Your Top List-series has been super interesting. Made me think of my own list. I’ve never done any and I find it to be harder than I thought. So many angles to choose from. And I keep repeating how envious I am to those Splitter books😱So much good stuff from Europe. Your choice of creators is also very telling how diverse your comic taste is. I need to broaden my horizon too before I’m too old and grumpy for that.
there you really have a point. it seems inevitable that our horizon gets smaller each day when we're growing old. some call it the benefit of age, that you now know what you like and want... but on the other hand you feel how the rest of the world withdraws from you. fortunately I can't really say that this is true for me .... yet ... but I can see some foreshadowing sometimes
Wow, expected Rosinski to make the list but didn't expect him to be so high. And you're right about his popularity in Poland;) Not a massive fan of his late output, but he was on fire in 80's and 90's. And love Loustal too, his collaborations with Paringaux are some of my favourite comics, wish more of their stuff was available in English.
François Schuiten never fails to drop the jaw with his designs. The "Nogegon" story from his Les Terres creuses (Hollow Grounds) trilogy is probably one of the most cleverly laid out comic I've ever seen.
Can I say that it's exactly when you put Williams together with some one like Schuiten that he falls apart? I mean Williams feels childish since he has to simply show off over and over again. He is a muscular type of artist, on the contrary Schuiten is sober, mature and controlled. He is just amazing and incredibly talented (he was landing some impressive art at 17 already). The fact that most readers don't even understand the layout trick behind NogegoN shows perfectly what I mean and the layout are paired with the themes of the story. Even the 5th chapter of Watchmen is a show off, without a real need at least to do so, if compared to NogegoN. I hope that one day Williams stops showing off because his art made more sense in Promethea than it does in Echolands. Just my thoughts on an artist that fails to not appear artificial at my eyes.
@@OdysseyMichele watchmen may or may not be showing off, but i'd argue that the layouts in promethea are not, and are in fact designed to mirror and deepen moore's text. but yes, without a writer the quality of moore, echolands does feel like all sizzle, no steak. crepax is for me the european master of page design. its jazz, daddy-o.
@@ArchibaldGurnsbach Well, Promethea's layouts aren't done by Williams, it was still Alan Moore's script that told him exactly what to do like he always did with every other artist. Sure Echolands doesn't have the "hey, reader, sit back and let me explain you everything from my height" thing, which I consider not only showing off but something that mustn't be done (explanation all over) from storytelling pov, although it may be a lesser disgrace since it's a sort of voyage with a guide, but Echolands is poor and the script is a mainstream linearly told full of cliché (even if you can feel that he would like to destructurate the classics, the result is just a personal divertissement) typical of Image's comics that doesn't require that kind of layouts. Another thing I don't like in Echolands is the fact that every page has panels that end in the following right page. Not only part of the drawings are lost in the binding but what's the exceptionality of it if he does it everytime? I don't think that it couldn't be told in a better way since it's absolutely not an artsy comic. I'll continue the reading once it comes out for curiosity but I wasn't amazed by his latest work. I can compare it with a beatiful toy xD Well, Crepax's layouts really give you a jazzy mood and let's you read the story in a different way. His focus was on the details, he wasn't trying to be cool and bombastic besides Crepax's stories were psychedelic and surreal. I think that you can compare Crepax with Nouveau Roman and Nouvelle Vague, which are his contemporary movements; Crepax was describing his times and he had his poetic view, wheras I can't find it in Williams. Beautiful but sterile? May be subjective though, it also depends on which qualities you prefer from comics as an art form. Regarding Moore, Promethea is unique and Watchmen is a milestone but with the years he's lost his alluring qualities on me. I find A Small Killing or From Hell to be among his most mature comics.
I don't own enough Loustal. In the 90s, I discovered his comics in used bookstores. NBM or Catalan Communications is the publisher, I think. Annie Goetzinger? Her style looks familiar, but not the name. I'm enthralled with her art. Her books are afforadable on AbeBooks. I need to invest. Jordi Bernet is tops for me, too. I regard Bernet's style similar to Joe Kubert, Frank Thorne, and Gerry Talaoc. Jose Munoz is always excellent. I thank Keith Giffen for turning me onto to his artwork - haha,. Thanks, earl
Munoz, Breccia and Cooke would probably be on my list, too, and I like all the other artists (to different degrees of course). I guess most of my favorite artists also write/wrote a lot or all of their comics, so I'd have to think a bit about who else would be on my artists-only, list. Number one would probably be Toth, although he wrote some stories later in his career, but that's obviously not what he was known for (or good at). Hard to decide on which list Kirby, for example, would fit better...
Toth and Kirby were close contenders... but I just have read not so much by Toth and as to Kirby: well, he's fascinating and has a very distinct style, but I can't say that I like his comics more than the others in my lists here... or rather I still have to read so much more Kirby to be in the position to assess his stuff - you can't rank a king can you?
