Penciller-Inker Mismatch

[MichikoS]

There are some fine artists who just aren't good together. I was reminded of this recently when reading the latest BLACK WIDOW mini-series, pencilled by the magnificently talented SEAN PHILLIPS (Sleeper) and inked by the legendary Bill Sinkiewicz. Bad combination. Sinkiewicz simply overwhelmed Phillips, and not in a good way. Big disappointment. Two great talents, serious penciller-inker mismatch, imo.

Here are a few more candidates:

Steve Ditko inked by Dick Ayers
Joe Kubert inked by Murphy Anderson (see Atom & Hawkman #40, 41)
John Buscema inked by Vince Colletta

What are your notable "mismatches"? On the other hand, are there any penciller-inker collaborations you thought would be disasters that ended up being complementary?

Here's one such surprise. It's FRANK ROBBINS inked by P. CRAIG RUSSELL. Very nice, don't you think???


Michi

[scratchie]

Gene Colan inked by Klaus Janson. Maybe it was just because it came on the heels of the sublime Colan/Leialoha issues, but this particular combination (on Howard the Duck) always grated on my eyes like the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard.

[Aaron Kashtan]

How about Steve Rude inked by Alfredo Alcala? As far as I know, this collaboration never actually happened, and I think we can all be glad of that.

[Kirayoshi]

I remember a few issues of 'Peter Parker: Spider-Man', pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Bill Sienkiewicz. Not pretty.

During the early days of Image, the company published some of Jack Kirby's last artwork before his death, with various Image artists inking his pages. Some of the pages were better than others. Keith Giffen's were weird(he was in his 'Lobo' mode) and Rob Liefeld's were the worst. Erik Larsen's and Jerry Ordway's pages, OTOH, looked pretty spiffy.

[Mike Kuypers]

Neal Adams and Joe Sinnott. Two greats individually, but when they teamed up on Thor (#180, 181) Neal's art was hardly recognizable.

[Cei-U!]

Neal Adams and Joe Sinnott. Two greats individually, but when they teamed up on Thor (#180, 181) Neal's art was hardly recognizable.

Yet Neal has said in interviews that he loved Joe's inking on those stories (because it "looked like a Marvel comic," or words to that effect). Go figure.

Cei-U!
I summon the enigma!

[Cei-U!]

On the other hand, are there any penciller-inker collaborations you thought would be disasters that ended up being complementary?

There was an issue of Doctor Strange in the mid-70s pencilled by Gene Colan and inked by John Romita. It should've been a disaster but I liked it and said so to both men a few years back. Colan agreed it turned out okay. JR cringed when I mentioned it.

By the way, I rather enjoyed the Kubert/Anderson collaboration.

Cei-U!
I summon the odd couples!

[spoon_jenkins]

I dislike Al Milgrom inked by Joe Sinnott (on both Avengers and West Coast Avengers). Kyle Baker was the guest inker on one issue of WCA, and it was amazing how much better Milgrom's art looked.

I also disliked John Byrne inked by Klaus Janson (on a Wolverine story arc). I don't feel Janson is an "all-purpose" inker; he's more suited to pencilers who match his scratchy style.

[Gingold]

Bill Sienkieviech over Barry Windsor-Smith on Excalibur #27 wasn't pretty.

Al Milgrom killed Walt Simonson's pencils whenever he inked them.

Klaus Janson over Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez in the current JLA:Classified arc is interestesting and it looks professional enough, but I feel it's overpowering so much of what makes Garcia-Lopez's pencils so good.

[JeffreyWKramer]

Klaus Janson over Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez in the current JLA:Classified arc is interestesting and it looks professional enough, but I feel it's overpowering so much of what makes Garcia-Lopez's pencils so good.

It worked a lot better than I'd expected would be the case... but yeah, I'd rather it had been a different inker with a more fluid style.

[Red Oak Kid]

Yet Neal has said in interviews that he loved Joe's inking on those stories (because it "looked like a Marvel comic," or words to that effect). Go figure.

Cei-U!
I summon the enigma!

I think I understand what Neal was saying.

There are two ways that people view art. Some want to see how the artist interprets a character. What is Adams' take on Thor? Others want to see Thor art. Period. The Sinnott inks made it look like the Thor art that regular readers were accustomed to. The Sinnott inks gave Neal's art a continuity with the Kirby art it followed. Nothing wrong with that, IMO.

The most jarring inks on Adams, IMO, were those of George Roussos on the first Deadman story Neal did in Strange Adventures. Not good. Tho no offense to Mr. Roussous who had been in comics from it's inception. I think he had something to do with the inking or coloring on the first appearance of Batman in Detective or his own mag.

Also Adams was inked by John Verpooten in some issues of Amazing Adventures featuring the Inhumans. A tad heavy handed, but Neal has also stated in interview that he was happy with the results. Say what you will about Neal Adams, but he is always complementary to artists who have preceded him in this field. He shows a professional respect to anyone who has made a living drawing comics.

I wasn't real happy with Dan Adkins' inks on Adams in the early GL/GA stories.

Some early pages of a Brave and the Bold(But Bork Can Hurt You) were inked by Vince Colletta. I have read Neal was not happy with these pages, at the time. I have read that he got the uninked pages back from Colletta and had Dick Giordano ink them.

[Reptisaurus!]

Avengers Annual ...13? 14?

John Byrne totally ripped all the Ditko-ness out of Steve Ditko's artwork. (Which is kind of an accomplishment, actually.)

[Red Oak Kid]

Here's one such surprise. It's FRANK ROBBINS inked by P. CRAIG RUSSELL. Very nice, don't you think???


Michi

Ahh, that Comics Reader cover brings back memories. I had a subscription to it during that time frame.

[JKCarrier]

Bad mismatches:

Joe Sinnott inking Bill Sienkiewicz on Fantastic Four.
Terry Austin inking Howard Chaykin on the Dominic Fortune issue of Marvel Premiere.
Tony DeZuniga inking Walt Simonson on Thor (the '70s run).

Surprisingly good matches:

Craig Russell inking Steve Dikto on Rom.
Alfredo Alcala inking Jack Kirby on Destroyer Duck.

[theflyingfrogunderdog]

John Romita Jr. and Dan Green. I never liked the unfinished look of those mid '80s X-Men comics.