BACK TO (OLD) SCHOOL?

[robbycox]

Hi all,
I?ve had an idea and want to run it by you guys for a second, third, forth and so on opinion. As I have pointed out on other threads I?ve been reading 2000ad since the early progs, about prog 178 if I recall correctly and in the ?classic era 2000ad? thread I was of the opinion that the classic era was from 178 to the early 500?s. So with this in mind I wanted your thoughts about this ???? how about Tharg bringing back some of the classic era artists for a few prog covers and star scans/ star pin-ups. Think about it! I?m in my 30?s and have, in the past, strayed from 2000ad, notable after half way through the 500?s to the middle 800?s. I, how-ever, saw the error of my ways and came back into the 2000ad fold. But what of the others that didn?t? What of those that quit around the same time as me and never came back. Imagine them seeing their favourite artist back on the cover of Thargs illustrious organ (copyright the nerve centre!); it might be enough for them actually pick a copy up again. Once they see the current standard of the likes of Richard Elson, Henry Flint and Boo Cook to name but a few they?d hopefully be drawn back in. So my list of classic era artists that aren?t currently working but really should be, even if it is just for a cover or star scan would include Massimo Belardinelli (to which I have an admittedly massive bias) Kevin O?Neill, Bryan Talbot, Dave Gibbons, Brendan McCarthy, Jesus Redondo and Vanyo.
There are plenty that I?ve probably missed, but droids like Ian Gibson and Carlos Ezquerra for example don?t fit into this category as they are still working for 2000ad. Another droid that would fill this category for ?wanted? would be Eric Bradbury but sadly he is no longer with us.
Don?t get me wrong, I understand 2000ad is all about moving forward and nursing new talent but a nod back to the old days would, for me at least, be thrilling.
If this threads been done before apologies!
Cheers,
Rob.

[Banners]

Isn't it simply a case that the "old school" are now too busy and/or too expensive?

M@

[Funt Solo]

Aye, well, I think it's a no-brainer:  I'd love to see star-scans, covers or even strips by those artists (although rumours of Belardinelli's death continue to circulate).

Either that or new talent so that I don't have to look at any more art from ... well, the ones I don't like.  There are also a few I'd add to that list (McMahon, Kitson, Dillon & McCarthy, to name a few).

Plus, we could hire someone to draw backgrounds for Ian Gibson, because he obviously can't be bothered anymore.  Remember in Tom & Jerry cartoons when the artist would become part of the cartoon, by brushing out Tom's legs or some such, and then you'd end up with just Tom on a blank canvas, having a battle with ink pots and paint brushes wielded by the artist?  That's more or less what Gibson's art reminds me of, these days.  My point is that "old school" artists aren't always what you want.

To carry on that point, McMahon came back and did that strip about the shouty alien in the Meg a while back - and he got slated by half the letters page because he'd changed his style to something quite abstract and yet minimalist.  They wanted giant judge boots or spikey art (a la Sky Chariots).  Not everyone complained, but you see my point, yes?

Aside #1:  "Tharg's Illustrious Organ" has long since ceased to be an amusing joke.  It's almost as if his replies are written by a computer program:  "With this level of thrill-power, Earthlet, my illustrious organ has never been so swollen".  Ha ha - oh, sooo funny - no, wait, I've heard that one about a million times now so in fact it's just annoyingly repetitive.

Aside #2:  I don't mean this in a patronising way, but you should split your large paragraphs into smaller ones so that they are not so intimidating, and place a blank line between paragraphs.  A wise old man in Tibet told me that.  Ohmmmmmm.

[Dark Jimbo]

Good point about splitting the paragraphs. I reckon there's quite a few people who'll take one look at that chunk of text and go straight to the next thread...

Plus, isn't Massimo Belardinelli dead?

[robbycox]

"Isn't it simply a case that the "old school" are now too busy and/or too expensive?"

With artists like O'Neil and Gibbons maybe, but massimo, vanyo it could just be a lack of will on Thargs behalf. Have they even tried/asked?

Fate,
"Aside #1: "Tharg's Illustrious Organ"....
Fair point but it is a comment that has endured/been endured so i thought i'd "slip it in".*


"Aside #2: I don't mean this in a patronising way,...
Not a prob. i'll bear (sp) it in mind for future posts!

*Sorry couldn't resist!

[Funt Solo]

Well, it was only a matter of time before Tharg's Illustrious Organ inserted itself here, and I should have seen it coming.

Hopefully it's something that Tharg will drop soon as I think he's been playing with it for too long.

I'll try not to let criticism of his organ come out of my mouth quite so strongly.

etc.

 

[Floyd-the-k]

actually, 2000 ADis allabout keeping up with old thrills, what with al the stuff they've been bringing back recently. Sounds good to me, but not too different to what they're doing already.

yours hoping he'll see Siku's work in 2000 AD again.

http://www.girl.com.au/img/wayne_carey_portrait.jpg">

[paulvonscott]

It could be done as a special maybe, but it would also be expensive, and... would it work?

[Wils]

I think maybe doing some kind of 'special' would be a bad idea and could possibly fall on its arse in a huge way. I'd love to see some of the old artists  back in the prog, but think it'd work better if they were just incorporated into it normally.

[Funt Solo]

Just remembered - they made a HUGE song and dance about O'Neill coming back to draw the last ever episode of Nemesis The Warlock, where the entire series up until that point had been drawn in a homage-to-O'Neill style by another artist (was it Henry Flint?)

Anyway, like I say, a huge build up, loads of hype and then the end result was pretty shit, truth be told.  It was as if O'Neill just couldn't be arsed to do it properly, and given that he's still a complete art-God, there must be some explanation as to why it was so poor.

[Oddboy]

Yeah - Henry Flint's work on Nemesis Book X was far better then Kevin O'Neill's.

[Wils]

Likewise, his page for A Night to Remember was a fucking embarrassment.

[The Amstor Computer]

IIRC, the work he did for Nemesis and A Night to Remember looked almost like pencils, rather than finished art. Compared to the wonderful work he was doing for LoEG at the time, it was a mess.

[House of Usher]

Ah, but surely the point was to give Kev the opportunity. What he then did with it was up to him. At least no-one can say 2000ad didn't try to do the right thing by both the artist and the fans.

[Byron Virgo]

"Yeah - Henry Flint's work on Nemesis Book X was far better then Kevin O'Neill's."

BURN THE HERETIC!