Thursday, August 17, 2006

Introspective

So as far news goes, this is kind of a bummer.

Ha! You thought this it going to be about those Civil War delays, didn't you? Well, I've already bitched about that in the comments of at least three or four other blogs, so I'm ready to stop boring you with it.

I figured Bagley would leave Ultimate Spider-Man eventually. I mean, the guy's been drawing 18 comics a year on that title for what, 5+ years now? And Millar says McNiven is a fast artist because he can do '9 or 10 issues a year'. *snorts derisively*

It's always interesting to see other people's reactions to the same artist. One comment before mine, we had a fellow named Martin who said he hoped Bagley wouldn't start drawing any books he bought. Then you follow it up with a guy who says he might drop Ultimate Spider-Man with Bagley gone (that'd be me). I'm not sure how true that is. I suppose it depends on who replaces him. Mark Brooks wouldn't be objectionable, though I have no clue about his track record with deadlines. Whoever it is, I think we be sure we won't be seeing 18 issues of Ultimate Spider-Man a year anymore.

Of course, art is subjective, and so both Martin's opinion and mine are equally valid. I mean, some people love Frank Quitely's art. I don't really see it. I saw that he drew Charles Xavier's head like a peeled potato, and I said 'No thank you, sir!' But again, it's all subjective.

So what am I getting at? Well, it's been a realization of mine that I can rarely put into words what it is I like about something I like. I can't explain my tastes in music. When people say that New Excalibur is crap, and only for people who buy whatever Claremont writes (a descriptor I don't believe applies to me), I want to try and understand why I do buy it and enjoy it. I'm still trying to put into words what it is about X-Factor I like so much. Not necessarily because I feel like there might be something wrong with liking what I do, though when everybody keeps saying "This book {insert title} sucks!", you start to wonder, but because it'd be nice to be able to give an actual defense. It solidifies it somehow. Is this making any sense?

But with Bagley I actually know what I like. His art is clean. Let me explain that adjective. I'm a big fan of art that looks like what it's supposed to be. You draw a boat, it better look like a boat. If I wanted to see a picture of a boat that looks more like a whale, or a house, or inarticulate squiggles, well, I could draw that myself. This probably explains why I'm not much of a Jackson Pollock fan. With Bagley, you'd could always tell what was going on. You could look at a character and see that they're angry, or happy, or scared or beaten down. Maybe part of that goes to the inker and the colorist, I'm not sure who gets credit for things like, well I'll call them "action lines" that you'd sometimes see around a characters' head when they're excited and shouting, which helps when they're wearing a complete mask (ala our friendly neighborhood webslinger).

In his fight scenes, I think Bagley does an excellent job of conveying movement, and knowing when to do a close up picture and when to pull back. I can't recall a Bagley-drawn Spider-Man comic with a fight scene and me not being able to follow who was attacking whom, and how that person got to that position from where they were two pages ago. You were able to keep track of what's going on, which is an important part of being a comic artist (I'd say). Contrast that with, for example, Damion Scott's work on Robin about a year ago. I found myself looking at panels three or four times, trying to figure out who got sliced, or kicked, or what that character did. There seemed to be too many close-ups, and I felt confused.

At any rate, I did just want to give some props to Bagley, seeing as he's probably my favorite Spider-Man artist (Romita Jr. comes close, based on his stuff during the early JMS run, but his early Spider-Man, from before the Clone Saga and leading up to when they rebooted the titles was really bulky, which was a bit distracting. It's the little things sometimes, you know?)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

i dug the guys art to..he was cool..cartoony but real.he was the reason i dug thunderbolts so much back in the day(i dropped it when they went gladiator on us)
but it amazes me how some artist can meet deadlines while others cant.

gabesummers

thekelvingreen said...

Bagley's a great storyteller, and he does draw a great Spidey (I daresay he could even make the Iron Spider look good), but his women's lips look like a pair of mating slugs and their eyes have a creepy Sharon Osbourne look.

I'd pick JRJR to follow Bagley, but he seems to have fallen out of favour for some reason.

Marc Burkhardt said...

Bagley's a great old-school artist, a pro who meets deadlines and tells a story effectively.

In fact, I'm not sure there's anybody else out there who's better at illustrating Bendis' "everybody stand around and do nothing" approach.

Jake said...

I hope they bring on JRJR too. That way I'll have no qualms about finally dropping this book and there's no risk of Romita being put on a book I actually want to read.

I'll second what the Keeper said. I don't know how Bagley has managed to make that book so nice to look at given that there's hardly every anything to draw. It's a testament to his skill that I've kept picking it up all this time.

CalvinPitt said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
CalvinPitt said...

gabe: I hear you about enjoying Bagley on Thunderbolts. I really liked the first 25 issues of New Warriors, at least in part because of him.

kelvin: Well, I think every artist has those certain things they have trouble drawing. Like I know a lot of artists have trouble with hands and feet.

As for Romita Jr., I heard he was feeling worn down by the time he left Amazing Spider-Man, so maybe he's just easing himself back in with Eternals.

fortress: I think you hit it on the head.

jake: I admit that if JRjr came on after Bagley, I'd hang around to at least see if he could mesh with Bendis. Like you and Fortress said, it can't be easy. Plus, I thought some of Romita's best work looked a bit more gritty than maybe would be good for a teenage Spider-Man. But maybe if Bendis does a "Gang War" story with these vigilantes Daredevil wants to organize, that might be up that alley.

But, we'll just have to wait and see. Can't tell until it actually happens I guess. I just know it's probably going to be real hard for me to give up on the title after over 100 issues.

Anonymous said...

cal:
i never read new warriors..so i guess its time to track down the run..thnak you for the suggestion.i didnt even know mb drew any issues.thank you!

gabesummers

LEN! said...

Mark Bagley, in my mind, is the driving force behind Ultimate Spider-man. It's a crushing blow for him to leave that book. Still, whatever he does next will get huge promotion, no matter what it is.

Spencer Carnage said...

Gabe,

Don't forget about Bagley's run on Amazing Spider-man back in the 90s. Good stuff.

thekelvingreen said...

Perhaps they'll put Bagley on Bendis' second Avengers book.

Anonymous said...

spencer thank you...also on a side note ..im not sure who here said it..but i heard teen titans:judas contract was good...so i got it read it and actully liked it...other than the cartoons and movies i never read anything dc and i was pleasently surprised.
im digging this blog...big time!!!!

gabesummers

Anonymous said...

Bagley is a machine. He is the rock on which Ultimate Spider-Man was founded. Sure, his art always hasn't been perfect (wandering eye syndrome was pretty bad) but he was like clockwork. A friend of mine who wored for Art Thibert, the inker on most of the USP run, said he could practically time his watch by when pages would be sent in.
And considering recent events, I respect the hell out of that.