Two lesser lights one could argue... could, you'd be wrong but you could...one of these went out in the first rounds and another didn't even qualify - they are one of my indulgences or wildcards you could say. Mind Neil Googe did go out to the eventual winner so who knows? Anyway they will make for a great round of contrasting styles I'd suggest.
I love the work of Jim Baikie and I was quietly mortified when he didn't qualify for the tourney proper back in November (was it?). His work on Skizz and New Statesmen for sister comic and therefore qualifying for consideration Crisis is some of my favourite ever in the house of Tharg. Let's see if he justifies my love!
I've started to re-read Survival Geeks recently and doing that has made me appreciate just how under appreciated Neil Googe was in my mind. His work on that series is simply astonishingly good. I mean really. He is one of those modern artists that when I look at his work I really wonder if he'd been around in the early days just how lauded he'd be? Hope he gets a new series from Tharg soon.
Time for you to decide your favourite as the droids square up to the tee...
Neil Googe - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=neilgo)
Or
Jim Baikie - more info (http://www.2000ad.org/?zone=droid&page=profiles&choice=JIMB)
Remember for this tourney you have 5 votes to distribute as you please between these two artists, whole numbers only. So you can vote 5 - 0; 4 - 1; or 3 - 2; either way depending on how much more you like one artist's work over the other.
If you can't be doing with that just name your favourite - remember bold tags, or other ways of highlighting always appreciated - and I'll give them 3 votes and nowt to the other droid.
Three day votes, so this one ends bright and breezy Saturday 8th May
Remember we only consider work for Tharg in these Tourneys
What the heck is all this about - well we have a thread for that (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.0)
How does this new voting work? Look here (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059536#msg1059536) and why again? (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059557#msg1059557)
I don't understand how this works, what are the rules of the Ryder Cup - yep got ya covered there too (https://forums.2000ad.com/index.php?topic=47534.msg1059595#msg1059595)
Anything else just ask and I'll make something up. Most importantly have fun!
Jim 5, sorry Neil but we should show more love towards one of the best artists off our time
4-1 Balkie - Googe is a terrific artist and survival geeks was made by his touch but balkie is an absolute powerhouse especially if we're including New Statesmen.
5-0Baikie
jim wins 4-1
Baikie 4
Googe 1
Largely because it is only recently that I have realised just how much of the comics content of my formative years was drawn by Baikie. And because Survival Geeks did nothing for me whatsoever.
SBT
Neil has a style more in keeping with vintage Anthony Williams, which I can appreciate but it's not always my cup of tea. From Jim we have Skizz and sparing but great work on Dredd.
So for me it's Jim Baikie 4, Neil Googe 1.
So a though opening few holes for Googe; time for him to make his move on Amen Corner:
Googe 5: 0 Baikie
Wow well I knew this one was all about contrasting styles, but man is this showing in the scores, none of this 3:2, its so hard here is there. Folks have very clear views on this one and that does say so much about the difference between Neil Googe's clean modern, fresh art and Jim Baikie's hard, rugged, inked art of the old school.
Absolutely fascinating already!
I love Googe, his work is like a beam of golden sunlight when he's in the prog; crisp, characterful, inventive and always joyful. Sooner Tharg gets him another series the happier I'll be.
But he's not going to win out against his direct opposite, the Titan of coarse grit that is Jim Baikie. Not only did Baikie draw my First 2000AD Love Skizz as his first prog-work, the story that made me a lifelong Squaxx d. T., the seminal In The Bath, and a chunk of Oz and its superb lung-claimng epilogue, but he also gave us New Statesmen, probably the best of the sub-Watchmen. Gritty, grimy reality and expressive distinctive faces is the order of the day, and I love it.
Luckily we're not taking scriptwork into account or I'd be docking marks for SkIIzz and SkIIIzz, so it's:
Baikie 3 : 2 Googe.
Quote from: TordelBack on 05 May, 2021, 08:54:32 AM
I love Googe, his work is like a beam of golden sunlight when he's in the prog; crisp, characterful, inventive and always joyful...
...the Titan of coarse grit that is Jim Baikie... Gritty, grimy reality and expressive distinctive faces is the order of the day...
Oh man oh man those descriptions just NAIL it.
Neil Googe - 1
Jim Baikie -4
Baikie 3, Googe 2
-let's share some love for those GORGEOUS crowd scenes where Googe manages to stuff in a bajillion nerd culture references. And perhaps even more so, the bedroom scenes in any given Surivaval Geeks that are littered with easter eggs.
Baikie, though.
First one I can't go all in on, sadly. Quite like Googe's expressive faces and all that fun but then you've got In the Bath and New Statesmen.
Baikie 4 - 1 Googe
Neil Googe (1) Jim Baikie (4)
Googe 4 Baikie 1 for me.
Baikie is great, for sure, but that lovely Googe clean line work really works for me!
Lokomotiv Googe 3 Baikie Wanderers 2
Googe do dis:
(https://i.imgur.com/iR99l8z.png)
Baikie do dat:
(https://2kstages.github.io/AtoZ/Skizz/skizz.png)
Googe 3 : 2 Baikie
Ah look, Googe is brilliant and I feel bad about this, but I'm thinking Skizz, the end and aftermath of Oz, and, while I know I should stick to the prog, Bloodfang. Neil is clean, modern and polished, and more power to him, but I miss the scruffy, grizzled and scratchy 70s school of comic art that Jim was a part of.
Jim 4, Neil 1.
That Hondo City Justice in the Meg was pretty damned fine too.
Quote from: Dog Deever on 06 May, 2021, 03:12:57 PM
That Hondo City Justice in the Meg was pretty damned fine too.
Oh, aye:
(https://i.imgur.com/mSYh8QY.png)
Quote from: Funt Solo on 06 May, 2021, 03:29:50 PM
Quote from: Dog Deever on 06 May, 2021, 03:12:57 PM
That Hondo City Justice in the Meg was pretty damned fine too.
Oh, aye:
(https://i.imgur.com/mSYh8QY.png)
That's when I really started to pay attention to his stuff- fantastic perspective, flying glass everywhere, masterful line quality and just really, really dynamic. Normally, I'm not a fan of Mangafied art but there are always exceptions and Neil Googe is one of those. Grand stuff- more please, Greenbonce.
Bakie 3, Googe 2
This vote just has a day to run so if you haven't vote yet get that vote in today and I'll count up first thing in the morning.
That also means its time for me to vote. As I said in my opening I gained a real appreciation of Neil Googe's art on my recent re-read and I adore his art. Its therefore not his fault that he's come up against one of my all time favourite and the artist I was most disappointed didn't make the tourney proper back in November. Its testament to how good Googe is that I can't make this a white wash and have to go:
Neil Googe 1 : Jim Baikie 4
Baikie Victory 4 - Googe Glory 1
Jim Baikie 3, Neil Googe 2
VOTING CLOSED
The show must go on... I guess...
There was little doubt about this one, which I guess underlined my amazement that Jim Baikie didn't make the tourney back in November. Where there's been much love for Neil Googe he has come up against one of the most udner rated masters from the history of the comic. So Classic take the lead and looking at the ties to come their dominance seems like it will hold for a while...
Current Team 1 : Classic Team 2
Current Team 150 : Classic Team 175