Best Superman Artist EVER!

[manofsteel1979]

I certainly don't think Jim Lee deserves the title for best Superman artist ever, but his work on For Tomorrow was pretty damn amazing. Some might grumble at the dark and (I almost hate to use the term, but) gritty style, but I think it complemented Azzarello's writing and story perfectly.

However, I do think Jim Lee is quite easily the best Superman artist in the New 52, which not surprising given that he designed the costume. His New 52 Superman is better than others because he manages to maintain Superman's physique by not making the armour look too bulky. I look at his New 52 drawings of Superman and see the armour being like a thin outer shell which fits the contours of his body. Other artists often make it look like full blown plate armour which gives the impression that underneath it, Superman himself is actually really thin. To demonstrate, here's a quick comparison between his Superman and Jesus Merino's:

As much as I dislike "FOR TOMORROW" as a story, the artwork was still very very nice. The covers from that one, especially the first issue, was classic.

As for Lee and New 52 Superman, actually as time wears on even he had dialed back the lines and the armoredness of his design from even JL#1.

I always thought Jesus Merino did a pretty ok rendition of the Nu suit, especially when you contrast it with some of the other artists initially at the start of the New 52. For instance, George Perez's covers for his run, especially issue #1,made Superman look like an toy action figure!!! That image of Merino's actually evokes a more of a tight Leather-ish suit rather than armor (the iron man-esque boots aside). Look at the waist and the end of the cuffs. It looked thick and durable like leather or even rubber, but not plate armor by any means.

Now Gene Ha's rendition in that one issue of JL? THAT was plate armor.

To get back on topic, I'd safely say Swan is the all time greatest Superman artist, due to the fact he molded the character into what a majority of the public sees in their head when you evoke the comic book version of Superman.

While his art wasn't aging well by the late 70's (I still maintain to this day they should have took him off the main books as the regular artist and put him on the licensing and special projects/annuals), he was always solid, and I've never seen any piece of Superman art by him that was truly bad or sub-par. While there were certainly more dynamic artists that evoked the same sensibilities of Swan's Superman (Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Tom Grummett, Kerry Gammil and Dan Jurgens all come to mind) no one else's Superman art has ingrained itself into our pop culture consciousness more than Swan's. Whether or not he's my personal favorite Superman artist is irrelevant. He is the most influential Superman artist in the character's history aside from Shuster.

[manofsteel1979]

No one mentioned Dan Jurgens or John Byrne?

Jurgens is in my top three of favorites, alongside Garcia-Lopez and the criminally underated Kerry Gammill. However, They all were following the lead of Swan. I view all of their looks as Swan's template refined through their artistic sensibilities.

Byrne...I liked his Superman stuff, and still do to some degree,but as time goes on I like it a bit less and less. While his page design and action was always solid, he tended to make Superman too bulked up and at times (especially in Man of Steel) gave him a too much of a neanderthal-ish chin/facial profile). Plus, he always seems to draw the same face expression on most of his guy characters and especially his women characters.

[El Sombrero]

Frank Quitely. All-Star Superman is a treasure of humanity.

[El Sombrero]

But if I had to choose one guy who does the best Superman of the whole bunch, that honor has to go to one of the best all-around artists DC ever had, the great Tom Grummett:

Wow, these are really good. I was never really a big Grummett fan but these two pieces are perfect.

[manofsteel1979]

Wow, these are really good. I was never really a big Grummett fan but these two pieces are perfect.

I agree. I really dig the Fleisher inspired drawing.

I would love the second one to be a cover for the upcoming ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN book!!!

I would love to see Grummett do a version of the Nu52 or MAN OF STEEL looks for Superman. I have a feeling he'd nail it.

[Charlus]

Maybe I'm misreading you, but it sounds like you're mainly crediting him because he was fast. Personally I couldn't care less how fast an artist is - just what the finished result looks like.

I loved Swan's work when I was a kid - and I still have some affection for it, but at the same time it has weaknesses - which may well have been the result of how quickly he was churning out pages. His art is very stiff and not at all dynamic.

Besides the fact that I love his work per se, I was praising his work ethics, in a time when comicbooks artists were everything but famous and glamorous, and the recognition they had almost insignificant.

[OldSchoolfan]

No one mentioned Dan Jurgens or John Byrne?

Jim Lee is my all time favorite artist, not just Superman artist.

This is where it gets dicey....because the thread was started with such precision. But I could go down the list of artists that drew Superman really well, and I loved their story telling capabilities.

If I did it by era I would say this:

40's: Fred Ray

50's: Wayne Boring

60's: Curt Swan

70's: Garcia Lopez, close second to Gil Kane

80's:Byrne

90's:Bog with close second to Grummett and Jurgens

00's: Pacheco

Current: Jurgens

But it leaves out a lot of really great artist who worked on the books and did one shots and miniseries, McGuinness, Sale, Nguyen, Darwin Cooke,....

And then how do you take into account Jack Kirby's very influential run on Jimmy Olsen? Was that an accomplishment of Storytelling, art or both? How do you separate that...

Like I said, I really respect Swan's work....but there were a bunch of guys who went beyond what he did, even though his contribution is significant.

