'Good' comics you haven't read because you don't like the art

fenway

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Messages
456
Do you have any titles, past or present, that seem to be hailed as great, but you just can't read because you don't like the art?

This thread isn't intended to anger people, though being critical of something almost universally liked will, by nature, do just that.

I, for example, have never read Transmetropolitan or anything Sandman because I can't get into the art (not just the art, actually, but the page layouts also... I know, weird). You see, I didn't read them at the time, and now they look so dated to me. They remind me of the 90's, when I took a break from comics because they seemed so blah.

What about you?
 
Do you have any titles, past or present, that seem to be hailed as great, but you just can't read because you don't like the art?

This thread isn't intended to anger people, though being critical of something almost universally liked will, by nature, do just that.

I, for example, have never read Transmetropolitan or anything Sandman because I can't get into the art (not just the art, actually, but the page layouts also... I know, weird). You see, I didn't read them at the time, and now they look so dated to me. They remind me of the 90's, when I took a break from comics because they seemed so blah.

What about you?

Not quite the same because I do read these, but the current Captain America series by Rick Remender. I just don't like JRJR.

Also I read Preacher and it was OK but I just couldn't hold it in the high regard that most people do because I hate the art so much.

I don't think I've come across anything I flat out refused to read because of the art, but it certainly makes some books a chore to get through.
 
It's funny you mentioned Preacher... It's also in this category for me.
Conversely, there's stuff that I buy just because of the art/artist, but I suppose that's another thread. :)
 
I think a lot of the great Vertigo comics have inconsistent art. I put off reading Sandman and Swamp Thing because the art looked so... "old," for lack of a better word. But then I read them and enjoyed them and the art either suited the story or didn't bother me.

I don't know what the point of this post was.
 
It's funny you mentioned Preacher... It's also in this category for me.
Conversely, there's stuff that I buy just because of the art/artist, but I suppose that's another thread. :)

Me too, even if I don't care for the writer.

I generally like Mark Millar, but I picked up Jupiter's Legacy solely for the Frank Quitely art.

I think a lot of the great Vertigo comics have inconsistent art. I put off reading Sandman and Swamp Thing because the art looked so... "old," for lack of a better word. But then I read them and enjoyed them and the art either suited the story or didn't bother me.

I know what you mean about Sandman. I don't care for that "look". I tried reading it but couldn't get through it (but that wasn't specifically because of the art).

I generally like John Tottleben but his faces can be weird. There are a few panels in Miracleman where Liz looks like an old grandma. I seem to remember Swamp Thing being more consistent but it was probably still weird in places.

The more I think about it, there are a number of 90's era comics I wouldn't touch because of the art. I can't think of any one book specifically but that whole garish coloring style is just offensive to the eye.

Or, after reading New X-Men, I would probably henceforth avoid a book if it had Igor Kordey drawing it.
 
I think a lot of the great Vertigo comics have inconsistent art. I put off reading Sandman and Swamp Thing because the art looked so... "old," for lack of a better word. But then I read them and enjoyed them and the art either suited the story or didn't bother me.

I don't know what the point of this post was.

Sandman art does look dated at first, then it's like someone flips a switch and it looks exactly like modern sled art. Probably about when Jill Thompson comes on.

I'm going to go with from Hell on this. I haven't read it but I've flipped through it a few times but it just looks like someone did thumbnails and called it a day.


Fenway, is it possible that you don't like artists that are more... disgusting? Both Robinson and Dillon both revel in gory details in their art. Of course Dillon also suffers from Dillon face syndrome.
 
Last edited:
I think, to a large extent, it's an issue of becoming acclimated to the art.

All the series that have been mentioned require becoming accustomed to the art. Transmet and Sandman stick out as series where the art is.... jarring. I don't think it has to do with being dated so much as it's an acquired taste. The art fits the story but it deviates fro mwhat you expect aesthetically. But when you get into the story and start examining the artwork, it makes sense. Darrick Robertson in particular has a sense of detail that outmatches the roughness of his design and it fits the narrative of a discombobulated, jagged edge world.

For me, it was Starman and the Question (and Alan Moore's Swamp Thing, though I think that is in large part due to the printing and coloring more than the are itself). In the former, the photorealistc style is something that's never appealed to me. In the latter, the art just felt drab. I'd heard great things about both the stories but the art kept me from really getting into the story, but I found as I continued to read them that the art grew on me, and the stuff I didn't inititally find aesthetically pleasing actually played to the strengths of the story.

That said, I've never been able to get past Greg Land's art and read any collaborations he's done with Kieron Gillen or Matt Fraction, despite loving both those guys.

Also, Frank Quitely. I used to hate his art. I'd actively avoid books by writers I loved to avoid his stuff and then one day, it just clicked for me (We3 probably), and then I was a lifelong fan.
 
Last edited:
I'm imagining the best comics story ever written, but its drawn by Liefield. And it stars Liefield Cap.
liefeld_cap.jpg
 
I'm going to go with from Hell on this. I haven't read it but I've flipped through it a few times but it just looks like someone did thumbnails and called it a day.

Good one. I have it and want to read it but the length of it and the art have put me off it. I've tried to start it a couple times and never got very far. I don't even think the art is bad, it's just hard to follow.

Also, Frank Quitely. I used to hate his art. I'd actively avoid books by writers I loved to avoid his stuff and then one day, it just clicked for me (We3 probably), and then I was a lifelong fan.

That's Stuart Immonen for me. I never liked him until NEXTWAVE, now I really enjoy his work.
 
I'm imagining the best comics story ever written, but its drawn by Liefield. And it stars Liefield Cap.
liefeld_cap.jpg

Alan Moore's Captain America!!!

......

Drawn by Rob Liefeld.

We were so close! Moore did write for nineties Image!
 
For me it would have to be The Walking Dead. I've been told that it's a fantastic read but I just can't bring myself to look at it as the art style is just not my cup of tea. The aesthetics of it are a little... well, clunky. I don't know of a better way to put it.
 
For me it would have to be The Walking Dead. I've been told that it's a fantastic read but I just can't bring myself to look at it as the art style is just not my cup of tea. The aesthetics of it are a little... well, clunky. I don't know of a better way to put it.

I always thought the general look of the book went PERFECTLY with the type of story they are telling, Adlard's art much more so than Moore's.
 
I can't say there are any for me. Now if we were talking writers I could give quite a list.
 
I always thought the general look of the book went PERFECTLY with the type of story they are telling, Adlard's art much more so than Moore's.
I would have to take another look then. I had never thought to compare them.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top