I don't have a top five but still falling in the underappreciated bracket in general are creators on licensed comics. In the past those comics were really just kind of there to support the properties they came from, those titles could come and go and nobody would bat an eye but there were a few standouts at most. There have been some pretty good story arcs in licensed books these past 6-10 years and because it's a licensed book, often these creators get little to no acknowledgement outside of any particular property's fan base.
I don't have a top five but still falling in the underappreciated bracket in general are creators on licensed comics. In the past those comics were really just kind of there to support the properties they came from, those titles could come and go and nobody would bat an eye but there were a few standouts at most. There have been some pretty good story arcs in licensed books these past 6-10 years and because it's a licensed book, often these creators get little to no acknowledgement outside of any particular property's fan base.
That’s a good point. There are a lot of mediocre writers and artists on the licensed books, but there are also a lot of solid older pros who end up there as well as a lot of promising young talent. Ryan North built his resumé on the Adventure Time comics, and now he’s doing great work on Squirrel Girl and Jughead. And Evan “Doc” Shaner has opened a lot of eyes thanks to his work on Flash Gordon and Future Quest. And of course there’s Adam’s pick of Sholly Fisch.
A couple of the underappreciated creators that I would normally list in my top 5 (Chuck Dixon and Tom Peyer) were mentioned during the show, so I'm going to stick with artists on this list. 1. Lee Weeks -I loved his work on Daredevil even though David Mazzucchelli's work on the character has largely overshadowed most people's memories of the era I would think. 2. Peter Snejberg -He did a fantastic job following Tony Harris on Starman; not an easy task. 3. Rodolfo Damaggio- I remember thinking his work was exceptional on Chuck Dixon's early Connor Hawke stories. He had a great eye for design and a crisp style. 4. Darryl Banks - I grew up with Kyle Rayner as my Green Lantern, and Banks turned out so many high-quality issues on that series. 5. Tom Mandrake - His work on The Spectre and The Kents perfectly matched those characters and time-periods.
(Also, good call on the mid-90s Legion, Murd. They were my introduction to the Legion too, and I thoroughly enjoyed many of those stories.)
1. Lee Weeks -I loved his work on Daredevil even though David Mazzucchelli's work on the character has largely overshadowed most people's memories of the era I would think. 2. Peter Snejberg -He did a fantastic job following Tony Harris on Starman; not an easy task. 3. Rodolfo Damaggio- I remember thinking his work was exceptional on Chuck Dixon's early Connor Hawke stories. He had a great eye for design and a crisp style. 4. Darryl Banks - I grew up with Kyle Rayner as my Green Lantern, and Banks turned out so many high-quality issues on that series. 5. Tom Mandrake - His work on The Spectre and The Kents perfectly matched those characters and time-periods.
Couldn't agree with you more on Lee and Snejberg. Lee suffers, I think, from not having a really long run on anything. Daredevil was probably his longest run, and that wasn’t especially long, and it was 25 years ago.
As far as Mandrake goes, I think Martian Manhunter was probably his best work. He’s like a cross between Gene Colan and Steve Bisette (though not quite as good as either of them). And as with Colan, a lot of times his work looks much better in pencil than it does inked.
@nweathington I definitely should have mentioned Martian Manhunter as a prime example of Mandrake's work; good call. And DC needs to get around to collecting that entire series in trade.
5. Don Newton 4. Jorge Zaffino 3. Trish Mulvihill 2. Doug Wildey 1. Dick Dillin
Zaffino is a really nice choice—a real artist’s artist. A lot of my artist friends love his work. I think he is another case of just not doing a lot of work in the US. Plus he died young (younger than I am now).
Hey, the first colorist mentioned! I like her work. She uses a lot of gradiant shading, but she doesn’t overdo it with the lighting. But the thing I like most about her work is that it’s never muddy and always adds to the storytelling.
Most people who know Wildey know him from animation and the handful of Jonny Quest comics he did in the ’80s and maybe his creator-owned Rio comics, but he did a lot of comic book work in the ’50s—mostly westerns. In fact he co-created the Outlaw Kid for Marvel, and a lot of those stories were reprinted in the ’70s if you want to track them down relatively cheaply.
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1. Lee Weeks -I loved his work on Daredevil even though David Mazzucchelli's work on the character has largely overshadowed most people's memories of the era I would think.
2. Peter Snejberg -He did a fantastic job following Tony Harris on Starman; not an easy task.
3. Rodolfo Damaggio- I remember thinking his work was exceptional on Chuck Dixon's early Connor Hawke stories. He had a great eye for design and a crisp style.
4. Darryl Banks - I grew up with Kyle Rayner as my Green Lantern, and Banks turned out so many high-quality issues on that series.
5. Tom Mandrake - His work on The Spectre and The Kents perfectly matched those characters and time-periods.
(Also, good call on the mid-90s Legion, Murd. They were my introduction to the Legion too, and I thoroughly enjoyed many of those stories.)
As far as Mandrake goes, I think Martian Manhunter was probably his best work. He’s like a cross between Gene Colan and Steve Bisette (though not quite as good as either of them). And as with Colan, a lot of times his work looks much better in pencil than it does inked.
5. Don Newton
4. Jorge Zaffino
3. Trish Mulvihill
2. Doug Wildey
1. Dick Dillin
Hey, the first colorist mentioned! I like her work. She uses a lot of gradiant shading, but she doesn’t overdo it with the lighting. But the thing I like most about her work is that it’s never muddy and always adds to the storytelling.
Most people who know Wildey know him from animation and the handful of Jonny Quest comics he did in the ’80s and maybe his creator-owned Rio comics, but he did a lot of comic book work in the ’50s—mostly westerns. In fact he co-created the Outlaw Kid for Marvel, and a lot of those stories were reprinted in the ’70s if you want to track them down relatively cheaply.
Doug wildly is a great one, I'll pull the Rio hardcover off the shelf just to look at the art. He was awesome.