sum1

I've been studying how my favorite comic book artist, John Romita Jr, developed this century and I've been quite shocked to see how much his art has declined. His art has gotten blander and more cartoonish and he's introduced bigger heads and eyes and weaker bodies, less lines and less depth. It's tilting in the direction of Manga art. I hate Manga art and I hate its influence on American comic book art. When Joe Madureira replaced JRJR on Uncanny X-Men in early 1994, introducing a very Manga-influenced style, I was heartbroken and horrified. Now it's JRJR who's influenced by Manga. If anything I'd say JRJR's art is more kid-aimed than it used to be, certainly on Spider Man.

It's not all JRJR's fault. He's going with the trend in comic book art in recent years, which is toward blander drawing. But it's sad to see. I guess when I describe JRJR as my favorite comic book artist in the future I'll have to specify "20th century only", because his 21st century art is just not what I'm looking for.