For artwork only comic artists all of them would be in discussion for my top 15 also, adding in the competition Risso, Neal Adams, Romita Sr, Bilal, Enrique Breccia, Flavio Colin, Francisco Solano López, Goseki Kojima and Wally Wood (although some of them wrote a little too). But Alberto Breccia is for sure number 1, the scope of paiting/drawing/collage styles and the excellence in which he executes them are something to ponder on how one guy is capable of such a feat. Muñoz is a close second.
well, yeah, I could live with that list of yours 🧐.. with the exception of Neal Adams and Romita, and I don't think I've ever read something by Flavio Colin
yes, you're right ... could have put him into the next video. my reasoning went otherwise because I initially wanted to showcase "the twilight children", his last comic, the one written by gilbert hernandez (and then I could not find that book on my shelves :/ )
thanks for the hint at annie goetzinger! her stuff looks amazing! and so do these boucq volumes! I think there's an unread one in my shelves D: that is about to be changed.
¡Hola! Gracias por compartir tus apreciaciones sobre las historietas. Me ha sorprendido la elección de autores tuya, en mi opinión, tal vez haya demasiados norteamericanos, aunque los que elegiste quedan bastante bien parados y tienen una originalidad en el registro gráfico. Creo que Will Eisner es el único que pasa el filtro. Celebro tu inclusión de Breccia en la lista; de todas sus obras, creo que por la historia y los aportes artísticos, Mort Cinder no puede faltar en ninguna lista de historietas de calidad. Por cierto, celebro que hayas excluido a Alan Moore, guionista que considero sobrevalorado. ¡Ah! Yo hubiera añadido a Harold Foster, el Bloodstar de Richard Corben, algo de Carl Barks, Alex Toth, Satoshi Kon y Katsuhiro Otomo. Desde luego, también Little Nemo, Tintín. Te recomiendo Carlos Nine, "Fantagas". ¡Saludos!
ola, olé, ... I put this into the google translator: Hello! Thank you for sharing your appreciation of the comics. I was surprised by your choice of authors, in my opinion, perhaps there are too many North Americans, although the ones you chose are quite good standing and have an originality in the graphic register. I think Will Eisner is the only one that passes the filter. I welcome your inclusion of Breccia on the list; Of all his works, I think that due to the history and artistic contributions, Mort Cinder cannot be missing from any list of quality comics. By the way, I am glad that you have excluded Alan Moore, a screenwriter that I consider overrated. oh! I would have added Harold Foster, Richard Corben's Bloodstar, some Carl Barks, Alex Toth, Satoshi Kon and Katsuhiro Otomo. Of course, also Little Nemo, Tintin. I recommend Carlos Nine, "Fantagas". Greetings!
well, you have to consider that this was not my only video about my "faves" and that I distinguished between artists and writers (and Moore is absolutely present in the latter category)... and there are even two additional panellogies about "auteur artists", so if you miss some in this panellogy right here there's a high probabiltiy they are featured in one of the other videos. Saludos!
Of course it is subjective... I honestly thought that either Hugo Pratt or Manara or Crepax would be here... but maybe on the next video... Some of these artists in your video I have never (unfortunately) ever heard, but being Greek and knowing only english (as a second language) it does make it harder for me (in a practical way). Thank you for sharing... 🙂
In terms of Pratt and Crepax you just have to wait (spoilers)... as to Manara: he never was that close to my heart, but maybe I should have included Serpieri at least in the next videos (which I haven't... again: spoilers)
@@earlgrey862 Thank you for spoiling me! Hahahahaha... As usual, great taste... and of course it is subjective... When someone chooses on this level of masters, you can't go wrong either way. Take care...
munoz has been my favourite since you turned me on to him several years ago. the holliday book is heartbreaking. there's a series called precinct 56 (i think) that i can only find in spanish but will probably end up buying... do you know it? our lists are similar, but more americans for me, including sienkiewicz, wood, colan and especially joe kubert. i just bought one of the tarzan artist's editions and it is stunning. a master of reductive cartooning, he never used two strokes where one would do. a similar approach to mignola, but kubert uses line where mignola uses colour and shape.
never heard of "precinct 56", but it sounds like it could be another Alack Sinner-spinoff... and the others you mention are brilliant as far as I can tell, I really thought esp. about of including Wood which I eventually haven't, because of, well, other brilliant cartoonists. thanks for your nice comment.
@@earlgrey862 some quick googling reveals its early strips from argentina... sigh, more books to buy. and unless i missed it, fantagraphics has yet to publish the breccia lovecraft, hopefully its next after the peron book.
I'm glad that you mention Mattotti's storytelling... even though a lot of his comics were written by others I still feel that he's much more of an "auteur artist" than "just a mere" artist & therefore I put him into the other list. A bit and then different with Moebius who had to deal with Jodo's insane Marvelstyled exposés... thinking about it: I could have split his both personas into the two lists. Jean Giraud (who benefitted a lot from Charliers clear storytelling) into this list and the more freewheelin' Moebius into the other.
