Heroes and their definitive artists

[zuludelta]

Just thought I'd start a discussion on definitive artists when it comes to certain characters. Whose rendition instantly comes to mind when you think of a particular hero/villain? Here's my list (clicking on the artists' names will link to an image of the character as drawn by that artist):

Incredible Hulk: Dale Keown

Wolverine: John Byrne, Art Adams, Marc Silvestri, and Jim Lee.

Silver Surfer: Ron Lim

Daredevil: John Romita, Jr. and Lee Weeks

Ghost Rider: Javier Saltares

Punisher: John Romita, Jr. and Tim Bradstreet

Spider-Man: Todd McFarlane (I don't really like his "big-eyed" version but it's the first one that comes to mind when I think Spidey)

X-Men: John Byrne and Jim Lee

Justice League: Bruce Timm

[Revenant]

Nice thread idea, zuludelta... Here are a few that stand out strongly in mind..

Iron Man: Adi Granov

Wolverine I'd say Art Adams too!

Huntress /Birds of Prey: Ed Benes

Deadman:  Neal Adams

[GhostMachine]

Incredible Hulk: Herb Trimpe (also who I think of when I think of G.I. Joe)

Wolverine: Pretty much the same: Byrne, Adams, Silvestri, Lee, but also Dave Cockrum

Silver Surfer: John Buscema and Ron Lim

Daredevil: Gene Colan and Frank Miller

Spider-Man: John Romita Sr - no one else even comes close

X-Men: John Byrne, Dave Cockrum and Jim Lee

Justice League: Dick Dillin

Batman: Oh, man, where do I start? Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, Marshall Rogers

Fantastic Four: John Byrne

She-Hulk: John Byrne

Superman: Curt Swan, John Byrne

Avengers: John Buscema, John Byrne, George Perez

Wonder Woman: George Perez

Titans: George Perez

Captain America: Jack Kirby, Mike Zeck, John Byrne (the run by Roger Stern and John Byrne was cut waaaay too short!)

Iron Man: John Romita Jr and Bob Layton, Mark Bright

[Podmark]

Spider-Man: Mark Bagley

[Agent]

The first few that come to mind are

Superman: Curt Swan

Batman: Jim Aparo  (He drew a pretty cool Aquaman, too)

Daredevil: John Romita, Jr.

Silver Surfer:  Ron Lim

[UnkoMan]

Spider-Man... Ditko! Come on, people!

Actually, Ditko'd be Daredevil AND Dr. Strange for me, too. And all those Charlston guys. And about a million other characters he created. And all those horror books. What can I say? Ditko is burned into my mind since childhood.

Actually, if I had to pick a modern artist, I'd probably go with Humberto Ramos. Man, I posted way too much about this and hardly covered anybody.

Okay, one more. She-Hulk? Byrne... or whoever the heck it was who did these covers

[zuludelta]

Great replies everyone!

Okay, one more. She-Hulk? Byrne... or whoever the heck it was who did these covers

Judging from the signature and the style, I'd say it's Adi Granov, who's more famous for his work on Iron Man (as already noted by Revenant).

Okay more definitive character artists:

Conan: Frank Frazetta and John Buscema

G.I. Joe: Ron Wagner

Elektra: Bill Sienkewicz

Iceman: Whilce Portacio

Archangel: Whilce Portacio

TMNT: A.C. Farley and Jim Lawson

Cable: It pains me to say it but... Rob Liefeld  :oops:

[lugaru]

Couple of No Brainers:

Kabuki - David Mack

The Crow - James O Barr

X-Statix - Mike Allred

Marv - Frank Miller

Hellboy - Mike Mignolla

Groo - Serio Aragones

More Debatable ones:

Catwoman - Paul Gulacy

Psylocke - Jim Lee  :wub:

Spawn - Greg Capullo (take that McFarlane!)

spider-man - John Romita, Jr

Storm - Barry Windsor Smith

Daredevil - Joe Quesada (pepole hate him but he is versatile)

[Spring Heeled Jack]

Thor: John Romita Jr. (Sorry, I couldn't find a great example!)

[Courtnall6]

Warning!!! You may get a "Byrning" sensation while reading this!

Superman - John Byrne.

Batman - Neal Adams, Jim Aparo, John Byrne, Jim Lee

Wonder Woman - John Byrne, George Perez, Adam Hughes

X-Men - John Byrne, Jim Lee, Mark Sylvestri

Fantastic Four - John Byrne, Jack Kirby.

Avengers - John Byrne, George Perez, John Buscema

Wolverine - John Byrne, Art Adams, Marc Sylvestri, Jim Lee

Captain America - Mike Zeck, John Byrne

Thor - Ron Frenz, Walt Simonson, Jack Kirby, John Buscema

Hulk - Dale Keown, John Byrne, John Buscema

Silver Surfer - Ron Lim, John Buscema

Spider-Man - John Byrne, John Romita Sr, Mark Bagley, Todd Mcfarlane

Hawkeye - John Byrne.

