Most underrated artist?

[torgospizza]

When people list their favorite artists, it always amazes me John Severin never--seriously, never--gets mentioned. The guy was phenomenal. So, who do you feel this way about?

[BlackKnight]

Dan Jurgens Hands Down .
Until Blackest Night I'd Say Reis too.

Most Over-Rated Has got to Be John Romita jr.

[The Toyroom]

I 2nd Jurgens....he's under-rated as a writer too IMO....

As far as old-school, Irv Novick comes to mind. Also Murphy Anderson...I think most people primarily think of him as an inker but the guy has some mad pencil skills.

[Blue Meanie]

Where to start...there are so many that take a back seat, unfortunately, to the bigger names of their time:

Murphy Anderson defined the character Hawkman...yet no one mentions his name amongst the likes of Kubert or even Curt Swan...very underated.

King of the covers and worked for both companies and never got his just deserts when he was alive Gil Kane.

Rich Buckler...overshadowed and in-between Kirby and Perez.

Joe Sinnott...not only a great inker...but a damn good artist.

Jerry Ordway...damn good inker and another one of those artists that had a knack for the Golden Age characters....Also in my opinion defined Shazam...of course after CC Beck.

There are so many more that never got the attention they deserved...Jim Mooney...Mike Esposito...and the list goes on.

Thought of a couple more...Herb Trimpe...Marie Severin...with Marie think of how difficult it must have been with the talent she had to be amongst the "boys club" Very underrated and under appreciated.

[madmarva]

No doubt both John and Marie Severin were excellent artists, but they were kind of in the shadow of Kirby. John didn't do a lot of super hero work, did he. Marie had a good run on Hulk in tales to Astonish into the Hulk serie before Trimpe took over.

Part of it might have been the characters they worked on. Not sure.

I've got a fondness for most if not all of the artists you've mentioned, but comic fans who came in during the last 20 years probably aren't too familiar with many of them.

[MegoSteve]

Most of the old-school artists, with the exception of a handful, really don't get the credit they deserve. No one's mentioned Gene Colan yet, but his stuff was great.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but I am the only subscriber at my local comic store for Paul Grist's Jack Staff which saddens me to no end. His art is more cartoony than most superhero fans like, and it's bold graphic style may be misinterpreted as "simplistic," but his work has so much life and movement. His black and white work is stunning... the guy just really knows how to design a page and get the most out of a few lines, and is especially great at spotting blacks. Love how he draws hands, too.

[kingdom warrior]

Golden-Age artist Matt Baker my goodness this man was amazing

Mike Zeck- freeking guy draws the Ultimate Punisher.

Jerry Ordway- love his work

Jaimie Hernandez- from love and Rockets fame man is an amazing illustrator and storyteller

C.C.Beck great artist and storyteller

[johnnystorm]

Jim Aparo
Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez
Irv Novick
Ross Andru & Mike Esposito
Amanda Conner

[renegade]

Mike Ploog's B&W stuff was phenominal.

[Bizarro Amy]

Ramona Fradon. I had never heard of her until I saw her at a convention. But she co-created Aqualad and Metamorpho, and you guys saw how awesome her work is when I posted pics from Baltimore.

[The Toyroom]

Ramona Fradon. I had never heard of her until I saw her at a convention. But she co-created Aqualad and Metamorpho, and you guys saw how awesome her work is when I posted pics from Baltimore.

I was just thinking of her....she's like DC's version of Marie Severin...great artist that is often over-looked because of gender in a typically "all boys club"

[Brazoo]

Eddie Campbell and Joe Matt are pretty underrated, I think.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Tom Grummet is underrated. He did solid runs on almost everything going, after getting his start on New Titans and Superman.

Ty Templeton is someone who has an old-school charm to him but still conveys a freshness with it. Also great at the animated-style stuff. And a good writer too.

Chris

[aquatroy]

I love the Romana Fradon, CC Beck, and Gil Kane mentions.

As for current illustrators, I really like Dale Eaglesham. He would just blow up if he was faster.

[samurainoir]

When people list their favorite artists, it always amazes me John Severin never--seriously, never--gets mentioned. The guy was phenomenal. So, who do you feel this way about?

John Severin (and Bill Ward) is the reason why I was a bigger fan of Cracked in the seventies/eighties than Mad (not that I don't dig Mort Drucker and co).

He seems to find that perfect balance between realism and caricature that made the spoofs come alive in an almost Naked Gun style of deadpan on the page.

His War and Western stuff is tops as well.

Marie Severin's stuff for Not Brand Ecch and Crazy are my favourites.

The Severin family seems to have a gift for the funny.