In a recent
Bleeding Cool column, illustrator
Kaare Andrews sez...
Let me admit that I’m not the fastest artist in the world.
It can take a long time to draw a page.
In the olden days, you had inkers basically ‘finishing breakdowns’ over Jack Kirby.
"Breakdowns" like
this, which was typical of Kirby's "2-4 page a day" period (and he was
writing the book as well)...?
That’s how he could push through 4-6 pages in a day.
Kirby’s art was bold.
It was beautiful.
It was awesome.
But I’m not sure he would have as much success in today’s climate.
Which explains why Jack Kirby's art is used on so much of
Marvel's licensed product output, and why sales of reprints of Kirby's work equal or exceed a large number of
Marvel's new-material titles!
The truth is that the level of detail demanded on a page has risen dramatically.
Comics aren’t 10 cent disposable newsprints anymore.
They are a legitimate art form.
They always
were a "legitimate" art form.
Ask any European or Asian art aficionado.
Paper stock is slick, coloring is high tech, and you can now print as many tones, in as many shades, with as much detail as you can imagine.
It’s expected from the fans.
Which "fans"?
Not me!
Must be the same "fans" who
aren't buying the current output of
Marvel and
DC at even the same sales levels as five years ago, and not like 15 years ago, when I was working on-staff, and sales at 50,000 or below were a reason for cancellation,
not celebration!
One other point, Andrews is an illustrator,
not a comic book artist.
He's a decent cover artist, but his interior work is average at best, mediocre at worst.
Curiously, it also appears to be uncollectable or unwanted.
Every gallery I see online features his heavily-photo-referenced covers or pin-ups,
not his panel pages!
Want proof?
Google "Kaare Andrews", then Google "Jack Kirby".
How many interior pages or panels do
you see in each case?