Punisher - Mike Zeck, Jim Lee, John Romita Jr

Daredevil - John Romita Jr

She-Hulk - John Byrne.

Green Lantern (Hal) - Neal Adams, John Byrne

Green Arrow - Neal Adams

Captain Marvel (DC) - John Byrne, Alex Ross

Doctor Doom  - John Byrne, Jack Kirby.

Iron Man - Mark Bright, Bob Layton

Teen Titans - George Perez

Namor - John Byrne, John Buscema

Galactus - John Byrne.

Thanos -Ron Lim

Venom - Todd Mcfarlane, Mark Bagley.

Carnage -Mark Bagley.

[Revenant]

Wonder Woman - John Byrne, George Perez, Adam Hughes

Gahh!!  Why didn't I think of that?  I want to add Brian Bolland as well.

[Mr. Hamrick]

Batman - another vote for Neil Adams here!  (wasn't Neil the guy who drew the title in the early to mid 70s)

[thalaw2]

Batman - Norm Breyfogle ...why don't people here give this man his props?!?!  The way he put Batman in the shadows is un-matched.

Hulk - I agree with Dale K., Lee Weeks

[Revenant]

Props for Norm Breyfogle, I like his Batman!
Also for Neal Adams..

One of my first childhood superhero memories was a puzzle I had, it was a picture of Batman done by Neal Adams.  His Joker is pretty definitive as well, because most of the Batman merchandise from the early 80's that I got my little hands on had Adams' art on it.  I think he was the artist through Batman's globe-trotting "hairy chested love god" phase as well (and that's not my term!)

I think the Wonder Woman stuff I had from back then was drawn by Dick Giordano... those childhood memories sure do leave a lasting impression!

[Jakew]

I think Neal Adams also did the best Green Arrow (although I also liked Phil Hester on the title).

And just to throw out someone who hasn't been mentioned: Judge Dredd as drawn by Carlos Ezquerra.

My personal definite Captain America and Silver Surfer artist was Ron Lim.

Also Alan Davis --- Captain Britain

[thalaw2]

I'm surprised no mentioned MARK TEXEIRA for Wolverine.

[JKCarrier]

Batman - Dick Sprang

Superman - Curt Swan

Wonder Woman - Harry G. Peter

Flash - Carmine Infantino

Green Lantern - Gil Kane

Teen Titans - Nick Cardy

Justice League of America - Dick Dillin

Captain America - Jack Kirby

Spider-Man - Steve Ditko

Thor - Jack Kirby

Daredevil - Gene Colan

Fantastic Four - Jack Kirby

Dr. Strange - Steve Ditko

Iron Man - Gene Colan

X-Men - Dave Cockrum

Avengers - John Buscema

[psychopanda]

Hey C6, do you like John Byrne?  :lol:

Here's my list:
Superman - Curt Swan, John Byrne.

Batman - Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers

Legion of Super Heroes - Keith Giffen, Dave Cockrum, Mike Grell

Wolverine - Barry Windsor-Smith, Art Adams, Frank Miller, classic: John Byrne

Fantastic Four - John Byrne, Jack Kirby.

Avengers - George Perez, John Byrne

Captain America - Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, John Byrne

Thor - Jack Kirby (for teh win!), JRjr gets a close second though

Hulk - John Buscema, John Byrne

Silver Surfer - Ron Lim, John Buscema, Moebius

Spider-Man - Steve Ditko, John Romita Sr

Daredevil - Frank Miller, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Steve Ditko

She-Hulk - John Byrne.

Green Lantern (Hal) - Dave Gibbons, Gil Kane, Neal Adams

Green Arrow - Neal Adams

Doctor Doom  - John Byrne

Iron Man - Bob Layton, Mark Bright

Teen Titans - George Perez

Namor - John Byrne, John Buscema

Galactus - John Byrne.

Thanos - Jim Starlin

Dr Strange - Steve Ditko (really, the only person who captured the character for me)

Moon Knight - Bil Sienkiewicz

Punisher - Frank Miller, Ross Andru

[doctorchallenger]

I'm with Psychopanda and/or C6 on most items:

Here are my additions:

Green Lantern (Hal): (Adams, Kane) Mike Grell

Green Arrow: (Adams) Jack Kirby (pre-beard), Mike Grell

Batman: (Adams, Aparo, Rogers, Sprang) Don Newton

Spider-Man (Ditko, Romita Sr.) John Romita Jr., Gil Kane

Wonder Woman: (Perez, Byrne) Alex Toth (Super Friends char. design) and believe it or not, Don Heck