[R0NIN]

Swan is number one. Other favorites are Bog, Jurgens, Lee, and Bryne.

[tardisrider]

I love all the Curt Swan votes, but after a quick scan of this thread, it looks like nobody has mentioned Wayne Boring unless I missed it.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let me cast my vote for Wayne Boring.

[OldSchoolfan]

I love all the Curt Swan votes, but after a quick scan of this thread, it looks like nobody has mentioned Wayne Boring unless I missed it.

So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, let me cast my vote for Wayne Boring.

Please look up about two posts and you will see I put him in my favorite 50's artist category. The barrell chested Man of Steel saves the lovely, and graceful, Lois Lane.

A lot of people notice Boring's Superman but not too many mention his Lois.

[King Krypton]

I agree. I really dig the Fleisher inspired drawing.

And that one would be a private commission I got from him almost two years ago. It's easily the crown jewel of my art collection. (He takes commissions at Statue Forum, by the way.)

Funny thing about it: I get conflicting reactions from other artists vis-a-vis inking it. John Livesay wanted to take it home with him and ink it right over the pencils. Angel Medina begged me to never have it inked, not even over a blueline scan. And other artists have begged me to have a blueline scan made so they can take turns inking it. It seems like everybody loves the art, but they can't agree on what should be done with it.

I would love to see Grummett do a version of the Nu52 or MAN OF STEEL looks for Superman. I have a feeling he'd nail it.

Ah, and that's the beauty of commissioned art. You don't have to wonder anymore how he'd do it. It doesn't hurt that his rates are pretty reasonable, so it would be a simple matter to ask him to take a whack at either of those costumes.

[asiansupes]

And that one would be a private commission I got from him almost two years ago. It's easily the crown jewel of my art collection. (He takes commissions at Statue Forum, by the way.)

Funny thing about it: I get conflicting reactions from other artists vis-a-vis inking it. John Livesay wanted to take it home with him and ink it right over the pencils. Angel Medina begged me to never have it inked, not even over a blueline scan. And other artists have begged me to have a blueline scan made so they can take turns inking it. It seems like everybody loves the art, but they can't agree on what should be done with it.



Ah, and that's the beauty of commissioned art. You don't have to wonder anymore how he'd do it. It doesn't hurt that his rates are pretty reasonable, so it would be a simple matter to ask him to take a whack at either of those costumes.

I think it'd be awesome if you'd bluescan it, let other artists ink it, and blog/post the results. It'd be interesting to see what techniques/approaches each would take. Technically, one can take the pic you posted and blow it up to comic size and ink it off of that. Regardless, that is one nice piece. It also shows how much an inker(like Doug Hazlewood, for example) can bring to the table such as depth through line thickness, spotting blacks, etc.

[Coyote2010]

As much as I dislike "FOR TOMORROW" as a story, the artwork was still very very nice. The covers from that one, especially the first issue, was classic.

As for Lee and New 52 Superman, actually as time wears on even he had dialed back the lines and the armoredness of his design from even JL#1.

I always thought Jesus Merino did a pretty ok rendition of the Nu suit, especially when you contrast it with some of the other artists initially at the start of the New 52. For instance, George Perez's covers for his run, especially issue #1,made Superman look like an toy action figure!!! That image of Merino's actually evokes a more of a tight Leather-ish suit rather than armor (the iron man-esque boots aside). Look at the waist and the end of the cuffs. It looked thick and durable like leather or even rubber, but not plate armor by any means.

Now Gene Ha's rendition in that one issue of JL? THAT was plate armor.

To get back on topic, I'd safely say Swan is the all time greatest Superman artist, due to the fact he molded the character into what a majority of the public sees in their head when you evoke the comic book version of Superman.

While his art wasn't aging well by the late 70's (I still maintain to this day they should have took him off the main books as the regular artist and put him on the licensing and special projects/annuals), he was always solid, and I've never seen any piece of Superman art by him that was truly bad or sub-par. While there were certainly more dynamic artists that evoked the same sensibilities of Swan's Superman (Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Tom Grummett, Kerry Gammil and Dan Jurgens all come to mind) no one else's Superman art has ingrained itself into our pop culture consciousness more than Swan's. Whether or not he's my personal favorite Superman artist is irrelevant. He is the most influential Superman artist in the character's history aside from Shuster.

I really like the Jim Lee design here and the Jesus Merino version. The Merino version especially has a distinct look to it that made the Nu 52 book seem like a clear break with the past.

Now that he might be leaving, I gotta give a big thumbs up to Roccafort. I think he really set a visual tone for the nu Supes that says "forward thinking" for the character.

[Ice Wolf]

I agree. I really dig the Fleisher inspired drawing.

I would love the second one to be a cover for the upcoming ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN book!!!

I would love to see Grummett do a version of the Nu52 or MAN OF STEEL looks for Superman. I have a feeling he'd nail it.

Grummett would have to be one of may favourite artists along with Humberto Ramos and Todd Nauck.

I wish he had got more of a chance to draw the old Young Justice team, only really drew them in one issue of Superboy and with all of the other characters he had to draw in the issue I don't think he was able to do his best work.

I preferred the Hazelwood's inks over Kesel's although that might have been due to the Kirby inspired look of their 2nd run.