comic book artist as the auteur of the comic book reading experience, Tomine, Jessica Abel, Dean Haspiel, and others—like the still-prolific
whether he works from an old-school full script, a synopsis, a phone call and profound Robert Crumb!
chat, or one of Alan Moore’s 26-page exegeses for one panel.
SP!: WILL BRONZE AGE HOLD A CANDLE TO THE SILVER AGE? WHY
SP!: WHICH OLD-SCHOOL ARTISTS ARE STILL PRODUCING OR OR WHY NOT?
SURPASSING THE WORK OF THEIR GLORY DAYS?
AS: The Silver Age artists of the 1960s in my book are like the ‘60s rock
AS: Walt Simonson absolutely comes to mind (have you seen his new stars—Dylan, The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Doors, Led Zeppelin,
Ragnarok for IDW?); Chaykin still does work as slick as his‘70s–‘80s works, Hendrix, et al—the high-water marks of the art form that all subsequent
as do Kaluta and Paul Gulacy; Craig Russell is still in peak form; Crumb’s rock-and-rollers are measured against. So as great as the comic book
Book of Genesis was spectacular; whenever Steranko surprises us with artists of the subsequent decade were, and are, they can never surpass
new work, it’s still of the highest pedigree (his interstitial chapter title the art and achievements of The Silver Age artists in my book. They’re
page designs in the IDW SHIELD Artist’s Edition were worth the price of the models, like Jack Kirby, our modern Michelangelo, at whose altar
admission), and remember, Kubert was doing great work right up until many of today’s most successful comic book artists, like Jim Lee, Todd
he passed in 2012, as was Eisner the year he passed, 2005.
McFarlane, George Perez and John Byrne, prayed.
SP!: IT SEEMS THE DAYS OF AN ARTIST DOING A LONG RUN ON A
TITLE ARE PRETTY MUCH THE EXCEPTION, VERSUS THE RULE. WHAT
ARE YOUR FEELINGS ON THIS? DO YOU SEE IT DAMAGING COMICS
IN THE FUTURE?
SP!: WHERE DO YOU SEE THE ART FORM GOING TEN YEARS FROM
NOW?
AS: I don’t read much of the mainstream Marvel/DC material these
days—superheroes have to be deconstructed for me in order to get
my attention—except if it’s done by artists whom I love, like the aforementioned Mike Allred on Silver Surfer, Amy Reeder on Rocket Girl, and
J.H. Wi