Captain (SHAZAM) Marvel: Jerry Ordway

Hawkman: Joe Kubert, Murphy Anderson, Jerry Ordway, Rich Buckler

JSA/All-Star Squadron: Jerry Ordway, Rich Bucker

Dr. Strange: (Ditko) Marshal Rogers, Jackson Guice, Paul Smith

Hulk: Sal Buscema

Captain (Kree) Marvel - Gil Kane

Iron Man: John Romita Jr./Bob Layton

[Mowgli]

Iron Man- John Romite Jr. and Bob Layton
Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four and She Hulk- John Byrne
Daredevil- Frank Miller
Batman- Jim Aparo
Green Lantern/Green Arrow- Neal Adams
Swamp Thing- Bernie Wrightson
Flash- Carmine Infantino
Teen Titans- George Perez
Spider-Man- Steve Ditko

[Courtnall6]

Hey C6, do you like John Byrne?  :lol:

He's ok...I guess...

:P

[GrizzlyBearTalon]

Thou hast mention Dale Keown!

THOU HAST SUMMONED ME!

The Incredible Hulk = Dale Keown

The Darkness = Dale Keown II III

Dale Keown is one of my favorite artists for comics without a doubt, I LOVE his style. He is so wonderful at drawing big huge muscular behemoths and I absolutely love it. If I could ever pay someone to draw my avatar for any amount of money I would have him do it and die from a nerdgasm in the process.

When I think of comics in my mind I see the images of many of the classic artists like John Byrne, John Romita Sr. and Jack Kirby. Their impact was huge.

My personal favorites are probably Dale Keown, John Byrne and George Perez.

[daglob]

What's weird about this is how many "definitive" artists there are for each character.

I've been reading a lot of "Showcase Presents" and Marvel "Essentials", as well as buying a lot of the old comics no-one wants that much (Piranna, Jigsaw, Spyman, Bee Man, from Harvey, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Werewolf from Dell, Nemesis and Magicman from ACG). It's making me re-evaluate a lot of artists.

The definitive artist on the Avengers wold be a tie between Don Heck and John Buscema. I doubt anyhone will argue about Big John, but it is surprising to see Heck's earlier art and realize that the man could really DRAW. He could tell a story, he could display emotions, and ,while I do think Buscema is better overall, his run on The Avengers is better than just about anyone elses'.

The definitive artist on Spider-Man is Stever Ditko, with Johnny Romita a close second.. Most of the artist to follow them has tried to use their work as a background. This is not a bad thing.

Jack Kirby is the definitive artist on a lot of stuff: Thor, Captain America, and, of course, The Fantastic Four. I got Essential Thor #3, and at one point quit reading the lead story and read Tales of Asgard. It was epic fantasy on a grand scale, just like Stan would say-they really pulled it off. It was better written, drawn, and even inked than the soap opera at the front of the book. Captain America had Kirby's most cinematic art, and he seemd to put more into it than aaythign EXCEPT Tales of Asgard. For a few minutes once  month you could thrill to the advantures of The Living Legend of World War II, and really THRILL to it. And despite the fact that a lot of the FF stories leading up to #100 seem a little... disjointed... that 100 issues is an example of constant improvement, experimentation, and development unlike anything else.

I usually think of Curt Swan's Superman; I remember Wayne Boring's work from the Annuals, and I've seen some of Jack Burnley's art (which was ahead of it's time), and seen Byrne's and Garcia-Lopez, all of it beautiful, but Swan is the one. He is my favorite Legion artist, too, and probably had more to do with how it looked than any other artist until Keith Giffen came along..

Sheldon Moldorf was Batman's artist for years, yet no-one seems to mention that. I really preferred Carmine Infantino's "new look", and Neal Adams on the character was just about perfect.

Speaking of Carmine Infantino, NO ONE has ever drawn The Flash like him, and no one ever will. That's not to to say other artists aren't good, far from it. It's just that people STLL draw speed like Infantino did.

Who remembers George Perez on The Inhumans? It ws probably the work he did on Teen Titans that made you forget. I liked Nick Cardy's version, but Perez's was just "right" for it.

To Be Continued.

[psychopanda]

Yeah, I don't know why I skipped John Buscema in my Avenger's list?! He really is a master of form. I didn't like his art for a long time. I think his (sometimes) goofy expressions, put me off. The way he draws action and superheroes is just astounding though.

I usd to really dislike Heck as well. I think it was a year or two ago when I started doing my "Kirbees" avatars, that I found some pieces of Don Heck art and really noticed how great it was. He reminds me of the middle-road stylewise, somewhere between the crazy power of Kirby and the subdued strangeness of Ditko.

[doctorchallenger]

And I have Don Heck on my list- Booyah!

