--yo
gets arrested when he invites teens to meet him at the "pocket park"

My main criticism of the man is the business practice of soliciting something that isn't finished. Or even partially completed. It really does seem that he'll wake up, have an idea strike him as "Cool," draw up a promo piece or a five page story, and then solicit it as a series. Along the way he'll lose interest and go onto the next "cool" idea.

Which is one of the reason I'm really digging the current Youngblood series -- it's actually a fully realized series.

Bart Sears is just a penciller, Rob Liefeld is a symbol of a certain style of penciller. He attracts more ire from people who despise his style (such as me).

John Byrne, who was once my idol when he wasn't as crazy as he is today, said something particularly smart. When examining the material of this week's next hot artist, pay attention not only to how he draws action scenes featuring people in spandex, but also to how he depicts everyday quiet scenes with people wearing normal clothes. How he does backgrounds. How he does normal vehicles, normal buildings, forests, normal animals...

When looking at Liefeld's scant background work and how his depiction of normal people in an office room is bizarre, distorted, and unconvincing, I became more convinced than ever that his art is truly worthless.

As pencilers I think they both have that same dynamic, but having the right inker not just trace but enhance the pencils to give them a dimension they lack while still building on the basic pencils that have been laid down is what both these guys really need. It also takes an editor to help coordinate and bring that team together to make it work. Sadly, too few fans really understand both of these roles as the marquee glamour all goes to the writer and artist. Let's throw colorist in with editor and inker as roles that most fans don't fully grasp or appreciate in what they really bring to the overall product.

I'd love to see an uninked page by either of these artists / pencilers, and then show a variety of "after" copies of the page after they are inked by different inker to visually show what an inker can do with the pencils that they are given.

He has obviously some very good ideas in creating a comic book, but his art seems to be exactly the same as it was in the '90's. Granted, not everyone's art needs to change, but the fact that his sense of anatomy doesn't seem to have improved all that much. (Although he did admit his big-busted Cap was very wrong.)

But, perhaps he just doesn't care. I'm sure he knows all the ridicule that is out there, but maybe he just doesn't do anything different because he knows people will still buy his artwork anyway.

I'd be more displeased with his lateness than artwork really. I mean he puts out that Supreme/Suprema flip book but where is the rest of the story?

There were so many rip off characters in the titles, and every team seemed to almost be the same ... they all had one BIG guy, for instance.

I recognized Liefeld's anatomy problems. I recognized every character had an "arrow" for a nose, their hands were always clenched into fists, and they all had lines all over their skin, and usually holding a big gun.

Still, there really was an energy to the titles compared to what else was out there. There was an "eye candy" feel to the dynamic use of panels, endless splash panels and pages, and the characters all had this style that seemed to be the lamborghini to the big two's beetle.

I think it was just so different compared to what many grew up with. The same formula of how to create a comic was finally energized with something new. Furthermore, the 1990's were all about "flash" and "style" over substance. While there were obviously some exceptions, just look at all the neon, the heat induced color change t-shirts, and so forth.

In cartoons, the style was changed to appeal to a younger "hip" market. The biggest example of this, in my opinion is "Yo Yogi" where Yogi Bear and other Hanna-Barbera characters are now tweens wearing bright neon colors with their "cool" clothes. The New Archies come to mind, although I think they were on the cusp of the 80's more so than the 90's.

I think the analysis that the 13 year old would be drawn to Liefeld and company's art more than others for said reasons, but I think that the "eye candy" as mentioned above drew others as well.

The extra violence or darker nature obviously stuck with us, and the appeal to be more dynamic with poses and panels and profiles still exist also. The cheesecake and so-called sex appeal of showcasing a female character's anatomy is still with us, although it isn't as bad as it was back then.

I remember reading an article about how Liefeld was upset that there was so much "blood on boobs" and that he wasn't going to do that, or at least, not have a valid reason, but I don't think that was actually honored. Every woman in Image at the time basicly had a blood on her exaggerated breasts, and a big sword for the over-compensating artist also was drawn a lot.

In any case, I find I'm in a love hate relationship with Liefeld. I look at that Captain America cover, for example, and shudder that he was able to get into the industry. But then, DC, for example has had some truly horrifying artists in their line up (see some issues of Superboy for example), so it's not that big of a surprise. So, I recognize and shudder at Liefeld's incompetence, and yet I still find myself drawn to his recent Onslaught and Teen Titans runs where despite that lack of artistic competence, I find there's still that aesthetic appeal to it at times. Seeing his Enchantress and Scarlet Witch, I analyzed how inaccurate their anatomy was, and yet loving the overall presentation. But maybe there's just too much "13" in this 31 year old..

Still, artists like Bart Sears who drew every woman with a jaw structure the exact same as his men, and who often looked like a man with breasts and pursed lips, and had his own set of wannabe's (think "Eclipso") and who was a big part of the 90's isn't scrutinized. I mean I know I have a love/hate relationship with him also. I cringe at his Power Girl, and yet love reading his issues of "Justice League Europe."

Is it because of the overall aesthetic, the dynamic eye candy, and because he knows more in regards to anatomay and doesn't promote lawsuits and concern over rip offs, but why isn't he criticized?

Furthermore, if everyone hates Liefeld so much, and if everyone is able to see how wrong his art can be, why do Publishers still request his work? (Granted it's limited, but still it's out there.)

Not me, friend.

I prefer anything but the "hot artist rule". God, give me the Complete Collected Works of Brian Bendis over any of that early Image Comics stuff.

Nothing implied about it, imho. It was maybe spawned from cultural ignorance, but that would be the norm for the entire comic book industry at the time that 'dictionary' was created. Maybe the dictionary editors were feeling the impact of the popular Sesame Street show, where the characters lived in an urban setting, and felt compelled to keep the story in that setting.

Also, even though John Stewart had been introduced as a character, he was a token black male with anger management issues, so I'm sure any editor who knew the character's background would've nixed his appearance as being too controversial for a children's book.