Discuss: X-Spinoffs

Doug:  Below is the updated bracket.  As we've moved to the "Elite 8", which artists left behind certainly would have been worthy of being in this round of honor?  From my perspective, Jim Aparo stands out, as does Rich Buckler.  I wouldn't place Buckler in the category of "technical master" as I would, say, the Buscemas, Adams, or Byrne, but for sheer output and his oft-mentioned morphing style (which I actually like -- on the one hand it sort of dates the art for the viewer, and I do think aping Kirby and then Adams, and then developing a style all his own, is no small feat), he truly is a Bronze Age treasure.  So we'll have two discussions today -- the one at hand, and a continuing conversation on artists.

Discuss: Image Comics

Doug:  It was 20 years ago today... give or take a couple of days.

How Important Are Backgrounds?

Doug: Interesting question today, and one that's the subject of criticisms of certain artists from time to time -- does your mind's eye require backgrounds in a panel, or are you generally OK with just plain colors?

Doug: Certainly when the boys from Image were getting rolling, one of the knocks on Mr. Liefeld was his lack of not only feet on his characters, but often the lack of the insertion of background pencils behind those same characters -- speed lines, cross-hatching, and general smokiness don't count in my book. Now I know that those sorts of details can be a bit tedious in a major-deadline sort of way, but we also know that in the past some artists have gotten up-and-comers to cut their teeth doing solely detail work. With the sort of cash those Marvel-leavers were generating, they certainly could have afforded to find a way to make it right. If you're unsure of what I'm speaking, run your eye down the main page of our blog and check out some of Sal Buscema's panel work. In fact, other than the Gil Kane Tales of Suspense sample near the bottom, just about all of our examples contain backgrounds.

Doug: So you can tell I'm a guy that would like "the whole picture". I'd also like it to be accurate when necessary -- quite a while ago we reviewed Fantastic Four #167, where the Hulk and Thing battle atop St. Louis' Gateway Arch. The art team of George Perez and Joe Sinnott inaccurately depicted the Arch, which is metal, as being made of concrete. Uh uh -- definite no-no. Do some research.

Doug: So sound off, and thanks in advance as always!

Part Three: Cajun Gumbo, or Dumbo?

Karen: I've always thought that the 1990s were a terrible time for comics. We had all the ridiculous gimmicks, like the foil covers, multiple covers, and holographic covers. But the quality of comics in general seemed to decline. I was particularly put off by the 'art'. Sure, there were some guys who eventually blossomed, like Jim Lee, and then there were those who just kept sliding further and further down the slippery slope of horrifically bad (and yes, I do mean Liefeld).

Doug: What are you trying to say, Karen? That you aren't built like one of their women who would have permanent spinal cord damage from posturing all the time?

Karen: To go along with this, there were a lot of horrible costume designs. The X-Men were at the forefront of this. Suddenly, the X-Men were all covered with straps and pouches. People had padding all over. Headbands. It was awful. And the one that bothered me the most was Gambit.

Doug: Yeah, all of those accessories almost made those stupid bomber jackets the Avengers were wearing look good!

Karen: Let's take a look at his ensemble. It is confused. It looks like three different character designs were combined into one. We have the skin-tight jumpsuit, with the odd steel blue and violet color combo. He has weird scriggly things around his neck. Headband, check. The boots look either metallic, or later, like robot-dinosaur feet. And of course, the most glaring item, the trenchcoat. I have no problem with trenchcoats per se. But combined with tights, well, I think they look ridiculous.


Karen: I don't get this. What are they going for here? The trenchcoat seems to indicate toughness, yet he's got that big violet chest piece, which just seems kinda wimpy.

Doug: Agreed. You'd have thought he could have found a violet-colored trench coat. Of course, they never drew him with irises, so perhaps he couldn't really see how dorky he looked...

Karen: But I should admit that I am biased, as I always thought Gambit had the dumbest powers to go along with his look. I mean, c'mon - the guy throws playing cards at people. I guess if he missed his target, they'd probably fall on the floor laughing, so he'd still catch them. But really...playing cards.

Doug: The only time playing cards were used in an "oh, wow" way was by Bullseye in Daredevil #181, and that was certainly a morbid display of accuracy.

Karen: Obviously, I am calling this one a disaster.

Doug: Second. And get a haircut, too!