But seriosuly, Don is just overshadowed by Jack, Steve John B. and John R.   Don was a journeyman in the superhero genre. I have read he was a great romance comic artist, though I have never seen any.  For me, Don had two weaknesses. First was that scif-fi wasn't his element; his gizmos and costuming was always a bit wonky for me.  Kirby could pull off these great big pieces of metal and somehow make them look cool. Don, not so much.  Check out the Triumpherate of Terror sometime (from Avengers) and you'll see what I mean.  Second, and this wasn't Don's fault, but he needed an inker with a special touch.  His pencils are very heavy, and most of the inks that I have seen did not complement him well, (Except what I've seen from the early 70s Wonder Woman).  I would have liked to see a Tom Palmer or especailly a Joe Sinnott ink him, I think it would have been really good.

My explanation for multiple definitive artists is that these characters have been around so longand have gone through significant evolution.  Can you understand how Jim Lee draws Batman without Miller or Rogers? 

[daglob]

And I have Don Heck on my list- Booyah!

But seriosuly, Don is just overshadowed by Jack, Steve John B. and John R.   Don was a journeyman in the superhero genre. I have read he was a great romance comic artist, though I have never seen any.  For me, Don had two weaknesses. First was that scif-fi wasn't his element; his gizmos and costuming was always a bit wonky for me.  Kirby could pull off these great big pieces of metal and somehow make them look cool. Don, not so much.  Check out the Triumpherate of Terror sometime (from Avengers) and you'll see what I mean.  Second, and this wasn't Don's fault, but he needed an inker with a special touch.  His pencils are very heavy, and most of the inks that I have seen did not complement him well, (Except what I've seen from the early 70s Wonder Woman).  I would have liked to see a Tom Palmer or especailly a Joe Sinnott ink him, I think it would have been really good.

My explanation for multiple definitive artists is that these characters have been around so longand have gone through significant evolution.  Can you understand how Jim Lee draws Batman without Miller or Rogers? 

I've heard that Don Heck actually hated super-heroes. Funny thing about your comment about Don Heck and SF, the first time I realized he could draw was a reprint of an old SF/Horror story from the late '50s. I mean, it was so good I almost doubted it was Don Heck. For some of his stories in Avengers and Iron Man, Heck was inked by Wally Wood. Mmmm-mmmm-good.

It's sad that Wally Wood isn't regarded as the difinitive artist on SOMETHING, but, THUNDER Agents (and Captain Action, Stalker, and a few others who came and went so fast) aside, he seldom worked on a book long enough to really make a difference in the characters.

[JKCarrier]

It's sad that Wally Wood isn't regarded as the difinitive artist on SOMETHING

Power Girl!  :lol:

[doctorchallenger]

Daredevil - Frank Miller, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Steve Ditko

[daglob]

Daredevil - Frank Miller, Gil Kane, Wally Wood, Steve Ditko

Although he designed the red Daredevil costume, Wood didn't really do a lot that made the character "his". I mean, Steve Ditko drew the first Iron Man story with his red and gold armor (I don't know if he designed it, but I assume so), but no one has mentioned him as a defineitive Iron Man artist, have they?

As I said, it's funny how many different artists could be said to be the defineitive artist of one characer, and yet still be right. Batman was created by Bob Kane (& Co.), given life by Jerry Robinson, continued by Sheldon Moldrof, ressurrected by Carmine Infantino, re-envisioned by Neal Adams, and continued by Jim Aparo (with a little help from Marshall Rogers, Mike Golden,  and others). I guess you'd have to decide who had the MOST influence on the character EVER, which, in the case of some of DC's old timers, might be difficult.

[psychopanda]

Although he designed the red Daredevil costume, Wood didn't really do a lot that made the character "his". I mean, Steve Ditko drew the first Iron Man story with his red and gold armor (I don't know if he designed it, but I assume so), but no one has mentioned him as a defineitive Iron Man artist, have they?

As I said, it's funny how many different artists could be said to be the defineitive artist of one characer, and yet still be right. Batman was created by Bob Kane (& Co.), given life by Jerry Robinson, continued by Sheldon Moldrof, ressurrected by Carmine Infantino, re-envisioned by Neal Adams, and continued by Jim Aparo (with a little help from Marshall Rogers, Mike Golden,  and others). I guess you'd have to decide who had the MOST influence on the character EVER, which, in the case of some of DC's old timers, might be difficult.

In defense of my answer...   ;)

I went with the vibe of the answers (FR is a pretty carefree bunch) rather than the strict question. So, Wally Wood (and alot of the artists I listed) aren't what I would consider "definitive". Wally Wood's run was brief, but I really liked the art style he employed. It reminded me of Ditko's Daredevil taken another step further. I don't know that anyone can truely improve on Ditko's art, but Wally Wood seemed as close as one could get.

I actually asked this same question in another forum and got more definitive answers. The crowd there is pretty much an older, strictly comics bunch though.