Daredevil Message Board

Nightwing2001 · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:53 pm Post subject: Underrated Daredevil Artists

Sure there is lots of love out there for the likes of Frank Miller, David Mazzuchelli, JR Jr. Lee Weeks, Gene Colan, Wally Wood, and Alex Maleev but what other artists who worked on the character do you feel are under appreciated? I have 2 that really stand out for me as being great but not really recognized.

1. Bob Brown: I think the run between when Black Widow left the book and when Miller started drawing it is kind of a overlooked time during the book. While not a groundbreaking time it had some good moments, especially the artwork of Bob Brown with inking by the great Klaus Jansen. I think he brought a dark mood to the comic way before Frank ever came along. Check out the 2 part Copperhead story from #124 and #125 to see what I mean. He also drew some good stuff for the Batman comics in the early 70's too and he kind of got overlooked as a great Batman artist too. It's a shame really.

2. William Johnson: While only doing a handful of issues between the end of Miller's stuff and the start of the amazing Mazzuchelli run, his artwork really stood out as something that was great but ended too early with no chance to really bloom into something that everyone would remember for years to come. It's too bad too because he drew a great looking version of DD and had some of the best looking fight and action scenes I've seen in the book. Check out Daredevil #207, for still to this day one of my favourite pics of DD swinging from the top of a building with his billy club cable to see just how great he was. It would have been so great to see him stay on the book for a lot longer than he did but alas it wasn't to be. Kuljit any chance you could ever get an interview with him? That would be great to hear of his time and experiences on the book.

I'd be interested in hearing about others picks as well.

Pete · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:25 pm Post subject:

Agree totally with the choice of the late great Bob Brown. Very underrated. His work got better as it went along and you're right, once Janson took over the inking the book did take on a darker tone. Check out the skylines on the second part of that Copperhead story and take away the wordy Wolfman dialogue and you've got pre-Miller Miller right there.

I'd hardly call him underrated, but Gil Kane pencilled a few classic issues way back also inked by Janson that people tend to overlook.

William Johnson - I thought the fight scenes were anything but realistic at first, but then I couldn't stand his art to begin with. It came as such a shock originally; after about six pages of Janson art in one issue, all of a sudden Janson's gone, Matt is off to Japan and we get this completely different look for the book. I found the remainder of that book and the next couple quite painful to get through but then he seemed to 'get it'. He did a great job with #200 and then around the issues with Crossbow and The Gael he really seemed to be flowing nicely. I was starting to really enjoy his art and then he got replaced, but seeing it was by The Mazz I could hardly complain.

The only other guy IMO who hasn't got a mention would be Cary Nord, the perfect choice for that nice little run of issues with Karl Kesel at the helm that broke up the nasty rut the book had fallen into for years.

And spare a thought for the inkers here. Janson always gets the mention, rightly, but there are guys like Tom Palmer who get completely overlooked. Yes, Colan was great but when inked by Palmer the look of the book went to new levels.

Pete · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 5:27 pm Post subject:

Haven't been here for years and now I'm post-post 400. Yay!

I'm now 'Fall from Grace.' Boo!

Ash-n-Bone · Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2015 3:33 pm Post subject:

Is Bill Sienkiewicz underrated? His work on Love and War is insane.

I also liked Tom Coker on the Noir series.

Naked Bat · Flying Blind Joined: 11 Feb 2015 Posts: 16

bob brown was dafinitely great.

james castle · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 4:50 pm Post subject:

I actually liked Scott McDaniel. So..... Is this thing on? Hello? Hello? Anybody there?

In my defence, I wasn't really familiar with Frank Miller's Sin City style stuff. Therefore I thought McDaniel was sort of original and cool as opposed to just kinda ripping of Miller a bit.
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train · Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2015 6:56 pm Post subject:

daredevil-art · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 3:46 pm Post subject:

I have to agree with William Johnson. I really enjoyed his issues back in the day.

He's since gone on to gain lots of respect and admiration, but when he was on DD I don't think much credit was given to Cary Nord's work. I know I loved it.

Ron Garney's work on #304 has always stuck with me. That's a fav issue of mine. Wish he'd done more than a couple fill-in issues.
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Dimetre · Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:30 pm Post subject:

I would like to give shout outs to the late great Wally Wood -- who created the red costume -- and Ron Wagner, who illustrated J.M. DeMatteis' run in the late #340's.

Nightwing2001 · Posted: Wed Mar 25, 2015 6:04 pm Post subject:

I had forgotten about Ron Wagner's work on the book Dimetre, you're right his art was pretty under rated as well.

You know I've enjoyed Cary Nord's artwork in other titles (XO Manowar and Conan come to mind) but I never really thought his version of DD looked that great even though he's a good artist. It might have also been the fault of the colorist and inker at the time too. I just remember his costume almost looking bright orange during that time. Not a good look for Daredevil lol.

Acerbus · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:51 pm Post subject:

Lee Weeks - Came along right after big names like David Mazzucchelli, Frank Miller and John Romita, Jr. Not commonly identified with the 'Fall from Grace' arc (even though, if I'm not mistaken, he penciled the earliest stuff with the armored DD suit) Probably why he's so underrated. Love his hatching, his anatomy is dead on, but his gesture work is impeccable. A bit like Mazzucchelli 2.0, but slightly more angular and menacing.

Wally Wood - The hatching, the anatomy, the storytelling, those page-one splashes. He almost had a European, pre-Raphaelite sensibility that virtually no Daredevil artists have had since. Only downside I can cite is that sometimes his characters looked a little stiff.

Gene Colan - He was inconsistent, there's no denying that. But when Gene Colan was on, he was the Daredevil artist. He was doing the film noir lighting effects long before Frank Miller showed up, his action scenes are still some of the best in the history of the art form, and his sense of mood and atmosphere was stellar (showcased a lot more on his Dracula stuff, though, honestly). He moved Daredevil into a darker, more serious direction even before the big Miller/Janson watershed moment happened. He's sort of Daredevil's answer to Neal Adams.

Dimetre · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 5:15 pm Post subject:

I know this is controversial, but I would add Joe Quesada to this list. I know he can't write, and I think he's also a bad editor, but I really enjoyed his work on Guardian Devil and Parts of a Hole. His work on Daredevil: Father was a serious downgrade, but I can't forget how blown away I was by his work when Marvel Knights first started.

Acerbus · Posted: Fri Apr 03, 2015 1:56 am Post subject: Re: Underrated Daredevil Artists

Mike Murdock · Golden Age Joined: 08 Sep 2014 Posts: 1750

I know I'm bumping an old thread, but I've been reading a lot of early Daredevil recently and I wanted to comment on Gene Colan.

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