@@earlgrey862 yes and yes... having the same problem with miller. mattotti's panelling is stupendous, almost like he works from a different rulebook. both fires and his jeckyl and hyde, while obviously comics, are sort of like walking through a very sensitively hung gallery show. he and schuiten are marvels at visual storytelling
It would be very hard for me to do a ranking of artists or writers. Other than Alan Moore, who I put at #1, everyone else can move up or down based on what day of the week it is. Maybe Crumb is #2, but his last comic really angered me with his anti vaccine and insane conspiracy stuff, and I haven't finished it. Maybe #2 is Gaiman because I read Sandman again for the 20th time and still loved it. Or maybe it's Gilbert because Palomar is the most "real" fiction I've read. Or it's Jaime because his art is perfect. Maybe Lapham, or Cooke, or Clowes, or Noah Van Sciver. But anyway these are always fun videos.
there you got me... the listing stuff is more or less a pretext to show many books in a relative short amount of time tbh - should not be taken too seriously in any case. And yes, I found Crumb's stupidity in terms of anti vaccine etc quite surprising ... to put it mildly
@@earlgrey862 I would invite all anti vaccine people to make a trip to any local cemetery with graves from pre 1900 to see what the world was like before vaccine's. I did a photography project last year shooting old grave stones from 1600 and 1700s (which is old in the US) and there were 100s of examples in just 3 small yards. One family had 8 children that all died before they turned 12. There are also dozens of random graves along the road side. All victims of small pox that people would not go near for fear of catching it.
@@earlgrey862 I can recommend Guera's "Damned", both books. He is working on new Conan album for Glenat and on short western series "Texas riders". So you will have a chance to expand collection with his works. I also recommend "Lovecraft" by Enrique Breccia. Or, if you like western, "Capitan Jack" and "Snakeman" (Sergio Bonelli Editore).
yes, I'm actually surprised that nobody complained sooner... I looked for more than an hour for a proper representation for this video (Peter Bagge, I'm looking at you) and came up with nothing nice enough, so I took the double Moebius. I hope you'll find solace in knowing that he will be in one of the other two videos (506 actually).
Strangely, only one artist on your list would also be on mine--Bernie Wrightson. Mine would be filled with artists like Neal Adams, Jack Kirby, Jim Steranko, Barry Smith, Al Williamson, Mike Kaluta, Will Eisner, etc.
That's because you're american and miss out on the good stuff. In Europe we know the US stuff but also the Europe stuff, which is often just better. In the US people just look at US comics and nothing else.
@@Q-Bits8 I've read many issues of Heavy Metal and most of the artists would not make a top artist list of mine. They don't seem to know how to draw action. I've also read many of the Warren magazines which had some great covers by European artists bot most of the inside work not as good. Maroto was my favorite of them.
@@jimdetry9420 maybe it's also a cultural difference. For me, a lot of art by US artists looks pretty similar and is often too polished/plastic/artificial like which is boring to me. Also, nowadays almost everything is digital and looks alike. But surely, there are some exceptional US artists like for example Corben.
@@Q-Bits8 All my favorites are from the 60s and 70s. Nothing digital or artificial in them. Maybe you've never seen art from that era. Corben was different because he was usually more like a painting than line drawings. The stuff I used to buy was printed on newsprint with 4 color separations.
@@jimdetry9420 Wrightson and Adams are great indeed. I'm not such a fan of the others. There are exceptional european artists who are not well known even here, for example Jean-Claude Gal or Raulo Caceres to name a few.
the ones I showed you are old editions in roundabout European album format... another publisher has reprinted the whole Sinner-stuff recently in one big (but shrunken (sigh)) tome
Where are Enki Bilal, Oliver Le Droit and Juan Gimenez!? But hey, at least Jordi Bernet made it on the list. Also, I don't know how old you are but I wasn't even born when Sarvane came out and I'm 34. If it came out recently you might want to start sharing your secrets to immortality. And just as aside, I can't believe you picked all those Americans over Alex Ross. I'd understand why someone like Segrelles might not make the cut since he's basically ever only done one comic, but not even taking Ross into consideration? Then again, Alex Ross might be a bit too classical in his approach for someone as fixated on modern art as you. Well, at least you're making a third video on what will probably be mostly mangaka, should be interesting.
Damn, now that I think of it: Gimenez should have been on the list... As to Bilal: frankly I really care only about his old comics, his newer comics never intrigued me enough to pick them up, probably my fault. Have I not put an insert, that "Sarvane" is an old comic, only the collected edition is recent? pretty sure I did. And I never liked Alex Ross as a cartoonist that much. When I see his pages I think he's a good illustrator, but there's a certain stiffness that works against what I like in comics. But again: that's probably just me... and I've read and liked the recent "Fantastic 4 - Full circle" book... well, the story is forgettable in my opinion, but the art and esp. the coloring is amazing.
