't Dell.). He went from Ray to JLA.

-Brian

[cactusmaac]

Sov 7 was by Dwayne Turner.

[Sharcque]

Yeah --- I was thinking of Dwayne Turner!! Ehh ---- Turner, Porter, they both end in "er", what's the difference.


"Porter? I don't even know 'er!" :D

[Brian R]

You know, a few weeks ago, I probably would have voted "neither". I was never a huge fan of Howard's work, but he was clearly a good enough artist. However, since then, I have picked up the last few issues of Flash and I have to say I was suprised with the quality of the work. This is clearly not the same Howard Porter who worked on JLA, this must be some new-and-improved version that I hadnt heard about! In all seriousness, after seeing the improvements he has made, I now feel bad for thinking he wasnt that great, you can count me in as a fan of his from now on.

Great work Howard, never stop challenging yourself. :)

[dancj]

Porter's ace.

I don't sympathise with the story-telling complaints since I let the words explain the story and let my eyes enjoy the art.

That's a really strange thing to say. I've never had a problem with Porter's storytelling, but storytelling is a very important thing.

In most comics these days (as opposed to the old Stan Lee exposition heavy style), the pictures are used to tell a lot of the story. If the artist is a bad storyteller, then you won't understand what is going on - or you will have to work too hard to work out what is going on which will distract you from the story.

Dan

[mgs]

i don't think he's underrated. I think he's grown and developed his art as he's done certain books. I never really followed him before but I really like his stuf on the Flash now. And I think he's getting his props for his work on that book right now.

[PatrickG]

To be fair to Howard, what may seem like weird layouts in JLA were exactly what Grant Morrison called for in the scripts. Morrison himself did thumbnail layouts with every (or almost every) script and I believe this is Morrison's standard operating procedure.

Grant had a very specific set of ideas in mind regarding the layout in JLA.

[Phoney Bone]

I was never a big fan of Porter's art.


Flash #221 has converted me, tho. Niiiiiice..... :cool:

[Beastfan07]

That's a really strange thing to say. I've never had a problem with Porter's storytelling, but storytelling is a very important thing.

In most comics these days (as opposed to the old Stan Lee exposition heavy style), the pictures are used to tell a lot of the story. If the artist is a bad storyteller, then you won't understand what is going on - or you will have to work too hard to work out what is going on which will distract you from the story.

Dan

Yeah. It's like reading a play. You get all the dialogue and the scene set-ups, but you don't really get a story. When you see it, you'll understand what's going on.

[Patient Boy]

Howard Porter's a decent artist, but not one of my favourites. I used to giggle when I saw some of the weird poses characters would get into when they were supposed to be just standing around in his JLA run.

But I loved the panel layouts on the earlier story arcs in JLA. I wish more artists would take liberties with the page like that.

[PanzerMega]

I thought Porter was a perfect fit on Morrison's JLA. I'm not sure if it was his own additions, or Morrison's input, but there were always cool things lurking around in the backgrounds. I thought the art style complimented Morrison's outlandish scripts well.

Also, during huge fight scenes, there was always a sense of knowing where all of the players were.

I'm also digging the current Rogue War arc, which again plays to his strengths. I'm glad I came back to the book a few months ago.

[The Shadow]

I'm too lazy to see if I've posted here before (I think so) but I'll say it again...

Howard KICKS ASS!!! JLA rocked and his Flash is what got me buying the book (now I gotta get back issues though)

'Nuff said.

[dancj]

I thought Porter was a perfect fit on Morrison's JLA.

I agree. I could see the faults people complained about, but he was just about the only artist (along with Frank Quitely) who really game the comics the "JLA as gods" feel that Grant was aiming for.

[west3man]

I don't remember if I posted here or not, either, but...

I really enjoyed Porter's JLA... at first. In the beginning, the work was somewhat stylized, but still clean, well-proportioned, and flashy as heck. Later, it got sloppier and sloppier. Then there were the Porter-lite fill-ins who fooled some (me, at least) but probably hurt things more than helped.

Hearing he'd join the Flash crew turned me off after I'd already been turned off quite a bit by the series/character I love so much. I'd already dropped it by the time he showed up, so it wasn't his fault that I stopped, but his work didn't make me scoop it back up, again. I just kinda flip through it here and there.

NOW,... his work in FF just... worked for me. I dunno if it was the KIND of story Waid was putting together or what, but after a short adjustment period, I was THERE with them. I'm a big 'Ringo fan, but Porter's work made it much easier to enjoy the series without 'Ringo.

Thumbs up.

[jam]

I see Howard Porter as the modern day Dick Dillin. And I mean that as a complement (I shouldn't have to add this disclaimer but there you are).

I loved his work on Morrison's JLA.

I haven't seen his work on the Flash as I dropped the title when Kolins left. Not because the artist left but because I didn't like the way Johns was taking the title.