Originally posted by Sado22
Frank Miller sucked balls in DKR. there i said it.
Do you mean The Dark Knight Returns, or The Dark Knight Strikes Again? The latter I would say isn't as good. He should have let Klaus Janson ink his stuff again - he was his top collaborator until Miller decided to ink all his own work from the late 80's onward.
I hear a lot of criticism of artists who draw in an unrealistic style. I don't think all comic art has to look like it was done by George Perez, Phil Jimenez, Jim Lee, Mike Deodato, Gary Frank et all. to be good. A lot of Rob Liefeld bashing is warranted, yes; but I can't help thinking that Jack Kirby should be getting the same treatment for the way he distorted for effect. Kirby is revered, though.
I think Steve Dillon's art perfectly captures the feel of the book when he works with Garth Ennis on Preacher or Punisher. And I think there's a difference between drawing in a cartoony style (so much of the 1990's art) versus an impressionistic style - Frank Miller, Walter Simonson, Tim Sale, Bill Sienkiewicz, Howard Chaykin, John Romita Jr. Their style doesn't always work on some titles, but most often they do.
I can still list some peeves, though. Jeff Purves followed Todd McFarlane's breakout work on the Hulk, and his characters just looked ugly by comparison; the art didn't pick up until Dale Keown took over. And Steve Ditko drew some of the ugliest faces, for a guy who worked in a realistic style.
But regular pencil art has always gotten better over the years, thanks to improvement in printing techniques and other factors.